The Danes today confirmed their investment go-ahead to co-locate the 300MW/600MWh storage system, among Europe’s largest, on the Norfolk site.  No cash value was disclosed.

Commissioning the devices is timetabled for late 2026. Co-locating both facilities will minimise disruption during construction and later during operations.

At 600MWh, the Tesla-built battery will host clean wind power in quantities enough to power a nominal 80,000 homes.

Ørsted sees gargantuan coulomb crèches like Swardeston as natural partners for its 12 wind farms now generating in British waters.

The company has 660MW/1,850MWh of batteries either under construction or already in service across the UK and US.  Over 2GW of further amp hotels are in various stages of development in the same regions, plus Ireland.

The departing Sunak administration intended to multiply the nation’s present offshore generation capacity fourfold by 2030, reaching 50GW.  In their manifesto due tomorrow, Labour are expected honour that target.

Duncan Clark, Ørsted’s boss in UK & Ireland, said: “The Swardeston battery will help ensure renewable energy is used in the best possible way by storing it when demand is lower and then releasing it back into the system when really needed. This maximises the potential of renewable energy whilst providing increased energy security and value to consumers. “

Mike Snyder, Megapack senior director at battery providers Tesla, said: “We are excited to be part of this industry-leading project with an exceptional partner. This project demonstrates the value and flexibility of Tesla’s best-in-class power electronics, providing enhanced grid stability and enabling more renewables on the grid.”

The post Ørsted to pump Hornsea 3 juice into 600MWh battery near Norwich appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Spanish-owned Iberdrola, Europe’s third biggest power company as ranked by company value, has commissioned the 496 MW park off Saint-Brieuc, facing Jersey.

The first of the farm’s 62 marine turbines were erected in 2021. Saint-Brieuc will produce 1,820GWh each year, around 9% of all electricity consumed across the entire province.

Only the 714MW East Anglia One park in the North Sea is more powerful of Iberdrola’s three other farm already generating in European waters. The company’s 1.4 GW East Anglia Three project is under construction, as is its 476MW Baltic Eagle venture off Germany.

Iberdrola is also building the USA’s first big marine turbine cluster, the 806 MW Vineyard Wind farm off Massachusetts.

Saint-Brieuc will outperform Ibedrola’s 389MW Duddon Sands park in the Irish Sea and the 350MW Wikinger farm in the Baltic.

Its 62 turbines, each rated at 8MW, is now feeding into the French grid, managed by RTE. The nuclear power of state-controlled EdF continues to dominate France’s electricity market, accounting for up to 78%.

Iberdrola provided all the €2.4 billion which Saint-Brieuc cost to build. Its development began in April 2012.

Construction of the wind farm has mobilised more than 1700 jobs in France, nearly a third of them in Brittany. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy built Saint-Brieuc’s turbines at its new industrial site in Le Havre.

Navantia Windar assembled the jacket foundations. Electrical contractors Haizea Breizh, also on the Brest polder, assembled the masts’ electrical equipment.

“We are particularly proud to announce the full commissioning of Saint-Brieuc, twelve years after we were named the bid’s winner, “said Emmanuel Rollin, Iberdrola’s director for France.

“The challenge for us, as a European leader in renewables, was to create the foundations of a sustainable industrial sector for French offshore wind power. We have worked hard to involve local companies in this project by supporting them in this fast-growing segment ,” said his colleague Stéphane-Alain Riou, director of offshore wind energy

The post Iberdrola commissions 493MW St-Brieuc as France’s second off-shore wind farm appeared first on theenergyst.com.

The Crown Estate is launching its Supply Chain Accelerator, a £50m fund created to strip risk out of early development of projects linked to offshore wind.  Making ventures likelier to proceed will, or so the logic runs, spur the growth of the flock of small businesses who sell expertise, components and services to backers of marine wind farms.

With a focus on floating offshore ventures in the Celtic Sea off England’s south west coast, an initial £10m round of funding is now open for businesses looking to register an interest in supplying projects.

Earlier this year the Crown Estate published research, The Celtic Sea Blueprint, putting values to the floating wind industry’s potential for wealth creation. The paper predicts 5,300 jobs and a £1.4bn economic boost could be generated through deploying the first floating offshore wind capacity set to result from the current Leasing Round 5 process.

The study highlighted opportunities to inject confidence in specialist suppliers contemplating contracts with operators of floating turbine parks.  Besides non-specialist components, dynamic cables and connections; wet storage infrastructure; infrastructure for operations and management and facilities; and training services and sites were identified.

