Category Archives: Offshore

On a clear morning in early June, cotton sacks filled with shucked scallops hit the scale at Gambardellas dockside warehouse in Stonington, Connecticut. Theyre being offloaded from the Furious, a scallop boat just back from a 12-day trip.

Owner and longtime fisherman Joe Gilbert runs four scallop boats out of this dock. Up in the wheelhouse of the Furious, he indicated on a chart where in the future, this same trip might be a lot more difficult to navigate.

This entire area here is slated to be a wind farm, he said. Its an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.

In its pursuit of green energy, the Biden administration has given strong backing to the nascent offshore wind industry in the U.S. While Europe has 20 years of experience developing offshore wind, its relatively new in North America.

Last month saw thefinal approval for the very first commercial-scale project, Vineyard Wind, off the coast of Massachusetts just one of 14 projects being considered off the Atlantic coast.

But these arent empty seas. Plenty of other ocean users have concerns about the massive steel turbines being erected offshore, not least commercial fishing, which is a multimillion-dollar industry in New England.

TheResponsible Offshore Development Alliancehas taken the lead in advocating for the fishing industry. Its major concern is that fishing vessels could strike one of the massive wind farm turbines in bad weather. In addition, the spinning blades interfere with the radar vessels use to find their catch. And fishermen like Gilbert worry that the structures will alter the ocean ecosystem as they change current patterns and cause formerly distinct layers of water to mix.

Were racing forward without the proper science to evaluate if this is good or if this is bad, said Gilbert.

But there is research from Europe, according to Amanda Lefton, director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

While offshore wind is new to us in the United States, its certainly not a new technology in other places, she said.

The federal agency is in charge of leasing tracts of the ocean for wind projects.

As we actually seek to look at what will we actually lease, were even further narrowing those areas to try and do our best to avoid conflicts with ocean users, Lefton said.

Orsted, a Danish giant in the wind farm business, has five projects planned for the Atlantic coast. John OKeeffe, the companys head of marine affairs in North America, said the concerns of the fishing industry have been incorporated into the process.

Its a good storyline to say you had no input, but the reality is theres been input for years, he said.

Orstedrecently signed an agreementwith one fishing industry group based in Waterford, which will use its vessels for research and liaison as the turbines are placed offshore in the companys Revolution, South Fork and Sunrise wind projects.

The spacing that is agreed to is the largest spacing in the world, OKeeffe said. One nautical mile spacing. It does not exist anywhere else.

But the coexistence of these two industries is still in doubt. Inits part of a recent approval of one project, the federal Army Corps of Engineers said the difficulty of navigation means that commercial fishing likely will be abandoned within the new wind farms.

Back in Stonington, thats exactly what Joe Gilbert fears.

Were afraid were going to lose our livelihoods. This is an existential threat to us, he said.

Gilbert wants to know why the turbines must be dropped on top of fishing grounds in the first place. Hed like to see them sited in deeper water far from shore.

Some Atlantic coast wind farm companies are in talks to establish compensation funds for economic damage to commercial fisheries as part of the federal approval process.

This story is a production of New England News Collaborative. It was originallypublishedby Connecticut Public Radio on July 5, 2021.

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Fishing Industry Wary Of Future As Offshore Wind Comes To New England - WBUR

Spains energy and environment ministry has launched a consultation on a marine energy roadmap that includes a target of 1-3GW of floating offshore wind by 2030. The consultation opened yesterday (7 July) and will close on 6 August 2021.

As well as being a key plank of the energy transition at a national, European and global level, Blue Energy is also an industrial, economic and social opportunity for Spain, the ministry stated.

Floating technologies are improving rapidly and are expected to become more cost-competitive by 2030. The sector is at an inflection point, the paper states, with commercial-scale rollout being a key factor in driving costs down.

Costs of small-scale floating projects are currently in the 180-200/MWh range but could fall to 80-100/MWh by 2025 for early commercial-scale projects, and halve again to 40-60/MWh by 2030 as the sector matures.

A recent study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US projected the cost of floating offshore wind to come down to around 40% of the 2019 fixed-bottom figure by 2050.

In recognition of the financial hurdles developers have to face at present, however, the Spanish white paper recommends providing at least 200 million of government funding in the 2021-2023 period to support research and development.

Floating offshore wind will not only allow Spain to generate large amounts of green energy, but also feed synergies in strategic sectors such as shipping and civil engineering, the paper says.

