Category Archives: Offshore

Most of the ocean is unknown. Yet we know that the most challenging environments on the planet reside in it. Understanding the ocean in its totality is a key component for the sustainable development of human activities and for the mitigation of climate change, as proclaimed by the United Nations. We are glad to share our perspective about the role of soft robots in ocean exploration and offshore operations at the outset of the ocean decade (2021-2030).

In this study of the Soft Systems Group (part of The School of Engineering at The University of Edinburgh), we focus on the two ends of the water column: the abyss and the surface. The former is mostly unexplored, containing unknown physical, biological and chemical properties; the latter is where industrial offshore activities take place, and where human operators face dangerous environmental conditions.

The analysis of recent developments in soft robotics brought to light their potential in solving some of the challenges that industry and scientists are facing at sea. The paper offers a discussion about how we can use the latest technological advances in soft robotics to overcome the limitations of existing technology. We synthesise the crucial characteristics that future marine robots should include.

Today we know that industrial growth needs to be supported by deep environmental and technological knowledge in order to develop human activities in a sustainable manner. Therefore, the remotest areas of the ocean constitute a common frontier for oceanography, robotics and offshore industry. The first challenge then is to create an interdisciplinary space where marine scientists, ocean engineers, roboticists and industry can communicate.

The offshore renewable energy sector is growing fast. By definition, wind and wave energy is better sourced from areas of the seas with a high energy content, which translates into wave dominated environments. In such conditions, operating in the vicinity of an offshore platform is dangerous for personnel and potentially destructive for traditional robots.

Recent development in soft robotics unveiled novel, bio-inspired maneuvering techniques, fluidic logic data logging capabilities and unprecedented dexterity. These characteristics would enable data collection, maintenance and repair interventions, unfeasible with rigid robots.

Traditional devices, often tethered, rigid and with limited activity range, cannot tackle the environmental conditions where ocean exploration is needed the most. The devices needed for ocean exploration require an innovative payload and delicate sampling capabilities. Soft sensors and soft gripping techniques are optimum candidates to push ocean exploration into fragile and unknown areas that require delicate sampling and gentle navigation. The inherent compliance of soft robots also protects the environment and the payload from damage. More importantly, recent studies have highlighted the potential for the manufacturing of soft robots to be entirely biocompatible and, hence, to minimise the impact on the natural environment in case of loss or mass deployment.

In a nutshell, soft robots for marine exploration and offshore deployment offer the advantage, over traditional devices, of novel navigation and manipulation techniques, unprecedented sensing and sampling capabilities, biocompatibility and novel memory and data logging methods. With this study we wish to invite a multidisciplinary approach in order to create novel sustainable soft systems.

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Soft robots for ocean exploration and offshore operations: A perspective - Robohub

General Electric (GE) is tapping into the knowledge and expertise from its aviation and healthcare businesses to advance its wind turbine technology. The company is researching the design and manufacture of 3-D printed wind turbine blades, and developing a high-efficiency ultra-light low temperature superconducting (LTS) generator.

GE Research, GE Renewable Energy, and LM Wind Power (owned by GE Renewable Energy) have recently been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to research 3-D printed wind turbine blades, with the GE team building on its materials and composites expertise in the aviation industry.

The GE business units will partner with the Oakridge National Lab and the National Renewable Energy Lab on the 25-month USD 6.7 million project to develop and demonstrate an integrated additive manufacturing process for novel high- performance blade designs. The project, which will focus on low-cost thermoplastic skin coupled with printed reinforcement, will deliver a full-size blade tip ready to be structurally tested, as well as three blade tips that will be installed on a wind turbine.

We were the first to introduce lightweight composite fan blades in our jet engines more than two decades ago. Today, with our business partners and leading National Laboratories, were bringing that experience and more to deliver a more advanced wind blade to take wind power to the next level of cost and performance, said Todd Anderson, Principal Investigator at GE Research.

In mid-January, GE Research Lab was awarded additional USD 20.3 million from the DOE to build and test a prototype of a high-efficiency ultra-light low temperature superconducting (LTS) generator, leveraging innovations from GEs MRI business.

The generator will be tailored for offshore wind and scalable beyond 12 MW.

The aim of this project is to develop a more powerful generator for offshore wind turbines, while minimising the size and weight of the generator design. In addition, the use of superconducting magnets would also eliminate the need for rare earth materials, essential ingredients in the permanent magnets currently being used in offshore wind turbines.

With MRI, we have worked over many decades to increase the magnetic field of the superconducting magnets to deliver better image quality. In wind, were seeking to strengthen the magnetic field of the magnet to make generators that deliver more wind power with higher efficiency.And with both applications, the goal is to enable these improvements while minimizing their size and weight, saidDavid Torrey, a Senior Principal Engineer and Project Leader on the Superconducting generator project.