The Accelerator’s first £10m provides matched funding in amounts capped at £1m spending on early-stage commercial expansion. The Crown Estate will look for the option to participate in the capital investment phase.

Beginning in mid-June, applicants have six weeks to apply.  Successful projects will be chosen and announced after September 2024. Consultancy Grant Thornton is advising the Crown Estate.

The Crown Estate’s role is to create long-term value for the British state. It focuses on using the seabed and land it manages to help catalyse Net Zero, restore nature, create thriving communities and drive economic growth. Developing the offshore wind industry’s domestic supply chain through collaboration with industry and government partners forms a vital component of these ambitions.

Once the fund’s first £10m is paid out, another £40m is earmarked to support projects qualifying under the Industrial Growth Plan launched by RenewableUK and partners including the Crown Estate last month. The plan lays out actions needed to triple Britain’s capacity in offshore wind manufacture  by the mid-2030s.

Turbines waiting to leap from drawing boards to waves grew by 10GW last year to 93GW, strengthening Britain’s No  1 position.   Offshore wind producing 49TWh of electricity last year, according to The Crown Estate’s recently published UK Offshore Wind Report 2023.

The government estimates that 125GW of marine spinners may be needed to meet Net Zero by 2050, an estimate underlying the need for investment in the UK’s supply chain

Will Apps, Offshore Wind Strategy Director at The Crown Estate, said: “I’d encourage businesses with strong development plans and an ambition to support one of the UK’s most future-thinking sectors, to consider submitting proposals to the Accelerator for funding, and play an important part in the UK’s exciting energy transition.”

The Crown Estate’s managing director for marine Gus Jaspert echoed him: “Offshore wind not only plays a key part in our energy transition, it can also be a key part of a local and national regeneration with new jobs, skills and industry.   Our world-leading offshore wind industry is already playing a pivotal role in the UK’s energy transition but and demand will only increase as we move towards delivering a net zero economy by 2050. We must move further and faster to invest in and develop the UK’s supply chain to accelerate growth and make our offshore wind sector the most attractive globally.

“The Supply Chain Accelerator will enable investment in priority capabilities and skills to aid the delivery of the opportunities within the Celtic Sea Blueprint, driving economic growth regionally for the benefit of the UK as a whole and ensuring we are driving value onshore through offshore activity.”

The post Spinning quicker at sea: Crown Estate primes investment pump for suppliers appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Eickholt will step down on 31 July and leave the company on 30 September, the parent company Siemens Energy announced this morning. He was appointed the turbine maker’s head only in April 2022, with a brief to reverse cost over-runs and to repair fractured supply chains.

Replacing the 62 year old will be Vinod Philip, 50, head of global functions at Siemens Energy. Philip currently oversees a palette of functions including IT, purchasing, innovation, logistics and project management.

Today’s announcement by the parent makes no mention of Tim Dawidowsky, appointed as Siemens-Gamesa’s chief operating officer in 2022, within two months of Eickholt’s arrival.

Under the pair’s tenure, Siemens Gamesa has continued to struggle with quality issues and sustained financial losses.  Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch today absolved Eickholt from blame for the former, declaring that “the causes of the quality problems did not fall under his tenure”.

Bruch said that Eickholt’s departure was part of the company’s multi-year restructuring plan as “the time has now come for a generational change at Siemens Gamesa”.

Continuing losses at the turbines division dictates the sharpening of strategy identified in today’s overhaul. While continuing to make larger maritime structures, it will now target developers and generators operating onshore farms in stable regulatory environments, chiefly in Europe and the US. Break-even by 2026 is the financial goal, to be followed by profit margins topping 10% at an unspecified date.

Although its plan meentions unspecified job cuts, the parent Siemens Energy reaffirmed its commitment to both maritime and onshore turbines, allaying concerns of potential divestment or closure of wind business segments.

The parent confirmed that coastal factories making maritime – and thus bigger – turbines in Cuxhaven, Aalborg and Le Havre will continue to ramp up their capacities, a move the parent sees as essential.

Continuing disruptions to production and resulting flaws led to financial setbacks for Siemens Gamesa in 2023, including a loss of €4.6bn (£3.94bn). At the time, Bruch said: “The strong performance of our other business areas gives me confidence in our company’s ability to put businesses back on a strong footing.”