The energy ministry estimates that port infrastructure will require investment in the region of 500 million to 1 billion to support the rollout of large-scale floating offshore wind.

Floating platform manufacturer Saitec Offshore Technologies recently announced plans for a 45MW pilot project off Spains Basque coast, while Iberdrola is planning more than 1.2GW of floating offshore wind capacity across two sites.

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Spain aims for 1-3GW of floating offshore wind by 2030 - Windpower Monthly

Subsea 7 will combine its renewables business unit with Oslo-based OHT, creating a pure-play renewables company focussed on offshore wind.

The combined company will be headquartered in Oslo and renamed to Seaway 7 ASA. It will initially retain OHTs listing on Oslos Euronext Growth market with plans for future listing on Oslo Brs.

Ownership will consist of Subsea 7 owning 72% and OHTs shareholders 28% of the combined company. Seaway 7 is expected to employ around 600 people with an active fleet of ten vessels and two additional high-specification vessels under construction. Its offering will include installation of wind turbines, foundations, offshore substations, submarine cables and heavy transport.

The closing of the merger is subject to approval by the shareholders of OHT. The combination has the recommendation of OHTs Board of Directors. Songa Corp and Lotus Marine AS, with stakes of 51.1% and 25.6% respectively, have also agreed to approve the transaction. Approval by Subsea 7s shareholders is not required.

Closing is anticipated for end of the third quarter of 2021

The Board of Seaway 7 ASA, chaired by Rune Magnus Lundetr, will comprise four directors nominated by Subsea 7 and one nominated by OHTs largest shareholder, Songa Corp. Its executive team will be led by Stuart Fitzgerald as Chief Executive Officer, as well as Torgeir Ramstad and Steph McNeill holding executive roles.

Subsea 7 brings to the table a fleet of two heavy lift vessels, two cable lay vessels and an installation support vessel and experience installing over 700 foundations, more than 30 substations and over 800 kilometers of submarine cables since 2009. Subsea 7s business in floating wind is not part of the transaction.

OHTs fleet consists of five heavy transportation vessels for large offshore wind structures, as well as two high-end installation vessels currently under construction. The first, due for delivery in 2022, is a state-of-the art wind turbine foundation installation vessel equipped with dynamic positioning and a unique smart deck for efficient installation of monopiles and jacket foundations. The second is a jack-up heavy lift vessel capable of installing the largest wind turbines, as well as wind turbine foundations, and is due for delivery in 2023.

This transaction represents an important next step in Subsea 7s Energy Transition journey that will accelerate and enhance value creation for our shareholders, said John Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Subsea 7. As a listed company with a comprehensive fleet and experienced management team, Seaway 7 ASA is positioned to forge an enhanced growth trajectory as a global leader in offshore wind. Subsea 7 looks forward to working closely with Seaway 7 as it launches this next exciting chapter in its evolution.

Torgeir E. Ramstad, Chief Executive Officer at OHT, commented: This is a very significant event in the growing Renewables industry. Subsea 7 is a highly respected company and we are delighted that it sees OHT as a natural partner in creating a new global leader in renewables. We are committed to translating the leading capabilities that the combined company will offer into benefits for clients within the offshore fixed wind industry.

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Subsea 7 and OHT to Combine Renewables Businesses, Creating Offshore Wind Giant - gcaptain.com

180m worth of private sector investment into offshore wind is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs.

On top of their own private investment, offshore wind manufacturers SeAH Wind Ltd and Smulders Projects UK will each receive grant funding from the 160m Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme.

The scheme was announced by the Prime Minister last year as part of his Ten Point Plan to build factories to develop the next generation of wind turbines.

Business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: Wind is one of the UKs greatest natural assets and were a world leader in offshore wind energy. With the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, we are determined to grow and nurture a strong, world-class manufacturing base so British businesses and our workforce can fully seize the economic benefits being a windy island nation brings.

Todays investments will not only put the wind in the sails of the UKs industrial heartlands, creating and supporting thousands of good quality jobs, they will also benefit the whole of Britain as we work to onshore more manufacturers, attract inward investment and ramp-up export opportunities.

Located on the Humber and at Wallsend in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the manufacturers will supply components to offshore wind farms across the UK, and for export around the world.

SeAH Wind Ltd plans on developing a 117m monopile foundation factory at the Able Marine Energy Park on the Humber, creating up to 750 direct jobs by 2030.

Smulders Projects UK are also investing 70m in new equipment and infrastructure to enable them to manufacture offshore wind turbine transition pieces at their existing site in Wallsend, creating and safeguarding up to 325 direct jobs.

