BP To Open Offshore Wind Office In Germany, Starts Recruitment Drive
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the first paragraph, which adds a bit more information.
Global energy major bp plans to open an office in Hamburg, Germany dedicated to the development of offshore wind projects and is in the process of seeking employees for the new office.
These are other points from the article.
- The topic of wind power is being promoted particularly in Hamburg.
- BP said that the company has already achieved a number of milestones in the field of wind energy.
- In cooperation with EnBW, bp is currently developing several wind farms in the Irish and Scottish Seas.
- Similar plans already exist for the Netherlands.
- The energy major would also like to supply charging stations for electric vehicles with green electricity.
- In Germany, wind and solar energy should account for 80 per cent of electricity generation by 2030, compared to today’s 42 per cent.
- Offshore wind energy is planned to grow seven times by 2045.
I believe that BP’s project expertise and management, backed by billions of German euros could be a complimentary dream team.
Offshore And Nearshore Survey Work Complete For 2 GW Scottish Wind Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the first paragraph.
The developers of the West of Orkney Windfarm have completed its 2022 offshore and nearshore surveys for the project area, located around 25 kilometres off the Sutherland coast in Scotland.
Note.
- Surveys were on time and on budget.
- Consent applications are expected next year.
- Both fixed and floating turbines are being considered.
The West of Orkney wind farm has its own web site, with this proud mission statement.
Designed For Delivery, Driven By Scale
The West of Orkney Windfarm has the potential to power more than two million homes and deliver long-term economic benefits to communities across the north of Scotland.
The web site says that the target for first power generation is 2029.
In How Long Does It Take To Build An Offshore Wind Farm?, I said that it typically takes between six and eight years to for consent to commissioning for an offshore wind farm.
So with consent in 2023, commissioning in 2029 could be possible.
X1 Wind – Disrupting Offshore Wind
The X1 Wind web site talks about disrupting offshore wind.
On the home page, they have this statement.
Oceans Contain The Largest Energy Resource On The Planet, Which Remains Untapped
They back it up with this reference.
We estimate the total global technical potential of offshore wind as 71 TW (World Bank, 2021), of which 70% is in deep waters, suited to floating wind.
The home page also has a continuous video of their floating wind turbine, which they call a PivotBuoy.
- The wind turbine is mounted on a triangular float.
- The turbine nacelle is supported on a tripod.
- The turbine faces downwind.
- The float is held in place by a single point mooring.
The float and the turbine automatically align with the wind.
This article on offshoreWIND.biz is entitled X1 Wind Installs Downwind Floating Prototype and gives more details of the turbine.
It’s certainly different.
Norwegians Developing Monopile Foundation For 100-Metre Depths
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
Monopile foundations are a common fixed foundation for offshore wind farms.
The article starts with this paragraph.
Norway’s Entrion Wind and Techano AS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through which Techano AS will join the ongoing development and test project planned to take place in Kristiansand, Norway for the patent-pending fully restrained platform (FRP) offshore wind foundation technology said to extend the operating depth of the monopile technology to up to 100 metres.
It does seem that the Norwegians are intending to take this type of foundation to new heights. Or is it new depths?
A picture in the article shows a tall monopole held in position by three wires securely anchored in the sea-bed. It reminds me slightly of the sort of flag-poles, that we used to build in Scout camps in the 1960s, using Scout staves, ropes and tent pegs.
But seriously in the 1970s, I did the calculations for a company called Balaena Structures, who were trying to develop a reusable oil and gas platform.
- The company had been started by two Engineering professors from Cambridge University.
- The platforms were formed of a long steel cylinder, which would have been built horizontally in the sort of ship-yards, that were used to build supertankers.
- They were to be floated out horizontally and then turned upright.
- Weight and the gumboot principle would have kept them, in place.
The design also included a square platform on the top end. Originally, they were planning to put the platform on top after erection, but I showed that, it would be possible to erect cylinder and platform, by just allowing water to enter the cylinder.
The project had a somewhat unfulfilling end, in that they never sold the idea to an operator and the company closed.
But I still believe something similar has a future in the offshore energy industry.
It could be a foundation for a wind turbine or possibly as I indicated in The Balaena Lives, it could be used to clear up oil field accidents like Deepwater Horizon.
Could This Be A Design For A Hundred Metre Plus Monopole Foundation?
Construction and installation would be as follows.
- A long cylinder is built in a ship-yard, where supertankers are built.
- One end, which will be the sea-bed end after installation, is closed and has a skirt a couple of metres tall.