Siemens Energy’s shares surged 13% on today’s announcement.  At group level, it declared expectations of better profit margins, and adjusting its 2024 projections for sales to rise as much 12% during the year.

The post “Generational change”, as much as losses, spins turbine boss out of the door appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Based at Lichtenfels, near Kassel in central Germany, Voodin Blade Technologies says its lumber blades help turbines reduce CO2 emissions by up to 78% against conventional materials, and cut up to 20% from turbine production costs.

The four year old start-up has attached its innovative structures, 19.3 metres in length, to an existing turbine tower already erected at Breuna, near Kassel.  60- and 80-meter blades are also taking shape on the firm’s drawing board.

Voodin’s boss Tom Siekmann says that while up to 90% of wind turbines are recyclable, conventional blades are currently not. Their usual construction is of fibreglass and carbon fibre sealed with epoxy resin.  Though some manufacturers are trying, the materials have proven difficult and expensive to break down.

Holz on to your Hütte! Wir in it, to spin it!

Conventionally sourced turbine blades have a working life of up to 25 years. With the first generation of blades now reaching end of life, towers – sometimes known in Germany as ‘white asparagus’ – need to be re-equipped with replacements.

Voodin makes its wooden blades from laminated veneer lumber, or LVL, a sandwich of many thin layers, glued together.

“At the end of their lifecycle, most blades are buried in the ground or incinerated. This means that, at this pace, we will end up with 50 million tonnes of blade material waste by 2050. With our solution, we want to help green energy truly become as green as possible,” said Siekmann.

Voodin Blade Technology uses CNC – ‘computer numerical control‘ – lathes to create complex 3D shapes.   The method allows for a high level of automation, obviating the moulds used in conventional manufacturing.  CNC milling also adds flexibility and versatility to designs as they advance to reality.

Increased automation means less labour and so cheaper production. Manufacturing thus does not need to be offshored to countries with lower labour costs, avoiding delay in supply chains. Production can even be achieved closer to the host turbine parks, further trimming back emissions and transport costs.

The company believes wooden blades can even flourish in challenging working offshore, where around 85% of current turbines are located

“According to all our tests, our blades are even more durable than the existing fiberglass blades, as they show fewer fatigue characteristics and are proven to endure all kinds of onshore weather conditions extremely well,” Voodin co-founder Jorge Castillo explained.

Blade on the feather, body between the knees

Traditional German respect for wood, natural materials and forests runs deep in the country’s ecological culture.  Former Bundestag MP Josef Göppel, a past advocate for community energy in Angela Merkel’s government, represented a forestry-dependent seat in Bavaria.

The post Vood you believe it? Germany debuts world’s first lumber-sourced turbine blades appeared first on theenergyst.com.

As the world’s largest offshore windfarm in construction, Hornsea is expected to be operational by 2027. It will contribute toward the UK government’s goal of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Over-bending, abrasion and fatigue of underwater cables present a challenge for offshore wind developers such as Ørsted. The patented system offered by Balmoral Comtec, a company in the Balmoral Group, uses materials designed to improve operational performance and increase resistance to mechanical fatigue.

The protection system locks together mechanically, removing a reliance on chemical bonding, notoriously unpredictable and problematic to validate over a field’s life.  The supplier says its technology guarantees market-leading strain and stiffness levels, unachievable through traditional component design.

Pictured on the left above, Balmoral Comtec’s projects director Fraser Milne said: “Hornsea 3 will be a vital project for the UK’s energy transition. We’re thrilled to play a role”.

Work will be carried out in the firm’s 250,000sq ft factor in Aberdeen, by members of Balmoral Group’s 650-strong workforce

“As windfarms and turbines expand in size, scale and complexity”, Milne went on”, our industry leading expertise, scalable manufacturing capability will be crucial as offshore wind developers and OEMs navigate these complex challenges.”

For Ørsted, its Hornsea 3 project director Luke Bridgman, said: “Hornsea 3 is a nationally-significant renewable energy project, providing low-cost, clean energy at scale.

“To successfully deliver an offshore windfarm of this magnitude, it’s vital that we draw on the extensive knowledge and expertise of our teams, contractors and suppliers. We look forward to working alongside Balmoral Comtec as we progress through the next stages of construction.”

The post Balmoral Comtec scoops contract for Hornsea 3’s 400 cable protectors appeared first on theenergyst.com.