Minister of investment, Gerry Grimstone, said: The UK is well-established as having the largest offshore wind capacity of any country on the planet. These investments highlight how we are building a manufacturing base that reflects our position as a world leader in this key technology and the attractiveness of the UKs clean energy sector to international investors.

UK workers will be building the next generation of wind turbines that will not only help us meet our own climate change commitments but will be exported and can power countries all over the globe in a cleaner greener future.

In related news, the new Natural Capital Challenge Fund will encourage the growth of the green sector in Devon.

Photo by Nicholas Doherty

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Investment in offshore wind manufacturing will create jobs for North - Environment Journal

In todays Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

The fifth and final floating wind turbine is now connected to its moorings at the Kincardine wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Connector technology company First Subsea said the last Vestas V174 9.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbine was connected this past weekend. First Subsea will help with the connection of the cable protection system for the dynamic cables later this summer.

Once its live, the 50 MW Kincardine project, which was developed by the Madrid-headquartered Cobra Group, will be the worlds largest floating offshore wind farm, with six turbines about nine miles (14 km) off the coast. It consists of a 2 MW Vestas turbine, which has been operating since October 2018, and five 9.5 MW Vestas turbines. Kincardine will generate up to 218 GWh of power annually, which will be enough to power around 55,000 households in Scotland.

Read more: Biden administration opens up the US Pacific coast to offshore wind

With residential electricity use projected to increase by 2.8% in 2021, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report, 2021s Most & Least Energy-Expensive States.

WalletHub compared the average monthly energy bills in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia using a special formula that accounts for the following residential energy types: electricity, natural gas, motor fuel, and home heating oil. (In other words, those are all fossil fuels with rising costs.)

The dollar amount listed beside each state above reflects its average monthly energy bill:

Hawaii has the lowestaverage monthly consumption of electricity per consumer, 501 kWh, which is three times lower than in Louisiana, the highest at 1,484 kWh.

Washington has the lowestaverage retail price for electricity, $0.0971 per kWh, which is 3.3 times lower than in Hawaii, the highest at $0.3206 per kWh.

New Mexico has the lowestaverage residential price for natural gas, $6.40 per 1,000 cubic feet, which is 6.9 times lower than in Hawaii, the highest at $44.14 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In Northeastern states, between 8% and 62% of households useheating oilto heat their homes, compared with less than 3% of households in the rest of the US.

The District of Columbia has the lowestaverage monthly motor-fuel consumption per driver, 23.46 gallons, which is 3.4 times lower than in Wyoming, the highest at 80.53 gallons.

(Wyoming, despite producing all that oil, you might want to consider going electric.)

You can see how your state ranks here.

Main Photo: Cobra Group

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EGEB: Final turbine is in place at the worlds largest floating offshore wind farm - Electrek.co

A new project aiming to advance development of green hydrogen production powered by offshore wind has been launched in Ireland.

The H-Wind project, led by UCC MaREI Research Centre, is being co-funded by Science Foundation Ireland and four industry partners: Gas Networks Ireland, DP Energy, ESB, and Equinor.

The project will look to position green hydrogen as the means of more efficiently providing energy by bringing the electricity network and gas network together to make optimal use of Irelands offshore wind resources.

H-Wind will also seek to identify new markets for green hydrogen and ensure that Ireland delivers on EU strategy in energy system integration.

The project goals are cost-reduction measures for large-scale hydrogen production from offshore wind farms, concepts for scalable offshore wind hydrogen hubs, procedures for hydrogen safety, the customer value chain, and policy recommendations.

All the partners from the energy sector are involved in hydrogen projects in one way or another.

According to the H-Wind project consortium, Gas Networks Ireland is committed to delivering a net-zero gas network by 2050 by gradually replacing natural gas with renewable gases such as hydrogen. Blends of up to 20 per cent hydrogen with natural gas and biomethane, and subsequently up to 100 per cent are being tested at the organisations new Hydrogen Innovation Centre in Dublin.

Irish energy company and Equinor announced in April that they would jointly develop a 1.4 GW Moneypoint floating offshore wind farm off the West Coast of Ireland, a project that could also include hydrogen production.

DP Energy, the developer of floating wind and ocean energy projects, is also involved in multiple wind, hydrogen and energy storage developments.

At the beginning of this year, Iberdrola agreed to take a majority stake in DP Energys 3 GW offshore wind pipeline in Ireland, which marked the Spanish energy companys entry into the Irish offshore wind market.

