Orsted Addresses Swedish Baltic Sea Wind Concerns
Orsted CEO assures Sweden that the offshore wind industry has solutions that would address defense concerns. At issue: Sweden's rejection of a proposed 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said on Monday that building wind farms in the Baltic Sea would pose defense risks, by making it harder to detect and shoot down missiles. As Europe turns to renewable sources to diversify energy supplies away from Russian oil and gas, concerns have also risen about how to secure critical maritime infrastructure.Sweden joined NATO this year in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Svendborg Brakes' Yaw Brake Solution Transforms Wind Turbine Maintenance
When damaged yaw brake discs were preventing numerous wind turbines from operating in optimum conditions, their operator was looking for an economical maintenance service that would ensure the turbines’ availability. Svendborg Brakes, a Regal Rexnord Brand, developed a new solution to quickly restore operations - cutting disc resurfacing activities and exchange pads to only 3 days, while requiring only a day and a half of true downtime. As the Wind Industry navigates short-term challenges and sustained growth potential, Regal Rexnord’s decades of industry experience…
The Colombian Ministry of Energy says nine companies are interested in the offshore wind project
The Colombian energy ministry announced on Tuesday that seven foreign companies and two local ones had expressed interest in a project to build offshore wind farms and expected to receive formal bids by the first half of 2025. According to the ministry, these companies include Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol, power firm Celsia and Spain's BlueFloat Energy. They also include Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and DEME from Belgium, China's PowerChina, China Three Gorges, and Britain's Dyna Energy. The ministry stated in a press release that the first round was to determine which maritime areas could be used for installations between 1…
Grid operators claim that Britain will have enough energy this winter to meet the needs of its citizens
The UK's electricity and Gas Grid Operators expect enough supplies this winter with more power imported and domestic production available than last season and high gas storage in Europe, said they on Tuesday. National Gas and Britain's National Energy System Operator, (NESO), publish annual reports on the supply and demand for the upcoming winter to assist businesses and governments in preparing. Craig Dyke is the director of system operations for NESO. NESO's base case for the de-rated margin is 5.2 gigawatts for winter 2024/25. This is 8.8% of the peak average demand for cold spells. It is up from 4.4 GW or 7.4% of last winter.
Meet the CTO: Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, MAN Energy Solutions
As the shipowners stare down decarbonization mandates that grow increasingly strict through 2050, the engine makers are at the tip of the spear of this energy transition phenomena, working to design and build engines and components that are built to operate on a long and growing list of alternative fuels. We recently visited with Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, CTO, MAN Energy Solutions, to take a look inside the research and development process at this global power leader, for insights on ‘what’s next’ in ship propulsion.Dr. Stiesch, to begin…
Denmark's North Sea Energy Island is again delayed by high costs
A government minister announced on Wednesday that Denmark would delay construction by at least three years of the planned North Sea Energy Island to provide renewable energy to three million European homes. The delay is due to rising costs and interest rates. Energy Minister Lars Aagaard said that the projected investment exceeded 200 billion Danish crowns (29.81 billion dollars) and required about 50 billion crowns of state support. Energy Minister Lars Aagaard declined to reveal how much the costs had risen from initial projections. Denmark had announced, just over a year before, that the project was being delayed due to cost.
Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova Release Action Plan Overview of Blade Removal Operation
Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova released a plan on Friday outlining the steps that should be taken following a turbine blade collapse last month on the Vineyard Wind project offshore off the coast Massachusetts. The failure left potentially hazardous debris on the beaches of Nantucket. Vineyard Wind was the first major offshore wind farm in the United States. The plan details the steps that must be taken to retrieve the remaining blade from the turbine. The plan was developed with the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and U.S. Coast Guard in consultation, according to a joint statement.
Tyra II Production Successfully Restarted
The Tyra Redevelopment Project (Tyra II) has restarted production. At plateau, the Tyra hub will produce 5.7 million cubic meters of gas and 22,000 barrels of condensate per day.TotalEnergies operates the Tyra field on behalf of Danish Underground Consortium, a partnership between TotalEnergies (43.2%), BlueNord (36.8%) and Nordsøfonden (20%).The Tyra Redevelopment Project is, to date, the largest project carried out on Danish Continental Shelf with the fabrication and installation of eight new platform topsides. With production from Tyra…
Ørsted Breaks Ground on Carbon Capture Project
Ørsted is embarking on the construction of two carbon capture (CCS) facilities designed to capture and store carbon emissions from the woodchip-fired Asnæs Power Station in Kalundborg and the straw-fired unit at Avedøre Power Station in Greater Copenhagen, representing Denmark's first full-scale carbon capture project.It is expected that the carbon capture project, which was awarded a 20-year contract by the Danish Energy Agency in May 2023, will capture 430,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 annually from the two combined heat and power plants starting from early 2026.
Enerpac wins Calvados Offshore Wind Farm Deal
Enerpac won a contract by Saipem to supply the Hydraulic Levelling and Fixation System for the installation of 64 transition pieces (TP) at the offshore wind farm in France. The Enerpac system is designed to allow accurate levelling and fixation of the transition pieces on the monopile foundation, enabling maximum turbine power generation.Grouted connections are widely used in offshore wind turbine construction to transfer multiple loads from the transition piece fitted on top of the monopile foundation. The transition piece is first lowered onto the monopile and levelled.