A pilot programme launched today by partners The Crown Estate, the Department of Work & Pensions and the Offshore Wind Learning platform is designed to spin the wheel for offshore recruiters, by upskilling and empowering the DWP’s work coaches. The advisors can then direct jobseekers to burgeoning new career opportunities in the local offshore wind industry.

Eastern England looks out on around a half of Britain’s existing offshore wind farms. More are due.

The partners’ geographically focused pilot may be followed by national roll-out, ensuring local communities feel the benefits of Britain’s contested transition to more wealth-creating renewables and a greener economy for jobs.

Enduring skills shortages in green trades are a fly in ointment already polluted by decades of hydrocarbon-financed misinformation, science-denying newspapers relying on oilcos’ advertising and poor skills planning.

The Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) last year estimated its members would need to fill 70,000 new jobs this decade. Currently employing 32,000 people, marine turbine chiefs thus seek an average of 10,000 new workers every year to welcome into employment, just to support their pipelines of projects already identified.

Very flat, Norfolk

Coaching employment advisors in ten coastal or near-coastal Jobcentres from Skegness to Beccles and inland, is the partners’ method.

DWP focus groups in November highlighted the challenges wind power employers face, regarding perceptions of how to enter the industry, and career progression in it.

The research showed DWP staff knew about direct roles, such as turbine technicians and constructors. They knew less, said the research , about support roles offered by operators in administration & commercial management, including among suppliers who sell to turbine operators.

The research’s findings highlighted a need to “train the trainers”, working to improve the advisors’ confidence in advocating offshore wind jobs to dole claimants.

For The Crown Estate, sustainability director Judith Everett enthused: “We’re thrilled to launch this pilot raising awareness of the many exciting offshore wind career opportunities in East Anglia and Lincolnshire.

 “Though the UK is a global leader in offshore wind”, Everett went on, “the industry faces challenges in our workforce which must be addressed urgently to ensure the sector remains competitive in the face of international competition. Through the important work carried out by coaches in the Department for Work and Pensions, this initiative will shine a spotlight on the local employment opportunities within the industry.”

Lauren Little at offshore operator Ørsted said: “It’s fantastic to see big players in the industry highlight the need for talent to enter the offshore wind industry.

“This programme is perfectly suited to highlight the variety of roles within our industry– from technicians working on turbines to behind-the-scenes employees in administrative and support roles.”

For the DWP, partnership lead Roger Matthews added: “We are immensely proud to be partnering with The Crown Estate. This programme will equip DWP work coaches with insights and targeted training to drive growth in offshore wind employment, a sector vital to the UK’s efforts to transition to Net Zero.

The post Non-ill wind blows jobseekers some good: DWP & Crown Estate puff offshore recruitment appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Investee company Ocergy is disrupting the floating offshore wind market with an innovative approach to designing and manufacturing floating foundations, drastically reducing their build cost and deployment time.

Headquartered in the US and with operations in France, Ocergy pioneers a hyper-local supply chain approach, working with local manufacturers and creating green jobs in the areas where the turbines are installed.

Further efficiencies are unlocked, says Octopus, through Ocergy’s lighter designs which make the turbine foundations easy to transport and assemble.

The green tech disruptor already works with over a dozen developers. Its first floating foundations are scheduled for installation from next year.

Octopus’ investment today, of undisclosed value, will help fuel the rapid expansion of Ocergy’s tech into new markets.  Also benefiting is the US firm’s cutting-edge system for monitoring biodiversity and collecting environmental data related to floating turbines when in operation.

Vector, Octopus Energy’s £3 billion offshore wind fund launched late last year in partnership with Tokyo Gas, is making today’s investment.

It marks the latest milestone in the company’s plans to turbocharge the rollout of offshore wind globally to reduce the globe’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Floating foundations are used in areas where the seabed is too deep for conventional turbines to be fixed.  Around 80% of global offshore wind resources are located in deep waters, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, thus underscoring this technology’s vast potential.

Governments across the globe have set ambitious targets for floating offshore wind. Britain alone is targeting 5GW of floating offshore capacity by 2030.

Octopus Energy Generation CEO Zoisa North-Bond said: “Tech and innovation are fuelling the energy revolution globally, and Octopus is always on the hunt for game-changing solutions.

“Ocergy’s ground-breaking approach has the power to slash the costs of floating offshore wind. With our investment, they will get there faster, paving the way for cleaner, greener energy systems across the globe.”

Ocergy CEO Dominique Roddier said: “We are incredibly enthusiastic about this collaboration.