- The other end is profiled to take the transition piece that is used as a mount for the wind turbine.
- A float would be added to the top end for tow-out. This will help the cylinder to float and erect.
- Water would be added into the cylinder and, if the dimensions are correct, it will turn through ninety degrees and float vertically.
- It would be towed to a dock, where a large crane on the dock would remove the float and install the turbine.
- The turbine and its foundation would then be towed into place and by adding more water lowered to the sea-bed.
- The float would be reused for the next turbine.
Note.
- The float is needed to nudge the cylinder to turn vertically.
- If the Cambridge professors were right, the skirt and the weight of water would hold it in place.
- Traditional moorings could be added if required.
- No heavy lifts are performed at sea.
- The concept would surely work for a floating turbine as well.
But then what do I know?
I was just a twenty-five year old engineer, mathematician and computer programmer, who did a few calculations and a dynamic simulation fifty years ago.
RWE Looking for Innovators To Boost UK’s Offshore Wind Supply Chain
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
RWE appear to be looking for innovators in three areas.
- Autonomous solutions and the best way to integrate them into wind farm site investigations, construction, and operations and maintenance (O&M) is the first challenge for which RWE is looking for responses.
- The second challenge is about solutions to measure and reduce the environmental impacts of offshore wind farm construction and operations on birds.
- The last challenge focuses on ideas and innovations in cable monitoring and protection, aiming to secure a reduction in offshore wind farm cable failures.
As sums of around £25,000 are talked about in the article, it could be worth applying, if you have a relevant idea.
Is it slightly flattering to the UK’s skills, that a German company is backing British innovation?
But then I was involved in a British invention, which was also backed by the Germans and made me a reasonable amount of money.
Q&A: What does ‘Subsidy-Free’ Renewables Actually Mean?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Carbon Brief.
This is the first paragraph.
Recent announcements in the UK and across the rest of Europe seem to be ushering in a new era of “subsidy-free” renewables, which can be deployed without government support.
The article gives a detailed explanation and is a must-read.
BayWa r.e. Unveils Subsidy-Free Floating Wind Project Offshore Portugal
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the first paragraph.
BayWa r.e. has officially applied to secure the rights for an exclusive use of the seabed for a commercial-scale floating offshore wind project in Portugal, which the company said will be the first subsidy-free floating wind farm in the world.
Note.
- BayWa are a German company headquartered in Munich.
- The windfarm will have a 600 MW capacity in total, in a dedicated zone off the coastline of Viana do Castelo.
- It will be a floating wind farm.
- Viana do Castelo is situated at the mouth of the Lima River and is about 74 km. to the North of Porto.
But surely the most significant fact about this project is that it is subsidy-free.
BayWa And Subsidy-Free Wind Farms
This page on the BayWa web site is entitled BayWa r.e. Sells UK’s First Subsidy-Free Wind Farm.
This is the first paragraph.
BayWa r.e. has reached a milestone for itself and the UK renewable energy sector with the completion and sale of the country’s first subsidy-free windfarm to James Jones & Sons Ltd and London-based specialist asset manager, Gresham House Asset Management.
Note.
- This is the first time, I’ve seen Gresham House associated with wind farms.
- BayWa appear to have a fifteen year agreement with Tesco for the generated electricity.
The whole page is a must read.
Conclusion
Does this mean, that we will be seeing subsidy-free floating wind farms around the UK?
Get the engineering, manufacturing and financial support right for floating wind farms in the UK and wind farms could be bumper-to-bumper around these islands.
Plans Emerge For 8 GW Of Offshore Wind On Dogger Bank
Wikipedia has an entry, which is a List Of Offshore Wind Farms In The United Kingdom.
The totals are worth a look.
- Operational – 13279 MW
- Under Construction – 4125 MW
- Proposed Under The UK Government’s Contracts For Difference Round 3 – 2412 MW
- Proposed Under The UK Government’s Contracts For Difference Round 4 – 7026 MW
- Exploratory Phase, But No Contract for Difference – Scotland – 24,826 MW
- Exploratory Phase, But No Contract for Difference – England – 14,500 MW
Note.
- That gives a Grand Total of 66,168 MW or 66.168 GW.
- The government’s target is 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
- The typical UK power need is around 23 GW, so with nuclear and solar, we could be approaching three times the electricity generation capacity that we currently need.
The figures don’t include projects like Berwick Bank, Cerulean Wind, Norfolk Vanguard or Northern Horizons, which are not mentioned in Wikipedia’s list.
