Monthly Archives: June 2021

June 1, 2021

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Testing, inspection, and certification firm Bureau Veritas has been selected to carry out project certification for the Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland.

The offshore wind farm is expected to be fully operational by 2024, with up to 85 wind turbines installed and two offshore substation platforms.

The Moray West offshore wind farm has a grid connection capacity of 860 MW. Export cables running a total of 65 km in length will transport the wind farms generated power beneath the seabed to a landfall location east of Sandend Bay on the Aberdeenshire Coast.

Under the contract, Bureau Veritas will be providing independent verification and will deliver full project certification including design review, manufacturing surveillance, transport and installation surveillance, and commissioning surveillance.

Adam Morrison,Project Director, Moray West, said: "As Moray West continues to develop in terms of engineering design, and as we prepare for the construction phase starting in 2022, subject to securing a Contracts for Difference, we welcome Bureau Veritas, which will perform important certification services on the project. We are particularly pleased that this work will be delivered by skilled engineers at the UK offices of Bureau Veritas. This expands our support for UK suppliers and provides a sustainable domestic supply chain for the growing offshore wind sector.

Laurent Louail, Executive Vice-President, CIF* South & West Europe, Bureau Veritas, said: "As a key player in the energy transition, we support our clients in their efforts to implement sustainable resources such as offshore wind to bring about a more sustainable world. In this context, we are proud to contribute to the UKs ambitious plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Through our BV Green Line of Renewables services and solutions, we look forward to helping Moray West sustainably design, build and operate its assets.

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Bureau Veritas to Certify Moray West Offshore Wind Farm - Offshore Engineer

Upwards of 172,000 more people will need to be trained to GWO standards over the next five years to meet the global offshore wind power market demand in line with health and safety standards, a new report has found.

These workers will need to be trained to construct, install, operate and maintain the worlds growing offshore wind fleet, representing only a fraction of the job opportunities available in the growing wind industry, the report states.

The report, The Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2021-2025, was released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Global Wind Organisation (GWO) in partnership with the Renewables Consulting Group (RCG).

This workforce will be needed for the build-out of 90.1 GW of new offshore wind capacity in the next five years globally, according to the report.

Overall, onshore and offshore wind will need over 480,000 more people trained to GWO standards to meet the demand.

Currently, the GWO training market, considered the global standard for wind workforce training, has the capacity to support the training needs of 150,000 workers by the end of 2021 and 200,000 by the end of 2022.

But analysis in The Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2021-2025 finds that at least 280,000 more trained workers will be needed to install the forecast 490 GW of new wind power capacity coming online over the next five years.

Over 70 per cent of the new global workforce training demand will come from the 10 markets analysed in the report, including: Brazil, China, Japan, India, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United States of America, and Vietnam.

The markets analysed in the report were selected for regional diversity, as well as spanning the largest onshore wind markets globally, high-growth markets for onshore and offshore wind, and emerging wind markets.

Ben Backwell, CEO at GWEC said: The wind industry needs to scale up at an unprecedented rate over the next decade to put the world on track to meet net zero. If ambition is scaled up to what it needs to be three or four times current market forecasts the workforce training requirements will be far higher than what was found in this report. To meet this challenge, we need to prepare now for the workforce of the future, and this means training hundreds of thousands of workers across the world to be part of one of the fastest-growing industries. But we need to ensure this workforce is trained to the highest global standards to ensure the health and safety of all.

For already large wind markets like the US and China, scaling up training capacity can provide new job opportunities and increase productivity through the recognition of GWO standards.

Emerging economies will need to develop their safety and technical training networks from the ground up to ensure alignment with global safety systems to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry.

There is a lot of talk about how many GWs of wind power we will need to achieve net zero, but there isnt a lot of discussion about the workforce we will need to realise the ambitions on the ground, Jakob Lau Holst, CEO at GWO, said.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the world, even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, work on the turbines that power our economies and protect our planet, and it is crucial that we keep these people safe. Having GWO safety training standards is one of the most efficient ways to make sure our workforce is staying safe and that we have the people we need to accelerate the global energy transition.