“It will empower us to scale up our operations and concentrate on delivering both pre-commercial and large-scale floating offshore wind projects. There are lots of synergies between Octopus’ forward-thinking efforts in offshore wind and Ocergy’s accomplishments.”

The world’s biggest floating wind farm off Aberdeenshire was this week announced to have secured its final planning consent. The 560MW Green Volt venture, co-owned by Japanese-owned Flotation Energy and Norwegian energy company Vårgrønn is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2029.

The post Octopus takes stake in disruptor of floating turbine tech appeared first on theenergyst.com.

A joint venture of Flotation Energy the Japanese-owned developers and Vårgrønn, the project will comprise 35 towers, buoyed up on collars, pictured, and floating off Scotland’s east coast in waters up to 1,000 metres deep.

Aberdeenshire planners earlier this month gave planning consent for the project’s onshore elements.

Further calming the waters around Green Volt, it is now consented as the first project in the Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.  The nod completes the venture’s round of necessary approvals.

Its backers say it remains on track to be the first commercial-scale floating offshore farm in Europe.

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf enthused: “It is fantastic to have received the green light to deliver Green Volt as the world’s biggest floating offshore wind project, right here in the Scottish North Sea.

“Gaining consent just over a year after our seabed exclusivity was awarded is a testament to the commitment, speed and determination of our Green Volt team, the Scottish Government and its key agencies.

Carrying coals both metaphorical & ironic to Newcastle, Green Volt foresees N Sea oil & gas platforms among its first customers, as their operators seek to replace existing gas and diesel generation.  Power injection direct into Britain’s transmission grid will also feature.

Led by Lord Nicol Stephen & Allan MacAskill, Flotation Energy’s origins take in the 50MW floating Kincardine farm, which began generating off the Aberdeenshire coast in 2014.

Japan’s No2 energy retailer TEPCO bought Edinburgh-based Flotation Energy in November 2022 for an undisclosed sum.   As main power supplier to Tokyo & eastern Japan, Tokyo Electric Power Company‘s name will forever be linked with the March 2011 nuclear explosion at Fukushima.

Oslo-incorporated Vårgrønn is itself a joint venture of Eni-offshoot developer Plenitude and HitecVision, the Norwegian energy entrepreneur & investor.

Vårgrønn’s CEO Olav Hetland said: “Consent for the Green Volt under INTOG is a massive boost for Scotland’s ambition to be a global leader in floating wind.

“This decision will unlock around £3 billion of investment”, Hetland went on, “generating  hundreds of jobs. Crucially, it also sends a huge signal to domestic & international investors that Scotland is indeed a pioneer in this technology and the ideal location to manufacture and deliver floating wind”.

Vårgrønn – “spring green” is a rough translation – holds 20% of Dogger Bank, at 4GW the world’s largest rooted windfarm now under construction. By 2030, the Norwegian entity targets at least 5GW of offshore wind in operation or sanctioned across northern Europe, featuring both rooted and floating turbines.

Green Volt incorporates local content evaluation as a key part of its procurement evaluation criteria, maximising opportunities for suppliers in Scotland and elsewhere in Britain.

Analysts predict the market for global floating offshore generation could reach 300GW by the 2050s.

The post World’s biggest floating wind farm approved for off Aberdeen appeared first on theenergyst.com.

RenewableUK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland say their Industrial Growth Plan plots a course to mark out the UK as a leader in offshore wind’s global growth.

The UK’s offshore wind industry already employs 32,000 people, the plan calculates. Each new big offshore turbine park can add £3bn to the economy.

Employment is set to rise to over 100,000 by 2030. Ten years further on, investment in new marine spinners will create an wealth of over £90bn for the nation, says the report.

Steps set out in the group’s plan would support an additional 10,000 jobs a year and boost Britain’s GDP by £25 billion more between now and 2035, if the nation can accelerate yearly offshore deployment to 6GW, in line with our net zero targets.

The UK, the researchers note, already boasts the world’s second biggest national pipeline of offshore wind projects at all stages of development. At nearly 100GW, that stands at more than six times the nation’s capacity now generating.

Choke points already noticeable in making, equipping and deploying maritime spinners could yet scupper those targets, though.  The Plan identifies strategic new factories and manufacturing capabilities needed to head off the threat.

Key technology areas enabling  uninterrupted investment include manufacture of wind blades and turbine towers, foundations, cables and other key components and services for projects, both in UK waters and for export.

