FOW Players Target 132kV Dynamic Cables
UK industry players are eying the development of 132kV dynamic array cables to meet the demands of ever larger turbines, but there are calls for standards to be agreed before they invest.The need for 132kV cables is being driven by the growth is turbine capacity to 15MW and beyond, with 20MW turbines even being discussed. These sizes out a strain on use of even the latest 66kV capacity cables, as it reduces the number of turbines per “string” of cable that can be connected – meaning that vastly more cable has to be used.Robert Keast, program manager at the Carbon Trust…
First UXO Survey Guidance Launched for Offshore Wind Industry
The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) has this week published guidance for the geophysical surveying for unexploded ordnance (UXO) and boulders, supporting subsea cable installation by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of surveys.According to the Carbon Trust, the new guidance is the most comprehensive of its kind, and the first dedicated to the offshore wind industry. It aims to optimize surveys by equipping offshore wind developers and surveyors with information to facilitate the creation and utilization of data according to best practice…
AS Mosley, Fugro Get Funding for FOWT Tech
Aberdeenshire-based offshore simulation and analysis company, AS Mosley, Dutch Fugro, together with Strathclyde University, have been awarded funding from The Carbon Trust, to develop new technology for monitoring Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT). As one of eight projects to benefit from a share of £1m from The Carbon Trust, the project will see the development of a highly efficient method for measuring fatigue and detecting anomalies in real-time for the renewable energy sector, AS Mosley said Monday.The system has the potential to vastly reduce operating costs by lowering – or potentially replacing – the need for subsea visual inspection of mooring lines for FOWT…
VA Offshore Wind: A Strong Foundation
Virginia officials have established a well-planned, extensive strategy to build out an offshore wind industry, including wind towers for electricity generation and the supply chain to support that extensive infrastructure and operations. The State’s big picture is ambitious: developing 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2028.As currently envisioned, VA’s offshore wind development will likely start this year with two 8-megawatt wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. This is a Dominion Energy pilot undertaken in partnership with the Danish wind company Orsted.
Carbon Trust to Make Offshore Wind Vessels Greener
The Carbon Trust's Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the potential to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in offshore vessels. OWA plans to start a new industry competition next month.The RFI is the first stage in the competition that will have an estimated funding envelope of circa GBP 400,000.The results from the RFI will help gauge the current interest and development levels, and assist efforts to tailor the competition to best suit industry needs.The initial focus will be on systems, subsystems and technology that support the operation of Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV)…
Carbon Trust, ClassNK Consulting Service Partner on Climate Change Support
The Carbon Trust and ClassNK Consulting Service Co., Ltd. have signed an agreement to work together to develop a commercial partnership for offering climate change and sustainability services. The partnership will initially involve the two organizations exploring collaborative opportunities to deliver advice and consulting projects for businesses in Japan, as well as in selected markets across Asia more broadly.As a result of this partnership, corporates in the region will be able to access world-leading technical advice and support across areas such as setting ambitious climate change targets…
Offshore Test of New Installation Technology Successful
The Carbon Trust and Fistuca, in conjunction with industry partners announced the successful completion of the offshore trial of the Fistuca BLUE 25M hammer as part of the Offshore Wind Accelerator BLUE PILOT project.The industry partners include E.ON, EDPR, EnBW, Equinor, Ørsted, Shell, Sif, SSE, Van Oord, and Vattenfall. The offshore test was carried out on August 13, 2018, using Van Oord’s offshore heavy lift installation vessel, Svanen, off the coast of the Netherlands.The BLUE Hammer is an innovative, new hammer utilizing a large water tank to provide a more energetic, but quieter blow for offshore installation.
Cryptocurrency May Light Up Renewable Energy in Moldova
Moldova, a small, landlocked country in eastern Europe, imports three-quarters of its energy and has seen its energy prices rise by more than half in the past five years.But that could soon change, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which this year will launch an innovative effort to power a Moldovan university with cryptocurrency-funded solar energy.The initiative with Sun Exchange, a South African solar power marketplace, will allow people to buy solar cells using SolarCoin, a cryptocurrency launched by blockchain start-up ElectriCChain…
Partnership Aims to Accelerate US Offshore Wind Ambitions
The U.K.-based Carbon Trust and the U.S.-based offshore wind supply chain organization Business Network for Offshore Wind have entered an agreement which will see them collaborate to support the development of the offshore wind sector in North America. To underpin this commitment the organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which details activities that the Carbon Trust and the Business Network for Offshore Wind will focus on over the next year to support and accelerate the deployment of offshore wind in the U.S. Initial areas…
Statoil Debuts Batwind
A new battery storage solution for offshore wind energy will be piloted in the world’s first floating wind farm, the Hywind pilot park off the coast of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Batwind will be developed in co-operation with Scottish universities and suppliers, under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Edinburgh on 18 March between Statoil, the Scottish Government, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Scottish Enterprise. Battery storage has the potential to mitigate intermittency and optimise output. This can improve efficiency and lower costs for offshore wind.