For the LTS generator project, GE first received a grant from DOE in 2019, together with three other projects developing next-generation drivetrain technologies.

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GE Using Aviation and MRI Expertise to Advance Wind Turbine Technology - Offshore WIND

TipRanks

Weve got a full month of 2021 behind us now, and a few trends are coming clearer. The coronavirus crisis may still be with us, but as vaccination programs expand, the end is in sight. With President Trump out of the picture, and the Democrats holding both Houses of Congress and the White House, politics is looking more predictable. And both of those developments bode well for an economic recovery this year. Looking back, at the year that was, we can also see some trends that stayed firm despite the pandemic, the shutdowns, and the supercharged election season. One of the most important is the ongoing rollout of 5G networking technology. These new networks bring with them a fuller realization of the promises inherent in the digital world. Faster connections, lower latency, higher online capacity, clearer signals all will strongly enhance the capabilities of the networked world. And it wont just be mundane things like telecommuting or remote offices that will benefit 5G will allow Internet of Things and autonomous vehicles to further develop their potential. There is even talk of medical applications, of remotely located doctors performing surgery via digitally controlled microsurgical tools. And these are just the possibilities that we can see from now. Who know what the future will really bring? To this end, we pulled up TipRanks database to learn more about three exciting plays in the 5G space. According to the Street, we are likely to see further interesting developments in the next few years as this technology takes over. Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) The first 5G name were looking at, Skyworks, is a semiconductor chip manufacturer that brought in $3.4 billion in total revenues for FY2020. Skyworks, which is a prime supplier of chips for Apples iPhone series, saw a massive 68% year-over-year increase in 1QFY21 revenues the top line reached $1.51 billion, a company record, and also much higher than analysts had forecast. Much of Skyworks fiscal Q1 sales success came after Apple launched the 5G-capable iPhone 12 line. Strong sales in the popular handset device meant that profits trickled down the supply line and Skyworks channels a disproportionate share of its business to Apple. In fact, Apple orders accounted for 70% of Skyworks revenue in the recent quarter. iPhone wasnt the only 5G handset on the receiving end of Skyworks chips, however the company is also an important supplier to Koreas Samsung and Chinas Xiaomi, and has seen demand rise as these companies also launch 5G-capable smartphones. Finally, Skyworks supplies semiconductor chip components to the wireless infrastructure sector, specifically to the small cell transmission units which are important in the propagation network of wireless signals. As the wireless providers switch to 5G transmission, Skyworks has seen orders for its products increase. In his note on Skyworks for Benchmark, 5-star analyst Ruben Roy writes: SWKS significantly beat consensus estimates and provided March quarter guidance that is also well ahead of consensus estimates as 5G related mobile revenue and broad-based segment revenue continued to accelerate In addition to continued strength of design win momentum and customer activity, we are encouraged with SWKS confident tone relative to the overall demand environment and content increase opportunities. In line with his comments, Roy rates SWKS a Buy along with a $215 price target. At current levels, this implies an upside of 20% for the coming year. (To watch Roys track record, click here) Roy is broadly in line with the rest of Wall Street, which has assigned SWKS 13 Buy ratings and 7 Holds over the past three month -- and sees the stock growing about 15% over the next 12 months, to a target price of $205.69.(See SWKS stock analysis on TipRanks) Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) Qorvos chief products are chipsets used in the construction of radio frequency transmission systems that power wifi and broadband communication networks. The connection of this niche to 5G is clear as network providers upgrade their RF hardware to 5G, they also upgrade the semiconductor chips that control the systems. This chip maker has a solid niche, but it is not resting on its laurels. Qorvo is actively developing a range of new products specifically for 5G systems and deployment. This 5G radio frequency product portfolio includes phase shifters, switches, and integrated modules, and contains both infrastructure and mobile products. Qorvo posted $3.24 billion in total revenues for fiscal 2020. That revenue represents a 4.8% year-over-year increase and the companys sales have been accelerating in fiscal 2021. The most recent quarterly report, for the second fiscal quarter, showed $1.06 billion in revenues, a 31% yoy increase. Rajvindra Gill, 5-star analyst with Needham, is bullish on Qorvos prospects, noting: Qorvo reported strong sales and gross margins as 5G momentum rolls into CY21 on atypical seasonality... The company is planning for 500M 5G handsets to be manufactured in 2021, with an incremental $5-7 of content/unit from 4G to 5G. Management believes that ultra-wideband adoption will be a key growth driver in for smartphones going forward..." To this end, Gill puts a $220 price target on QRVO shares, suggesting room for 31% upside in 2021. Accordingly, he rates the stock a Buy. (To watch Gills track record, click here) What do other analysts have to say? 13 Buys and and 6 Holds add up to a Moderate Buy analyst consensus. Given the $192.28 average price target, shares could climb ~15% from current levels. (See QRVO stock analysis on TipRanks) Telefonakiebolaget LM Ericsson (ERIC) From chipsets, well move on to handsets. Ericsson, the Swedish telecom giant has long been a leader in mobile tech, and is well known for its infrastructure and software that make possible IP networking, broadband, cable TV, and other telecom services. Ericsson is the largest European telecom company, and the largest 2G/3G/4G infrastructure provider outside of China. But that is all in the background. Ericsson is also a leader in the rollout of Europes growing 5G networks. Ericsson is involved in 5G rollout in 17 countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, and its product line includes infrastructure base units and handsets, giving the company an interest in all aspects of the new 5G networks. Ericssons revenue performance in 2020 was not notably distressed by the corona crisis. Yes, the top line dipped in Q1, but that was in line with the companys historical pattern of rising revenue from Q1 through Q4. While the companys 1H20 revenues showed small yoy declines, the 2H20 gains were higher. In Q3, the $6.48 billion top line was up 8.7% yoy, and Q4s $8.08 billion revenue was up 17% from the prior year. The companys shares have also performed well during the corona year, and show a 12 month gain of 64%. Raymond James 5-star analyst Simon Leopold bluntly assigns Ericssons recent gains to its participation in 5G rollouts. Japan's awaited 5G roll-out has started. Share gains continue as Ericsson benefits from challenges facing its biggest competitors and more operators embrace 5G it seems obvious that Ericsson should be gaining market share... Competitor Nokia shunned the Chinese 5G projects, citing profitability challenges, yet Ericsson appears to be profiting in the challenging region. Leopold rates this stock an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $15 price target implies an upside potential of ~14% for the year ahead. (To watch Leopolds track record, click here) The Raymond James analyst, while bullish on ERIC, is actually less so than the Wall Street consensus. The stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on a unanimous 5 reviews, and the $16.50 average price target indicates 25% growth potential from the share price of $13.19. (See ERIC stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for 5G stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Kris Ohleth Named Executive Director of the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind - Yahoo Finance