Invoking new AI technologies, the document sets out plans to expand testing facilities for cutting-edge technology, such as new materials  for blades and floating collars.  Under the aegis of Britain’s Catapult technology stimulators, a new national innovation hub for the sector should be created, incorporating a new advanced technology institute.

Almost £3 billion of new funding must be directed at turbine enablement, says the report. With private finance doing the heavy lifting, a return to the economy of just under £9 for every £1 invested is possible.

Many of Britain’s competitors have introduced new incentives to attract investment in offshore wind projects and domestic manufacturing, hoping to replicate home success.

RenewableUK boss Dan McGrail said: “Our plan is the deepest dive ever into offshore wind’s supply chain, identifying the highest-value components and services which the UK should focus on to get the biggest economic bang for our buck from future wind farm development.

“For example, it shows that the UK will need three hundred giant turbine towers every year for offshore wind projects between now and 2030 to deliver government targets. The plan charts a clear course for us to ensure that we seize that massive economic opportunity”.

Energy secretary Claire Coutinho added: “Plans set out by industry today will work with our £1 billion Green Industries Growth Accelerator to make sure the UK can build out the supply chain – including the turbine blades and high-voltage cables that we will need to produce cheaper, cleaner, more secure energy.”

Read the industrial growth plan here.

The post Weather makers: offshore promoters eye fair winds for supply chain appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Sir Kier Starmer & shadow energy secretary Ed Milliband also pledged the party to cancel last year’s grant by the Conservative government of new oil and gas exploration permits in the North Sea.

Touring energy sites in north Wales with newly elected first minister Vaughan Gething, the opposition figures today extolled the speed and flexibility of floating wind farms.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats are committed to 2030 – five years earlier than the Conservatives – as their deadline for stripping fossil fuel generation out of UK electricity. Wind’s growing share they see as essential.

“Britain is a proven leader already in offshore wind”, shadow Welsh secretary Jo Stevens said told the BBC this morning. “Our experience of floating turbines in the Celtic Sea only underlines the technology’s huge potential”.

Labour echoes the Sunak government’s commitment to 50GW of marine wind generating by 2030.  5GW more is earmarked to come from floating structures.

Last July the Crown Estate advertised the world’s largest floating turbine opportunity, 4GW across concessions in the Celtic Sea.

Though only the Hywind & Kincardine projects – amounting to less than 1GW – are Britain’s only floating farms now generating, a massive 35 GW more of floating turbines stand at all stages of development, across 49 projects.

From conventional seabed-based structures, Britain’s operating offshore capacity is around 15GW. Another 14GW is under construction or having reached the final investment hurdle.

Against the government’s 50GW goal, that means only six years remain to bring another 21GW of offshore wind into operation.

Milliband confirmed that Labour’s investment in floating turbines would be part of the £7 Billion a year it promised to Great British Energy, its nationalised green generator.   A Labour government would double public investment in onshore wind and in home insulation, and treble that for solar deployment, he said.

Labour policymakers believe that, so great is developer interest in floating turbines, every pound committed from the public purse will attract three more from private investors.

RenewableUK, lobbyists for British wind investors, welcomed Labour’s backing for the innovative spinners.

Head of offshore policy Jane Cooper said: “Developing floating wind at scale offers opportunities for us to build a far greater number of offshore wind farms in deeper, windier waters, off the coast of South Wales and the south west of England, providing vast amounts of home-blown clean power.

“We’re delighted that Keir Starmer, Vaughan Gething and the Labour team are so committed to developing floating wind, “Cooper went on.

“They recognise the huge economic opportunity this innovative technology offers for the south west of England and Wales, particularly if we can develop ports like Milford Haven and Port Talbot to ensure they’re large enough to house new manufacturing and assembly facilities for turbines as tall as The Shard and platforms the size of football pitches”.

“There is currently a huge decision on the desk of government when it comes to floating offshore wind,” the spokesperson added.

“The UK could unlock investment in the Erebus wind farm this year, a world-leading project off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in addition to two other projects off the coasts of Scotland the north east of England, through its upcoming clean power auction this summer. However, the budget set out for that auction is too low, putting progress at risk, so we’re calling on Government to revise this at the earliest opportunity.”

Meanwhile specialist consultancy Newton assessed that Britain will need 6.1 million tonnes of steel this decade to meet the 50GW offshore goal.  With plants including Port Talbot likely to reduce production at least temporarily, the nation would struggle to meet the goal, said the researchers.