Overall, there is significant untapped potential for the training and industrial education supply chain in countries across the world, and organisations in scope to deliver the additional training capacity needed can develop GWO programmes now to meet this future demand, the report states.

Ed Maxwell, Principal at the Renewables Consulting Group, said: By combining historic training data, onshore and offshore installation capacity forecasts, key market insights and our in-depth understanding of health and safety in the global wind industry, we have been able to accurately model the future demand for GWO-trained personnel over the next five years a critical period in the path to net zero. The model and the presented forecasts will be regularly refined as more data becomes available and as the pace of capacity growth accelerates.

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Offshore Wind Will Need Over 172,000 More GWO-Trained People by 2025 - Report - Offshore WIND

Transmission system operator TenneT has issued a notice for a turnkey contract covering the cable system needed to connect the BorWin6 offshore platform to the German grid.

With the 930 MW BorWin6 project, TenneT is planning a direct current connection in the North Sea Cluster 7.

Scheduled to be commissioned by 2027, the BorWin6 offshore grid connection will collect the three-phase current generated at an offshore wind farm to be selected in the 2022 auction round.

The three-phase current will then be converted into the direct current on the BorWin kappa offshore converter platform and transported to the mainland in Bsum via an export cable approximately 189 kilometres in length.

From there, the electricity is to be transported to the BUTL grid connection point near Bttel via an approximately 46-kilometre underground cable.

The content of this tender is the turnkey and ready-to-use construction of the entire DC cable system required for this, TenneT said.

The cable system consists of two DC single conductor submarine cables, two DC single conductor land cables, optical fibers, sleeves, and cable terminations.

In addition, the scope of delivery and performance of the cable system includes its design, manufacture, delivery, construction, installation and commissioning as well as all systems, ancillary systems and components that are required for safe and highly available operation of the cable system.

The tender remains open until 14 July. The contract will have a duration of 64 months.

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Cable Connection Needed for German Offshore Platform - Offshore WIND

This images shows wind turbines in the North Sea, off the coast of Belgium.

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

Energy major Equinor said Wednesday it was working with RWE Renewables and Hydro REIN on an application for the development of a "large-scale" offshore wind farm in the Norwegian North Sea.

According to a statement, the companies will work together on submitting a proposal to authorities in Norway for the facility, which would be located in an area known as Srlige Nordsj II.

Pal Eitrheim, Equinor's executive vice president for new energy solutions, described the North Sea as having "among the world's best wind resources."

"A large-scale offshore wind farm at Srlige Nordsj II could play a key role in expanding the North Sea as an offshore energy hub and create new industrial opportunities for Norway as an energy nation," he added.

Formerly known as Statoil, Equinor's biggest shareholder is the Norwegian state. A significant player in the oil and gas industry, the company has also sought to diversify its portfolio to include renewables.

Among other things, it is a key backer of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a major offshore wind project off the coast of northeast England.

In June 2020, Norwegian authorities opened up two areas in the North Sea the aforementioned Srlige Nordsj II and another called Utsira Nord for the development of offshore renewables.

In practice, this allows interested parties to put forward license applications for renewable energy projects. The opening up came into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

Together, Srlige Nordsj II and Utsira Nord "allow for the development" of 4,500 megawatts of wind power, according to Norway's government. Equinor, RWE and Hydro REIN, a subsidiary of industrial firm Hydro, did not disclose the size of their project in Wednesday's announcement.

While it has a long association with oil and gas that looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, the North Sea is also becoming a hub for offshore wind.

As well as projects like Dogger Bank Wind Farm, it's already home to major offshore wind facilities such as the 174 turbine, 1.2 gigawatt Hornsea One.

Danish energy firm Orsted says Hornsea One covers an area of around 407 square kilometers and is able to power "well over one million UK homes."