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Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Project Launched in Ireland - Offshore WIND

Job cuts across Australias gas industry have heightened concerns about maintenance risks on offshore rigs, which unions and environmentalists fear could threaten workers safety and the marine environment.

The international petroleum industry has been in the spotlight after a gas leak sparked the underwater eye of fire boiling to the surface at Pemexs Gulf of Mexico and a large blast at a Caspian Sea oil and gas field this week.

Inpexs Ichthys rig on the North West Shelf in Western Australia. Credit:.

Gas companies operating on Western Australias North West Shelf and in Bass Strait shed workers in 2020 amid a coronavirus-induced price downturn due to plummeting energy demand, which was driven by travel restrictions. Unions estimate about 3000 jobs were lost.

However, both the unions and Australias gas industry peak representative group rejected any comparison with international disasters, arguing Australias safety record was better than other developed nations gas industries in the UK, Norway and the United States.

Our industry is strictly regulated by a world-class regulator. Australia has one of the best offshore environmental regulatory frameworks in the world, said Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association chief executive Andrew McConville.

The Commonwealth regulator on Tuesday issued an industry-wide notice reminding companies their offshore rigs require robust inspection, maintenance, and repair to control age-related risks.

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Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton said the industry had experienced a worrying spate of job losses of late, including in maintenance and safety roles.

Such job cuts will often lead to deferred maintenance, which leads to maintenance backlogs and thats when the risk of accidents does start rising, said Mr Walton, whose union is a member of the Offshore Alliance, which includes the Maritime Workers Union.

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Offshore gas safety concerns bubble up after Mexicos eye of fire - Sydney Morning Herald

COPENHAGEN, July 1 (Reuters) - The United States must speed up project permits if it is to meet the Biden administration's 2030 target for offshore wind power, major developer Orsted (ORSTED.CO) said on Thursday.

The United States, with just two small offshore wind facilities, has lagged European nations in developing the renewable energy technology. read more

The administration of President Joe Biden has set a goal to install 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power capacity in U.S. waters by 2030 nearly the amount that already exists in Europe's two-decade old industry. Yet it can take as much as 10 years to plan and build new projects.

"To have 30 GW installed by 2030 will mean that permitting processes need to be expedited," Orsted's chief commercial officer and deputy CEO Martin Neubert told Reuters.

Neubert spoke a day after New Jersey regulators announced that Denmark's Orsted and a consortium of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and EDF (EDF.PA) had been awarded two offshore wind farm tenders in the Northeastern state, the largest such awards in U.S. history. read more

Biden's move towards wind power came after his predecessor, Donald Trump, threw the industry into doubt when he cancelled the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm's permit application during his term. read more

"No doubt that the entire offshore wind industry in the U.S. has been suffering from the permitting moratorium that we have experienced over the last years," Neubert said and welcomed efforts by the Biden administration to make amends.

"We see real actions in creating the momentum to move forward on the federal permitting side," he added. .

Significant amounts of new seabed leases and a massive build-out of the grid were also needed in order to reach the ambitious target, Neubert said.

Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Pravin Char

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. must speed up offshore wind permits to hit Biden target, Orsted says - Reuters

Last week, the Louisiana Governors Office hosted Louisiana Wind Week 2021 to assess Louisianas future in offshore wind energy development. Louisiana Wind Week followed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)s first Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting, which was held on June 15.

The first-day session focused onFederal and State administration priorities and regulatory overviews of offshore wind leasing.Included onthepanel were representatives from both Federal and State agencies, including BOEM, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, and the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Tom Harris emphasized that, because of the decades of offshore oil and gas exploration and development, Louisiana already has the expertise, infrastructure, supply chains, shipyards, ports, and experienced workforce vital to developing offshore wind energy, putting the State in an optimal economic position.

Additionally, BOEM Gulf of Mexico Regional DirectorMichaelCelata, discussed the four stages of BOEMs renewable energy authorization process, which include (1) planning and analysis, (2) leasing, (3) site assessment, and (4) construction and operations. BOEM is currently in the planning and analysis stage, and recently put out a Request for Interest (RFI)in commercial leasing for wind power development on the GOM Outer Continental Shelf. The panelists stressed the importance of public comment to the RFI, which is due July 26.

The webinar series continued on day two with presentations and discussions focusing on environmental impacts in the GOM as a result of offshore wind energy development and how to mitigate such impacts. Panelists includes representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The third day focused on engaging existing GOM users and understanding their concerns. Emphasis was placed on the goal of mutual coexistence between all users of the GOM region, including developers of wind energy.