“To ensure we’re not blown off track, it is imperative that UK industry and government collaborate to ensure a steady supply of steel that can meet the predicted demand peaks as industry flexes to meet the 50GW target”, said Newton’s Dan Parker.

The post Labour to boost floating wind & revoke Sunak’s North Sea licences appeared first on theenergyst.com.

The company, a division of OEG Energy Group, has won a six-month contract from developer Scottish Power Renewables to locate and eliminate wartime whoopsies littering seabed soon to be occupied by the developers’ East Anglia 3 project.

Working from the 66-metre vessel Glomar Wave, Hughes Subsea’s team is tasked to hunt down and eliminate unexploded ordinance littering the 300 square kilometre seabed of the proposed park.

With its subsea robots and its highly trained, very careful divers, Hughes will find, investigate and dispose of remaining mines laid eighty years ago to defend England’s coast.  Still active bombs jettisoned by the Luftwaffe or by US & RAF planes returning to East Anglian airfields will also be on the professionals’ hit list.

Maritime archaeologists are enlisted to handle historic findings. Marine mammal observers will support the monitoring of wildlife, including seals.

Located 70 kilometres off Great Yarmouth, East Anglia 3 will when complete comprise as many as 100 turbines towering 260 metres above the North Sea.  Nearly 150 kilometres of cables will link the finished venture’s structures and a marine converter station.

The venture has a rated capacity of 1.4GW, capable of making clean electricity for more than a million homes.

Hughes Subsea boss Mike Bailey explained his firm and OEGR are leaders in the highly specialist field of surveying, identifying and responsibly clearing confirmed UXOs.

“We are very much looking forward to working with ScottishPower Renewables on EA3”, Bailey added.

“As a responsible developer, safety is our number one concern”,  responded Matt Wooltorton, construction manager for East Anglia THREE.

“Our priority is to minimise the potential impact of any unexploded ordnance on both the seabed and sealife around our windfarm while we deliver more clean energy to the grid.”

Foundation laying for East Anglia 3 could start later this year.  Public engagement on the project began in November 2012, and it was consented in 2017.

The post Boom-free summer for bomb squad, defusing mines across offshore turbine site appeared first on theenergyst.com.

National Grid Electricity System Operator (NG-ESO) has offered Birkhill Wood, a proposed new 400kV substation in Yorkshire’s East Riding, to link Dogger Bank’s power into the national backbone.  The offer to development partners SSE Renewables and Equinor comes as part of NG-ESO’s Great Grid Upgrade.

Its announcement follows the ESO’s recent publication of its impact assessment of all intended marine turbines in the North Sea’s South Cluster, relating to energy projects needing connections into transmission backbones.

In October the first of Dogger Bank’s 277 turbines began pumping power ashore.  Sited at their closest 70 nautical miles off Yorkshire, the four phases are scheduled for completion in 2026.

With the location of a grid connection confirmed, Dogger Bank D will now focus its full attention on connecting to the electrical transmission system.

The project is also exploring the future possibility of the development of Dogger Bank D to be coordinated with an Offshore Hybrid Asset between the UK and another European country’s electricity market to form a multi-purpose interconnector.

This option would increase energy security for the UK and reduce the need to curtail offshore wind output in times of oversupply on the GB network.

The project team are now choosing sites for routing cables, assessing where other land-based infrastructure serving Birkhill Wood’s grid connection may be sited.  Community consultations will follow later this year.

With a connection location now confirmed by the ESO, SSE and Equinor have confirmed’s they’re stepping back from their alternative option, namely directing Dogger Bank D’s power towards producing green hydrogen. The duo had presented the clean gas as a possibility when first presenting the project early last year.

Following public consultations last year, the developers intend publishing later this month a project update for Dogger Bank D.

The post Dogger Bank 4 offered Birkhill Wood as connection point appeared first on theenergyst.com.

The trade body’s latest EnergyPulse Insights Offshore Wind report reveals that 14 wind farms are already eligible to bid into this year’s CfD auctions. Together they can provide nearly 10.3GW of new capacity.

Known as Allocation Round 6, the auctions take place over the summer.  Last year the government’s notorious failure to raise the scheme’s administrative strike price resulted in no offshore bids being made.

Previous records permitting new offshore turbines were set in 2022 when 8.5GW was eligible across seven projects.

In addition to this year’s 10.3GW of already qualifying marine projects, a further 4.7GW of new offshore capacity –  out of 8.7GW already in the planning system – could become eligible, before applications open for AR6 in late March.