On Tuesday, port operator Forth Ports announced plans for a "renewable energy hub" at the Port of Leith in Scotland.

The proposed hub, which would be backed by 40 million ($56.55 million) of private investment, is slated to cover 175 acres if built.

According to those behind the project, it would offer a "riverside marine berth capable of accommodating the world's largest offshore wind installation vessels."

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Charles Hammond, chief executive of Forth Ports, listed a number of factors which made the project an attractive one.

He said: "Leith's proximity to the North Sea, which is set to become home to many more offshore wind developments, coupled with the natural deep waters of the Firth of Forth, makes this an ideal location to support not only those developments already planned, but the pipeline of projects that are sure to follow."

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European energy giants team up to develop large-scale offshore wind project in North Sea - CNBC

Power industry observers were optimistic about prospects for the US to meet its bold target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 but permitting hurdles and potential supply chain obstacles were common threads of concern during Reuters' US offshore wind conference May 26.

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Federal and state policy seem to have aligned on the importance of offshore wind to US energy and climate goals at a time that industry and public support are also favoring the technology, Xizhou Zhou, vice president and global managing director, global power and renewables, at IHS Markit, said. "But we also cannot ignore the challenges that lie ahead."

Among those are a fairly complex regulatory approval process that has caused frustration among some pioneering project developers and the lack of a dedicated supply chain, Zhou said. He also noted the need for more coordination and investment in transmission as well as port and Jones Act vessel restrictions that could hamper US offshore wind development.

Ruth Perry, a business environment adviser at Shell, said a major obstacle to offshore wind development was the lack of predictability created by the current regulatory process. And Joshua Bennett, vice president of offshore wind at Dominion Energy, flagged five areas in which the US would need to improve upon if it wanted to build a supply chain capable of meeting the demand of building 30 GW by 2030.

"The offshore wind industry at present is very policy- and target-driven, as the economics compared with other forms of renewables is not competitive in most US locations," Manan Ahuja, S&P Global Platts Analytics' manager of North American power analytics, said in an email May 26. "Also, we have seen in recent experience that it is not easy to site and get approvals for offshore wind construction and related transmission needed."

Platts Analytics' latest long-term forecast, published prior to the recent offshore wind announcements for California, expects 13 GW of offshore wind to be built by 2030 in the US Lower-48, incorporating commitments made by various states.

"We have to get better, both industry and government, at really setting expectations in terms of the permitting process," Shell's Perry said. "Unfortunately, we're having to build the plane as we fly it a bit, and we have to get better at doing that."

Doing so will require "enabling technologies, refocusing how we look at consultations and permits and [figuring out] what can we do to make those efforts more efficient," she said.

Further, "as that plane is being built, ... we need to have the next team on the ground that's building the second, more technologically advanced model, and that's where we really look at [the Department of Energy]."

DOE, for instance, could be starting to address concerns and challenges surrounding floating wind turbines so hesitations are eliminated and permitting processes are more efficient by the time that technology is ready for commercial scale, Perry said.

"I think if we can make some improvements but also really build our coordination and collaboration, we will see innovation in the government processes and we'll see efficiencies in the regulatory reform," she said.

Zhou suggested that it was important to remember that the US' offshore wind aspirations were not happening in a bubble. Globally, about 35 GW of installed offshore wind capacity exists today, with about 285 GW of offshore wind projects in the pipeline, according to IHS Markit's latest data.

About 70% of existing offshore wind capacity is located in Europe, Zhou said. And the US, with 33 GW of proposed offshore wind projects, accounts for about 11% of the global total of project proposals, as a number of European countries, China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Brazil also have plans for significant offshore wind capacity growth.

"On one hand, global-scale collaboration can help spur technological progress and then reduce costs for everybody, and we've seen that in the onshore wind, solar industries and many other sectors," Zhou said. "But on the flip side, there could also be times when there are limitations and bottlenecks in that supply chain. And when that happens, developers will have to compete with each other."