I regularly look at the list of wind farms in this Wikipedia entry and noticed that the number of Dogger Bank wind farms had increased.
They are now given as.
- Dogger Bank A – 1200 MW – Completion in 2023/24
- Dogger Bank B – 1200 MW – Completion in 2024/25
- Dogger Bank C – 1200 MW – Completion in 2024/25
- Dogger Bank D – 1320 MW – No Completion Given
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW – No Completion Given
Note, that gives a Grand Total of 7920 MW or 7.920 GW.
This article on offshoreWIND.biz is entitled BREAKING: SSE, Equinor Plan 1.3 GW Dogger Bank D Offshore Wind Project.
It was published on the October 6th, 2022 and starts with this summary.
SSE Renewables and Equinor are looking into building what would be the fourth part of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, whose three phases (A, B and C) are currently under construction. Surveys are now underway at an offshore site where the partners want to develop Dogger Bank D, which would bring Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s total capacity to nearly 5 GW if built.
Obviously, there are a few ifs and buts about this development, but it does look like SSE Renewables and Equinor are serious about developing Dogger Bank D.
More Dogger Bank Gigawatts for UK As RWE Moves Forward With Two 1.5 GW Projects
This subheading describes, the 3 GW wind farm, that I listed earlier as Dogger Bank South.
These three paragraphs describe the projects.
RWE is now moving forward with two new offshore wind farms in the Zone, each with a 1.5 GW generation capacity, after the company obtained approval from the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to enter into an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate this Summer, following the Round 4 leasing process.
The wind farms will be built at two adjacent sites located just southwest of the Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm and are dubbed Dogger Bank South (DBS) East and Dogger Bank South (DBS) West.
RWE has also started with geophysical seabed surveys within the wind turbine array areas for its two new projects.
It appears that they have already got the leasing process started.
When Will Dogger Bank D And Dogger Bank South Be Operational?
Consider.
- In How Long Does It Take To Build An Offshore Wind Farm?, showed that a lot of offshore wind farms have gone from planning permission to first operation in six years.
- I don’t think that there will be planning permission problems on the Dogger Bank.
- The two wind farms are a continuation of Dogger Bank A, B and C and the Sofia wind farms.
- A lot of the construction, would be more of the same.
With average luck, I can see Dogger Bank D and Dogger Bank South in full production before the end of 2028.
Is There A Virtuous Circle In The Installation Of Wind Farms?
Because we are developing so much offshore wind turbine capacity, this will result in two things.
- A big demand for steel for the foundations and floats for wind turbines.
- A large amount of electricity at a good price.
In my view the UK would be the ideal country to develop an integrated steel and wind turbine foundation/float capability.
There will also be a strong demand for deep water ports and sea lochs to assemble the floating turbines.
Our geography helps in this one. We also have Milford Haven, which is just around the corner from Port Talbot. Scunthorpe is on the River Trent, so could we assemble floats and foundations and take them by barge for assembly or installation.
We probably need an integrated capability in Scotland.
Conclusion
It looks to me, that there is a virtuous circle.
- The more offshore wind turbine capacity we install, the more affordable electricity we will have.
- This will in turn allow us to make more steel.
- If this steel was produced in an integrated factory producing foundations and floats for wind farms, this would complete the circle.
- It would also be inefficient to make the foundations thousands of miles away and tow them to UK waters.
Any improvements in costs and methods, would make the system more efficient and we would have more wind turbines installed.
It looks to be a good idea.
Rolls-Royce And SOWITEC Cooperate On Power-To-X Projects
The title of this post, is the same of that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.
The press release starts with these two bullet points.
- Target: up to 500 MW electrolysis capacity for power-to-X projects
- Production of green hydrogen and e-fuels for shipping, aviation, mining, agriculture, data centers
In Rolls-Royce Makes Duisburg Container Terminal Climate Neutral With MTU Hydrogen Technology, I wrote how Rolls-Royce were building a carbon-neutral energy supply for the port.
This Rolls-Royce graphic illustrates the project.
It looks like SOWITEC would be the sort of company to install the decentralised renewables for this project.
Rolls-Royce seem to be collecting the technology to build complex projects like the power supply for the Duisburg Container Terminal, either by acquisition or negotiating friendly links.
But I do think, that Rolls-Royce possibly need two items for a complete portfolio.
A factory with a large capacity to build electrolysers. The press release says they need 500 MW by 2028 or nearly 100 MW per year.
Some form of GWh-sized energy storage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rolls-Royce do a deal with an energy storage company.
The Anonymous Widower 