If these projects were to receive government consent, the report calculates that a total 14.9GW of offshore wind capacity would be eligible for this year’s auction.

Being eligible does not mean that projects will choose to bid in to AR6, the report notes. But they have the potential to do so.

The 14.9GW of potential new capacity this year exceeds 14.7GW of fully operational turbines already spinning off around Britain.  That marine base currently generates 14% of the nation’s entire electricity needs.

A benchmark single gigawatt of offshore turbines generates enough electricity to run just over a million British homes for a year, according to the lobby group.

RenewableUK’s latest EnergyPulse Insights shows too that a further 5.2GW is already under construction in UK waters. Nearly 45GW could be fully operational by the end of 2030.

During March D-ESNZ is due to set out AR6’s budget and parameters for this summer’s  auction,

That timeline is leading RenewableUK to call for ministers to aim high, and maximise the amount of capacity Britain can secure.

Turbines generating now in the world’s oceans have risen 12.5% in the past twelve months alone, the report reveals.   Britain ranks second globally, that 14.7GW operating capacity sandwiching us between China’s 34.7GW and Germany’s 8.3GW. The graph shows the world’s top nine coastal generating nations.

In terms of the body’s estimate of 1,078GW of marine farms now in development, the global triad is similar.  China is top with 195.5GW, the UK second at 99.5GW and Sweden third with 85GW.

RenewableUK’s chief executive Dan McGrail said: “The government has a unique cha chance to strengthen UK energy security, with a record number of new offshore wind farms eligible to bid.

“We’re urging ministers to be ambitious when they set out the auction budget and parameters next month”.

Details of the EnergyPulse report are available to RenewableUK members here.

The post ‘Think big, to keep UK’s sea turbines in world league’, wind body urges ministers appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Ocean Winds is a 50:50 joint venture by Madrid-based developer EDP Renewables and retailer ENGIE. The offtake is enough to power a notional 650,000 UK homes annually.

Located in the Moray Firth off Scotland’s north east coast, the 882MW offshore farm is currently under construction, and anticipated to generate its first power in 2024.

The PPA deal rests on Ocean Winds speeding up the park’s construction. Moray West will support Amazon’s goal of powering all operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of the company’s original target.

Paulo Almirante, ENGIE Senior Executive Vice-President Renewables & Energy Management, said: “This deal strengthens ENGIE’s leadership position for CPPAs, through which we have sold a substantial capacity of renewable electricity generated by its wind and solar assets.”

“This CPPA’s innovative character shows it is possible to create, together with Amazon, the conditions to achieve the UK objectives of renewables deployment and Net Zero economy.

ENGIE signed 19 ground-breaking deals last year, spanning five countries, covering over 1GW of clean energy capacity, bolstering ENGIE’s CPPA portfolio to 7.3GW.

Every year since 2021, Amazon’s investments in solar and wind have enthroned the company as Europe’s as well as Britain’s biggest corporate purchaser of renewable energy.

The multinational announced 39 new renewables projects across Europe last year, adding more than 1GW of dedicated low carbon capacity to the region’s grids.

Between 2014 and 2022, Amazon says its clean power investments in Britain alone amount to £285 million. They supported 600 local jobs in 2022 alone.

Lindsay McQuade, director of energy for Amazon Web Services covering Europe, said: “Projects like Moray West will play a critical role in decarbonising Amazon’s operations and the UK grid.”

“We are on track to meet our ambitious goal of powering our global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. In 2022, 90% of electricity consumed by Amazon was attributable to renewable energy sources”.

Bautista Rodriguez, CEO at the Ocean Winds joint venture, said: “I am proud that the collective efforts of the Moray West and Ocean Winds teams, working closely with ENGIE, helped secure this important deal with Amazon.

“The programme for delivery is ambitious but the project and sponsor boards have supported us to keep the project firmly on track.”

Moray West represents continued investment by Ocean Winds to deliver its 2025 targets of up to 7GW of projects in operation, or construction, and up to 10 GW under advanced development. The project, part of the company’s 6GW portfolio of secured offshore wind farms in the UK, is expected to inject up to £500 million in the local Scottish economy throughout its lifespan, and during construction phases it will create and support more than 1,000 jobs in Scotland, with 70 long-term operational roles. Local supply chains are prioritised, through a new operational team based in the coastal town of Buckie.

The post Amazon backs Moray West & Ocean Winds with 473MW PPA appeared first on theenergyst.com.