Because projects around the world are already competing for the same equipment manufacturers, engineering and construction capacity, "US developers will need to pay attention to what's happening in the global marketplace to make a judgment about how to pace project development and supply chain buildout in this country," Zhou said.

Still, he said IHS Markit was "relatively optimistic" about offshore wind's future in the US and expected the Biden administration's medium-term goals in 2030 and 2035 would "largely be met." Beyond that, IHS Markit's long-term outlook put US offshore wind at more than 60 GW by midcentury, Zhou said.

Asked about building a US supply chain, Dominion's Bennett pointed to project certainty among the necessary steps.

"Now that the projects are moving along in the permitting process, it's sending a very clear message to industry to finance, design and build and manufacture capacity to support the growth of the offshore wind industry," he said.

Bennet also asserted a need to form partnerships with existing companies with experience in the sector and potentially European counterparts looking to expand into the US market, as well as to form business alliances across the different areas of the supply chain, from shipbuilding to import services, to foster regional growth.

Port infrastructure development, including upgrades to manage load density and marshaling space requirements and increase the capacity and efficiency of the port, and reviving manufacturing tax credits would also be important, he said.

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Permitting, supply chain issues flagged as US charts offshore wind expansion - S&P Global

The first master control system for an offshore wind turbine made in China was put into operation on 29 May at Huadians Fuqing Haitan Strait offshore wind project.

The Huadian Ruifeng 6.2 MW master control system, installed on one of the offshore wind farms turbines, is based on a CPU processor and software developed in the country.

This is the first time a China-developed wind power master control system, including key technologies covering independent design, simulation test and engineering application, was applied in offshore wind generators, Xinhua reports.

The Fuqing Haitan Strait project, developed by China Huadian Corporation, features 22 MingYang MySE7.0-158 turbines with a rated power of 7 MW and a rotor diameter of 158 metres.

The 300 MW offshore wind farm, locatednear the shore off the northeast part of Longgao peninsula in the Fuqing county, produced first power in December 2020.

The offshore wind farm, which can power around half of a million households, is the first offshore wind project for China Huadian Corporation.

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China Switches On Its First Offshore Wind Turbine Master Control System - Offshore WIND

Presented by RenewableUK, GOW21 will focus on how the sector can support 2050 climate targets in the UK.

The programme will be supported and enriched by Event Partners RWE, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, SSE Renewables, rsted, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and Vestas. There will also be a world-class speaker line-up with individuals from a vast array of organisations, including government bodies, manufacturers, developers, project managers, stakeholders, planners and trade press, to name but a few. Plus, the eclectic speaker and delegate mix and virtual event tools will provide unparalleled networking opportunities.

Discover what challenges still lie ahead as offshore wind expands, how reliability and affordability of zero carbon technology could be further improved, and how all this will impact the wider renewable energy market.

The hybrid, Covid-19-safe event will feature:

With the climate crisis coming to the forefront of worldwide agenda, the offshore wind sector is full of opportunity and innovation. Be a part of it at GOW21.

For more details, please visit: https://events.renewableuk.com/gow21-overview

#RUKGOW21

This article is supported by RenewableUK.

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Save the dates for RenewableUK's Global Offshore Wind 2021 - http://www.businessgreen.com

30 May 2021

Ballard Spahr LLP

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In the first episode of our Energy and Environment Reviewseries, Ballard's energy and environmental lawyers will addressthe energy evolution driven by climate change, renewable energyinnovation, electrification and energy efficiency, as consumers,generators and investors alike strive for a sustainable future.Today's episode features a discussion of the state of theoffshore wind energy business in the U.S., including regulatory andenvironmental issues, developments under the Biden Administration,and coming areas of opportunity for further development.

Leading the discussion is Brendan Collins, a Partner inBallard's Philadelphia office who is the Practice Leader of thefirm's Manufacturing Group and an environmental lawyer whodevotes his practice primarily to clients in the electric powersector and the oil and gas industry.