Prysmian Launches New Cable Solution
Prysmian Group has gained verification of its higher voltage cable system technology for offshore wind inter-array networks. The group announces the successful completion of type testing of its 66 kV cable system in accordance with CIGRE and IEC test protocols, as part of the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) program. “This new qualification milestone is a further advance along our path towards the development of innovative, sustainable and cost effective cable solutions for the offshore renewable power industry” stated Raul Gil, Prysmian PowerLink Chief Operating Officer “Prysmian is both prepared and fully geared to support the global offshore wind market…
All Energy 2015
In just four weeks’ time All-Energy 2015, the UK’s renewable energy exhibition and conference will open in its new home, Glasgow’s SECC, with the expectation that up to 7,000 people from home and overseas will visit the exhibition, to make new contacts and source new suppliers, attend the multi-stream conference over the two days (Wednesday 6 – Thursday 7 May), and relish the networking possibilities of its Giant Networking Evening. All the component parts are in place. Some 450 exhibitors from nearly 20 countries have taken space; over 440 speakers are confirmed to speak in lively debates…
Sensors Installed on New Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation
Strainstall has been subcontracted by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) to install sensors, as part of its Structural and Environmental Monitoring (SEM) solution, on to a new Suction Bucket Jacket foundation, which is currently being trialed at the Borkum Riffgrund 1 Offshore Wind Farm in Germany. Deployed in August 2014 by Dong Energy as part of its collaboration with the UK’s Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), the new foundation structure has been designed to help cut the costs of electricity from offshore wind farms. The tripod foundation structure has been equipped with 126 different sensors from the turbine tower down to the foundations…
NRG Systems, FLiDAR in Offshore Partnership
US-based Renewable NRG Systems and Belgium’s FLiDAR has announced that they have entered an exclusive partnership for the distribution of FLiDAR’s offshore wind measurement buoys in the Americas. Under this agreement, Renewable NRG Systems will provide the WindCube Lidar systems to FLiDAR to equip the floating wind measurement technology that the Belgian company is bringing into the offshore market in the Americas. FLiDAR will also be able to take advantage of Renewable NRG Systems’ world class Lidar service and supply center. In Europe, FLiDAR has…
JFMS to Market EOI's TranSPAR Concept
James Fisher Marine Services Ltd. and ExtremeOcean Innovation Inc. James Fisher Marine Services Ltd (JFMS), part of James Fisher and Sons plc – a marine services provider in the U.K., today announced the signing of an exclusive market entry agreement with Canadian company ExtremeOcean Innovation Inc. (EOI), the designers of the TranSPAR craft. The arrangement will last for 12 months, with the option of a further 12-month extension. ExtremeOcean Innovation Inc. is a marine technology company focused on developing marine solutions for the offshore market.
VMMS for the Carbon Trust OWA Program
Strainstall’s Vessel Motion Monitoring System (VMMS) has been successfully installed on a vessel running trials for the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) program, a joint industry program aiming to reduce the cost of offshore wind by 10% for UK Round 3 sites. The OWA trial focuses on turbine access systems, proving and de-risking design concepts. VMMS is supporting the Carbon Trust during prototype testing phases to quantify vessel conditions during personnel transfers. Marc Costa Ros, manager from the Carbon Trust, states “Sea Trials are very important in order to verify the R&D activities that are currently being developed within the OWA…
Study Targets Reduced Offshore Wind Costs
Xodus Group, Cathie Associates and UTEC Geomarine have formed an industry leading consortium to deliver a study which will aim to reduce the costs of generating electricity from offshore wind farms in U.K. waters. The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), which brings together nine offshore wind developers (DONG Energy, E.ON, Mainstream Renewable Power, RWE Innogy, ScottishPower Renewables, SSE Renewables, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall) in a joint industry project, is working towards reducing the cost of offshore wind by at least 10% by 2015.
Marine Renewables Commercialization Project Funded
The Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced that the Scottish Government’s Marine Renewables Commercialization Fund (MRCF)Array Technology Innovation Program has made an award to a team of marine experts to undertake a research project on Turbulence in Marine Environments (TIME) for measuring and evaluating turbulent effects in tidal arrays in Scottish Waters. This MRCF project will be managed by the Carbon Trust. The team of U.K. experts are led by marine data acquisition company Partrac, with ABPmer undertaking resource characterization…
Report Helps Wind Industry Reduce Noise Effects on Marine Mammals
A report published by independent, international energy consultancy Xodus Group, and its project partners SMRU Marine, recommends how offshore wind farm operators and regulators can minimize the effects of noise during offshore turbine piling and reduce injury to marine mammals. The independent review, entitled “Use of Deterrent Devices and Improvements to Standard Mitigation during Piling” was commissioned for Phase 1 of Project 4 of the Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Program (ORJIP). It is the first publication in the ORJIP series to focus on such risks and has been published on the Carbon Trust’s ORJIP website.