During the presentation, Daniel Ingold, Program Manager at Jacobs Engineering Group, gave a presentation on wind power and provided a broad overview of what wind farms in the GOM could look like. Foundations for offshore wind turbines can be either fixed or floating. The fixed foundations are used in water depths less than 200 feet, whereas the floating foundations can be used in greater depths. Thus, it is more likely we will see floating foundations used in the GOM. Another advantage of floating foundations is that they can be constructed dockside then towed to position and repositioned. Grid patterns are typically used for the layout of these wind farms,withsignificant space between each turbine due to logistics and wake effect. The turbinesare connected to each other by transmission cables, with one major export cable that goes to the shore.Most of the cables are buried,but in areas where the cable cannot be buried, due to situations like pipeline crossings,the cables will be coveredwith castiron shortsection covers and concrete mattresses.

Day four focused on the transmission process and the various roles, processes, and key issues involved in connecting offshore wind to users. Joshua Gange, Renewable Energy Program Specialist at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), provided an overview of the offshore wind transmission network. The transmission process is complex due to the number of parties involved, the varying roles each party undertakes, and the unique characteristics of the Gulf, among other factors.

The final day of Louisiana Wind Week placed an emphasis on the supply chain capacity for offshore wind development inLouisiana. The session consisted of two panel discussions focused on different aspects of the supply chain. A main takeaway from both panelswasthat Louisiana has a large competitive advantage in all areas of wind energy development due to its years of offshore oil and gas expertise.

Offshore wind development in the GOM region is still in the planning stage. Louisiana Wind Week 2021 highlighted many of the technical, legal, and socioeconomic issues that state and federal agencies will face in the coming years. Stay tuned for additional updates on the Energy Law Blog.

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Louisiana's Future in Offshore Wind: Takeaways from Louisiana Wind Week - The Energy Law Blog

Issued on: 02/07/2021 - 13:36

Unlike its European neighbours, France has been remarkably reluctant to accept offshore wind technology. In a country where nuclear still reigns supreme, earmarked projects have often stalled, mired in debate and controversy. But with growing pressure to develop renewable energy infrastructure, is France ready to embrace the winds of change? We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth.

A single offshore turbine

France has only one offshore turbine, installed for research purposes in Saint-Nazaire, off the coast of Brittany. That's in contrast to 1,500 in Germanyand more than 2,000 in the United Kingdom.

The floating test turbine measures the amount of electricity produced under different conditions, including wind speeds of 170km/h and waves of 13 metres.

Compared to onshore, an offshore wind turbine turns more quickly and for longer, meaning it produces more electricity.

Bertrand Alessandrini, a marine engineering researcher at Centrale Nantes, says France is one of very few countries to still ask whether wind power has a future.He says:"The real question is: will France, which has the assets to be a leader in this form of energy, seize the opportunity or not?''

France does however have grand ambitions10 GW of installed power, the equivalent of almost 10 nuclear reactors, by 2035.

'Keeping the sea alive'

Many fishermen off the coast of Brittany are united in their fight against a 62-turbine offshore wind project, currently under construction near Saint-Brieuc.

Local sea snail fisherman Florentin Saulnier warns it will impact his livelihood as well as biodiversity in the bay. It also means he will needto travel further away to fish, wasting precious time and money.

He says fishermen are not interestedin subsidiesto compensate for the damagethey simply want to live off theirwork.

Offshore turbines and biodiversity are compatible

BOB is a 15-metre-highyellowbiodiversity observation buoy. It's been set up off the coast of Leucate in the Mediterranean Sea, in another site designated for turbines, in this case floating ones.

Gilles Lecaillon from Ecocean, the company behind the project, explains that one of BOB's goals is to learn about the biodiversity that can live on artificial structures 15 or 16km offshore.

Below the buoy, Ecocean has built small habitats, called biohuts, which are artificial nurseries that offer both shelter and food to young fish, allowing them to survive in areas where they wouldn't normally be able to.

Results so far are encouraging and Lecaillon says the next phase will involve building these microhabits onto a floating turbine.

Lecaillon hopes he will be able to show fishermen that there may be more fish, not less, around floating offshore wind projects. He adds:"I sincerely believe that offshore wind turbines and marine biodiversity, at least underwater, can be compatible and positive."

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Down to Earth - Offshore wind: France's turbine turmoil - FRANCE 24