Brendan's guest is Jennifer Simon Lento, General Counsel,Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at Vineyard Wind,a developer of one of the largest U.S. offshore wind projects.

A Recording Transcript will be available shortly

To view the podcast please click here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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Jones Day

On January 27, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008 ("E.O. 14008"), implementing a temporary pause on the auction of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water while the President's administration reviews the program.

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Recent Developments In The Offshore Wind Energy Industry With Special Guest Jennifer Simon Lento Of Vineyard Wind - Energy and Natural Resources -...

New Zealands offer to resettle refugees from Australias offshore immigration detention system remains on the table, and the imminent end of Australias long-running US refugee swap could bring it under more urgent consideration from Australia.

The office of Jacinda Ardern confirmed to the Guardian that her countrys position had not changed the longstanding offer to accept 150 refugees from Australias offshore islands each year still stood but declined to confirm whether it was on the agenda for the New Zealand prime ministers meeting with her Australian counterpart on Sunday. We dont discuss the content of bilaterals before they take place.

Ardern and Scott Morrison will meet on Sunday and Monday in Queenstown.

Nine years after Australia restarted offshore processing, and more than seven years since the last asylum seeker was sent offshore, 239 refugees and asylum seekers remain held within Australias offshore islands processing regime: 109 on Nauru and 130 in Papua New Guinea.

According to government figures, 1,223 transitory persons are in Australia, brought back from offshore processing islands. This cohort might also be considered by Australia at least as candidates for resettlement.

Australia has repeatedly said it would consider resettling refugees in New Zealand only after its 2016 deal with the US was extinguished.

Under the Obama-era deal condemned as horrible and disgusting but ultimately honoured by his successor, Donald Trump the US has agreed to take up to 1,250 refugees from Australias offshore system, in exchange for Australia accepting refugees from the northern triangle of Central America held in US-run camps.

The US has so far resettled 936 refugees from Australia, and a further 258 have been provisionally accepted. That would bring the number resettled in America to 1,194, close to the deals cap.

US sources with knowledge of the program say that despite the Biden administration increasing the size of its refugee resettlement program for 2021, there will be no additional places for refugees held by Australia.

In October 2020 the secretary of Australias home affairs department, Mike Pezzullo, confirmed to a Senate estimates hearing that Australia would consider the New Zealand resettlement offer to accept 150 refugees from offshore each year once the US deal was extinguished.

The Australian government is grateful for that offer from the government of New Zealand its an offer that remains under active consideration.

The home affairs deputy secretary Marc Ablong told the Senate: We are getting close to the end of the program. The United States agreed to take a certain number and were starting to reach that number.

Craig Foster and Sonny Bill Williams, working with Amnesty International, said many refugees risked being left behind by the end of the US resettlement deal.

By accepting this offer, the torment they have endured for almost eight years could finally and mercifully end, Foster, a former Socceroo and spokesman for the Game Over campaign, said.

Williams, a former New Zealand All Black, said politics should be put aside in favour of a humanitarian solution.

New Zealand has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees, and theyve been offering this solution since 2013. Its time to accept it and let people rebuild their lives.

Australia had previously said it was reluctant to allow refugees to resettle in New Zealand because, after five years, they could claim citizenship and would be eligible to travel without restriction to Australia: a position belied by the fact that Australia regularly prevents some New Zealand citizens from entering Australia.

Last time Australia ran an offshore detention program, between 2001 and 2007, several hundred refugees were ultimately resettled in New Zealand.

And at least one, high-profile, refugee from Australias most recent offshore detention regime has already resettled in New Zealand. The journalist and author Behrouz Boochani flew to New Zealand in 2019 to speak at a literary festival in Christchurch: he was granted asylum.

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New Zealand offer to resettle Australias offshore refugees still active as US deal nears end - The Guardian