The move is part of the Biden administrations plan to speed up development of renewable energy on federal lands and waters.

The Biden administration said on Wednesday it would restart permitting for the first key offshore wind farm in the United States, reversing a Trump administration decision that cancelled the process late last year.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said in a statement it would resume an environmental review of the Vineyard Wind project as part of the administrations broad plan to speed up renewable energy development on federal lands and waters.

BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project, Director Amanda Lefton said in the statement.

In December, Vineyard Wind requested a pause in the federal permitting process while it determined whether changes to its design were necessary because of a switch in turbine manufacturers, prompting BOEM to terminate its entire review.

Former President Donald Trump had promised to support the nascent US industry as part of his energy-dominance agenda, but the allowing of Vineyard Wind to go ahead was delayed repeatedly in part due to concerns its turbines would interfere with commercial fishing.

Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid Inc, a unit of Spains Iberdrola, and Denmarks Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The project is 15 miles (24 kilometres) off the coast of Massachusetts. Once constructed, it is expected to provide power to more than 400,000 Massachusetts homes.

Were very pleased, Vineyard Wind said in a statement. We look forward to working with the agency as we launch an industry that will create thousands of good-paying jobs while also taking meaningful steps to reduce the impact of climate change.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a fishing industry group, said it hoped the resumption of the permitting process would provide new opportunities for the public to weigh in on the project.

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Change in the air: US to restart review of big offshore wind farm - Aljazeera.com

(Courtesy Department of Interior)

Offshore staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) says it intends to resume the environmental review of Vineyard Winds proposed offshore wind project.

BOEM Director Amanda Lefton said: BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project.

On Jan. 22, 2021, Vineyard Wind submitted a letter rescinding its temporary construction and operations plan (COP) withdrawal and requesting that BOEM resume review of the 800-MW wind energy project offshore Massachusetts.

The proposed project would be located about 12 nautical mi offshore Marthas Vineyard and 12 nautical mi offshore Nantucket in the northern portion of its lease area.

Vineyard Wind had paused the departments consideration of its proposal while it reviewed whether the use of Haliade-X turbines warranted any modifications to the COP.

Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

It still expects to reach financial close in the second half of 2021 and to begin delivering energy to Massachusetts in 2023.