Rapid Charging Systems: Current Technology for the Future of Ferries
As the devotion to more sustainable shipping expands and regulations become more stringent, the demand for lower emissions operations continues to increase. As a result, the marine industry is confronted with the challenge of large-scale electrification as an alternative energy solution.For electric ferries, one developing technology is Rapid Charging Systems (RCS), which transfer electrical power from the shore to a vessel at a high rate. These charging systems establish a ship-to-shore connection quickly, providing a power…
Floating Nuclear Power Consortium Takes Shape
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Seaborg Technologies have announced a consortium to develop floating nuclear power plants with Seaborg Technologies' molten salt reactor technology. The power plants will be installed on barges with a modular design able to deliver from 200MWe to 800MWe, with the consortium's first project expected to be a 200MWe power barge.The consortium aims to enable timely commercialization and a scalable export of factory-produced CMSR-based floating nuclear power plants worldwide, offering improved efficiency and inherent safety characteristics.
Megaton Project: Denmark's GreenGo to Build 4 GW Green Fuel Plant
Danish renewable energy developer GreenGo Energy said on Tuesday that it's cooperating on 60 billion Danish crowns ($8.77 billion) project to develop a green energy park.The company is cooperating with a local municipality in western Denmark to develop 4 gigawatt (GW) of solar and wind energy for green fuel production, helping to cut emissions, it said. The "Megaton" project is based in the Ringkobing-Skjern municipality, it said in a statement. Megaton could be operational before 2030, and aims to produce 1 million tonnes of green fuel, such as hydrogen, by converting renewable energy through electrolysis.
MTR100: For USVs and AUVs, is it a Hydrogen Future?
Hydrogen has been making big headlines in the energy world. It’s one of the potential routes to deliver high density energy to transport and heavy industry – but also to marine applications, as well as a way to move and store renewable energy. Various uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developers, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) builders and even subsea power delivery system providers are taking a serious look – and even trialing – hydrogen as an option.SEA-KITThe Maxlimer hydrogen configuration. Image courtesy SEA-KIT InternationalTwo UK firms, SEA-KIT and ACUA Ocean are working on hydrogen power systems for their USVs.
Molten Salt Reactors: Maritime’s Nuclear Option
A race is being run by nuclear scientists and ship designers. The prize? “Decarbonization’s” holy grail — believed to be a “small” thorium-fueled, molten-salt rector’s unlimited power to propel sea trade. At the same time, a recently revived discussion among leading marine-nuclear thinkers revolves now around how to put an ultra-modern, as-yet non-existent marine reactor aboard a modern commercial vessel. As with nuclear power generally, shipborne reactors produce national discussion first, then discovery. Now its global, and vessel designs are on the table.The word is, “Don’t be afraid” of upcoming marine nuclear.
The Port Logistics Challenges of Offshore Wind
Some equations just don’t add up. For example, storing 500 offshore wind turbine blades at a site with only space for 400 (and that’s only if you don’t store the other key elements required to build a full turbine). Elaine Maslin visited Siemens Gamesa’s blade manufacturing facility in Hull, UK, to find out more.Storage space is becoming a major challenge that’s looming for ports involved in the fast-evolving offshore wind industry. It’s already becoming a challenge for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy at its blade manufacturing facility in Hull, on England’s east coast.
Future Fuels: Neste, Nordic Marine Oil team to debut "Co-processed marine fuel"
Neste and Nordic Marine Oil have partnered to pilot a new Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed marine fuel in Scandinavia – a solution the pair claims will help the maritime sector reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: designed to cut up to 80% GHG emission reduction over the lifecycle compared to fossil fuels.“At Neste, we are dedicated to helping our customers and the entire value chain to reduce their GHG emissions. In 2021, our renewable products helped customers to reduce 10.9 million tons of their GHG emissions. Maritime is one of the largest sources of transport emissions.
Floating Power Plants: Is Nuclear the Key in the Net-zero Energy Transition?
Floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) may not immediately spring to mind as providing a solution to several of today’s key global challenges – but FNPP development is emerging as a means of decentralized stand-alone production of cost competitive hydrogen-based fuels and clean electricity and water, according to a new report by Intelatus Global Partners.The commercial case for deployment of FNPPs featuring small modular reactors is founded in the growing demand for hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels.Around 90 million tonnes of hydrogen is currently produced annually – almost exclusively produced from fossil fuels.
Offshore Wind: Orsted Earnings, Shares Dented by Lower Wind Speeds, Cable Problems
Lower wind speeds and cable problems hit first-quarter earnings at Denmark's Orsted , sending shares in the world's biggest offshore wind farm developer lower on Thursday.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 4.9 billion Danish crowns ($799 million), missing analysts' consensus forecast of 5.2 billion crowns.However, Chief Executive Mads Nipper said the company's operational performance "was good during Q1 2021 and slightly exceeded our expectations".Nipper took the helm in January.
"Coal has to go," CEO of Poland's PGE Says
Coal has obviously to be scrapped as a power source, the CEO of the Polish group which owns the EU’s biggest carbon-emitting power plant said on Thursday, underscoring a policy shift in a country until recently wedded to coal to generate electricity.Poland produces most of its electricity from coal but has made a series of policy shifts in recent months and now plans investment in offshore wind, nuclear power and solar energy to help decarbonize its economy.“Today it is obvious that we need to move away from coal,” Wojciech Dabrowski, chief executive of PGE, told an offshore industry conference.