(Courtesy Vineyard Wind)

02/04/2021

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BOEM to resume environmental review of Vineyard Wind - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

UK engineering and consultancy outfits Apollo and Vekta Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to offer a combined service to the offshore wind and energy sectors.

The new combined service offering brings commercial, project management, yield modelling, power, electrical, mechanical, structural and marine experience to support offshore wind developers with technical advice and also provide expertise in the area of electrification of oil and gas assets.

Apollo marine and renewables director Nigel Robinson said: Apollo and Vekta Group quickly realised that there was a natural synergy between our respective engineering and consultancy services, that would benefit clients across the energy sector.

Wind developers can access to a unique owners engineer service model, supporting a broad range of expertise through a single contract point.

Meanwhile the integrated offering further supports the drive of operator businesses to reduce their carbon footprints and to qualify the electrification of assets.

The companies have decided to join forces in response to the increase in the demand for engineering and development services, with Round 4 and Scotwind leasing rounds in the offing and the net zero targets of the hydrocarbon sector.

Vekta Group director Charles Balderston said: We believe that great collaboration is the key to finding positive ways to respond to the climate emergency and to reach net zero as quick as possible.

By working with Apollo, we strengthen our shared ambition to play a significant role in the energy transition process.

With our combined experience and capability, we aim to offer high value and agile services to the oil and gas sector as well as offshore wind developers.

RenewableUK director of strategic communications Luke Clark said: "It's great to see our member companies Apollo and Vekta Group teaming up to provide valuable services across the energy sector including offshore wind.

Many companies are successfully making the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, bringing experts with decades of experience in oil and gas to work in new roles, including innovative initiatives like powering oil and gas platforms with clean electricity from our world-leading offshore wind farms.

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Consultancy duo team up to bolster offshore wind support - reNEWS

Announced today (4 February), the joint industry initiative delivered by the Carbon Trust's flagship Offshore Wind Accelerator project will monitor real offshore conditions to gauge the effect of blockages at a global scale.

Led by RWE Renewables, the Global Blockage Effect in Offshore Wind (OWA Globe)project will spend 3.9 million to produce a comprehensive dataset that can be used as the industry benchmark for assessing and quantifying the impact of the blockage effect on energy production.

The refers to the way the wind flows around any obstacle it encounters, which may affect the predicted outout of wind turbines ifnot all aspects have been taken into account.

Richard Sandford, director of offshore wind development in Europe at RWE Renewables, said the offshore wind industry would benefit immensely from the data collected in the project.

By appraising and testing various industry hypotheses under live conditions, we will be able to close existing knowledge gaps and reach an industry-wide consensus on the effect," he said in a statement.

OWA Globe can increase certainty in offshore wind energy yield estimates and thereby help lower the Levelized Cost of Energy.

The blockage effect is a phenomenon that occurs as a complex interaction between the atmosphere and wind as it flows through, over and around, large offshore wind farms.

As wind approaches an obstacle the blockage its flow slows down and diverts around it hence the blockage effect. The effect is subtle, difficult to measure and hard to extract from previous data sets, creating uncertainties in current models.

While there is a broad industry consensus that wind-farm-scale blockage effects cause decelerations in front of offshore wind farms (which reduces the energy yield), different opinions exist on how to consider its downstream impacts and how to account for the redistribution of energy.

The new research will be conducted at the Heligoland wind farm cluster in the German Bight consisting of the 295MW Nordsee Ost Nordsee Ost (295MW) Offshorenorth of Helgoland, Germany, Europe Click to see full details and 303MW Amrumbank West Amrumbank West (303MW) Offshorenorth of Helgoland and west of Amrum, Germany, Europe Click to see full details wind farms, which are both owned by RWE.

The two wind farms are separated by a strip of empty sea approximately 4km wide, known as the Kaskasi gap, where RWE will construct the 342MW Kaskasi Kaskasi (342MW) Offshoreoff Heligoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Europe Click to see full details wind farm, anticipated to be commissioned in 2022.

Using dual-doppler scanning light detection and ranging (Lidar) measurements alongside turbine production data, the project is designed to assess blockage effects at full-scale and observe the atmospheric phenomena that drive it.

The project consortium currently includes of six additional wind farm developers: EDF Renewables, EnBW, Equinor, ScottishPower Renewables, Shell and Vattenfall, along with research and industry partners DTU Wind Energy and Leosphere.

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Offshore wind industry commits 3.9m to researching blockage effects - Windpower Monthly

A-6 development schematic.

(Courtesy Woodside Energy)

Offshore staff

SINGAPORE Myanmars military coup could impact planned upstream offshore investments, according to Wood Mackenzie and Maplecroft.

Wood Mackenzie research associate Saloni Kapoor said: We estimate that new upstream projects worth US$2 billion up until 2030 are yet to take final investment decision

Key developments such as PTTEPs Block M9 (Zawtika) and Woodsides Block A-6 account for around 40% of the countrys expected supply until 2030.

Incremental phases at Zawtika will provide upside to Myanmars energy mix, but if A-6 does not progress as planned, an estimated 2 tcf of gas supply is threatened. This supply is critical to make up for declining volumes from legacy fields.

Wood Mackenzie consulting director Mangesh Patankar added: Several LNG regas projects in Myanmar, including the existing small-scale terminal operated by CNTIC VPower and the proposed large-scale integrated LNG-to-Power project at Mee Laung Gyaing, are Chinese led.

We see less impact on these projects from the recent military coup, given China has always engaged with both the military and the Aung San Suu Kyi-led government.

Maplecroft senior analyst Kaho Yu said: We expect the US to restrict foreign assistance to Myanmar and impose new sanctions on those involved in the coup, particularly military officials and associated entities. Yet, additional sanctions will likely have limited impact because many relevant individuals and entities were already sanctioned by the Trump administration in 2019 over the Rohingya crisis.

Instead, any new sanctions would make it harder for responsible companies adhering to international best practice to keep operating in Myanmar due to reputational and ESG considerations.

Chinas response reflects that it is taking a wait and see approach towards the coup. Beijing has adopted a pragmatic approach towards Myanmar for decades and has been engaging both with the military and the Aung San Suu Kyi-led government. For Beijing, it does not matter who rules Myanmar, as long as those in power are not anti-China.

02/04/2021

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Myanmar coup may force offshore project reassessments - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

05 Feb 2021byDavid Foxwell

Rystad Energy says installed offshore wind capacity is set to surge in 2021. It expects installed capacity to increase by 11.8 GW this year, which is a 37% increase compared to the 31.9 GW of capacity that had been installed by the end of 2020

China will continue to lead new capacity additions, contributing 63% of expected growth.

After 2021, China will begin phasing out feed-in-tariffs and many developers are therefore pushing to complete projects by then.

Rystad Energy said that, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, global installed offshore wind capacity rose by 15% in 2020, to 31.9 GW, from 27.7 GW at the end of 2019. China was the main contributor in 2020, accounting for 39% of last additions, followed by the Netherlands (18%) and the UK (17%).

Rystad Energy offshore wind product manager Alexander Fltre said, China had a construction backlog of more than 10 GW going into 2020. Chinese developers are racing to install more turbines by the end of 2021 in order to claim full feed-in-tariffs.

This means 2021 is going to see major capacity additions, particularly since some projects initially scheduled for commissioning in 2020 ended up slipping into 2021.

Like China, Europe and the US also saw some delays in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, offshore wind developers continued to make final investment decisions for projects.

In 2020, the UK sanctioned more than 4.7 GW of offshore wind and the Netherlands more than 2.2 GW.

In H2 2020, almost 25 GW of capacity was added to the global backlog. Currently, Brazil has no operational offshore wind capacity, but its backlog grew significantly in 2020 as the country added more than 15 GW to the drawing board.

In addition, other countries in the Asia Pacific apart from China are preparing for a ground-breaking year, including Taiwan and Vietnam.

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Offshore wind capacity to increase by more than a third in 2021 - Riviera Maritime Media

RWE has said adjusted EBITDA for its offshore winddivision has increased by 11% to 1069m,compared with the pro forma result for previous year.

The boardattributed the rise in its preliminary results to very good wind conditions in the first quarter of 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA foronshore wind and solar improvedby 7% to 472m, compared to pro forma result 2019.

This was mainly due to new assets taken into operation.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the commissioning of some plants has been delayed, in particular in the US.

Furthermore, wind conditions in the fourth quarter were particularly weak.

Overall, RWE expects adjusted EBITDA totop 3.2bn and adjusted EBIT to be 1.8bn.

Chief financial officer Markus Krebber said: "Due to a very good operational performance, we expect an excellent result for fiscal 2020, which exceeds our guidance significantly.

"This is mainly driven by an extraordinarily strong performance of Supply & Trading.

"We have also expanded our portfolio in wind and solar power plants, thus delivering on our growth strategy.

"In times like this when we globally and personally might face challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, I am more than grateful for the commitment of our employees and their outstanding dedication.

"We confirm our dividend target of 0.85 per share for fiscal 2020 and we will propose this to our Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2021, which will be held virtually."

All figures are preliminary, with the final figures for fiscal 2020 to be released on 16 March 2021.

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RWE forecasts 11% rise in offshore wind profits - reNEWS