UK to go ahead with offshore wind funding

The UK government will go ahead with over £72 million of funding for offshore wind projects. The development has been confirmed by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The decision came after the Treasury concluded a review of significant projects announced earlier this year to check whether they were affordable and that they fitted in with the priorities of the coalition government.

 The government will continue with BIS projects for:

• National Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC) Offshore Wind Blade Test Site, Blyth -  £11.5 million;
•  NAREC Offshore Wind Turbine Test Site -  £18.5 million;
• Offshore Wind Demonstration and Development -  £12.4 million;
• Offshore Wind, Mitsubishi Collaborative R&D to support Mitsubishi and partners - £30 million.
  

Dong Energy opens its latest British offshore wind farm

Danish energy company Dong Energy has opened its latest British offshore wind farm, Gunfleet Sands, in the Thames Estuary off the Essex coast.

The 172 MW farm consists of two phases, Gunfleet Sands 1 and 2.

Commissioning started in 2009, and the wind farm reached full production during the spring of 2010. Gunfleet Sands 1 consists of 30 turbines each of 3.6MW and Gunfleet Sands 2 consists of 18 turbines each with a capacity of 3.6MW.

The opening of Gunfleet Sands is proof of Dong Energy’s leadership in constructing and operating offshore wind farms said Tom Delay, chief executive at Carbon Trust. He also emphasised that offshore wind will deliver significant carbon reductions and huge economic value to the U.K. over the coming decade.

Besides Gunfleet Sands, Dong is also building the world’s largest offshore wind farm London Array (630 MW), due to be commissioned in 2013.

 Its two other farms - Walney (367 MW) and Lincs (270 MW) - are scheduled for completion in 2011. The company also currently operates the offshore wind farms Burbo Bank (90 MW) and Barrows (90 MW).

Burbo Bank is wholly owned by Dong Energy, whereas Barrows is owned by Dong Energy and Centrica, each with a 50% stake.

EWEA predicts strong year for wind turbine installations in Europe

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) expects 10 GW of new wind power capacity to be installed in the EU in 2010, taking total installed capacity by the end of 2010 to almost 85 GW, an increase of 13%.

2009 was a record year when 10.163 GW of new wind power capacity was installed, constituting 39% of all new power capacity installed in the EU that year. Total installed wind power capacity by the end of 2009 was 74.767 GW.

France and Italy are expected to again install around 1 GW each in 2010 and the expected decline in installations in Spain will be more than compensated for by a doubling of installations in the new member states led by Romania and Bulgaria and significant growth in the U.K., particularly offshore.

Germany is expected to be the largest market this year, closely followed by the U.K.

2010 will see more installations in offshore wind power, with up to 1 GW of new capacity expected to be installed during the year compared to 577 MW installed in 2009.

However, EWEA is optimistic that unlike in 2009, the 2010 results consist of orders placed after the start of the financial crisis.

It is too early to say whether, for a third year running, there will be more wind energy capacity installed than any other electricity generating technology, but it is clear that wind energy will be competing for the top spot with new gas power plants, said Christian Kjaer, CEO of EWEA.

Aker bags contract for RWE Innogy’s Nordsee Ost farm

German utility company RWE Innogy has awarded Aker Verdal, a subsidiary of the Norwegian construction and technology group Aker Solutions, an EPC-contract for supply of 48 steel jackets and piles for the offshore wind farm Nordsee Ost project in the North Sea.

The contract value is approximately € 115 million.   The 295 MW farm will use 48 REpower turbines each with a capacity of 6 MW. The first wind turbines are due to be commissioned as early as mid-2012.

The  wind farm is due to be completed in 2013.The first of these foundations are due to arrive in RWE Innogy’s offshore base port at Bremerhaven in autumn 2011.

The substructures will be delivered during the period October 2011 to July 2012.The contract will be executed by Aker Solutions fabrication yard in Verdal, and includes engineering, procurement, fabrication, load-out and sea-fastening of the steel substructure and piles.

The fabrication will start at Aker Verdal in January 2011, and will engage some 100 personnel. The substructures will be delivered during the period October 2011 to July 2012.

The substructures have a weight of approximately 450 tonnes each and a height of 45 to 48 metres. The jacket substructures will be installed at a water depth in the range of 22 to 25 metres and will support 6 MW REpower turbines.

Rwe Innogy has also awarded a subcontract worth about €40 million to Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk in North Rhine-Westphalia for the supply the steel tubes for the foundations.

New coalition calls for comprehensive energy legislation  

A coalition of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and biofuels organisations has been setup in the U.S. that has urged the U.S. Senate to adopt comprehensive energy legislation.

The motive behind this call is to create millions of American jobs and maximise the use of the U.S.’ own domestic, clean and abundant energy resources.

The coalition comprises:

• Alliance to Save Energy
• American Wind Energy Association
• Biomass Power Association
• Business Council for Sustainable Energy
• Energy Recovery Council
• Geothermal Energy Association
• Growth Energy
• National Hydropower Association
• Solar Energy Industries Association

“Acting now will stimulate construction and operations jobs as well as manufacturing and supply chains, rather than passively losing these jobs to other countries,” according to a letter that the coalition sent to the Senate members.

The letter added that attracting manufacturing will take a concerted effort, as evidenced by the actions being taken by competitors, but America’s workforce, skills, and market are well suited for global leadership if stable policies are put in place.

University of Delaware and NREL plan offshore wind research

The University of Delaware (UD), the flagship institution of the state of Delaware, is collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to facilitate the potential establishment of a test site for commercial wind turbines off the Delaware coast.

Under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) worth $500,000 over the next five years, UD will work with federal and state agencies to identify and meet criteria for establishing any potential offshore test sites.

As part of the planning and development of a potential offshore wind turbine test site, NREL and UD will develop test procedures specific to the area’s harsh offshore wind environment, and establish methods for predicting wind energy costs in the United States.

NREL, the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy, said that the partners expect that any test turbines would serve as valuable classrooms used to train future wind energy professionals, scientists, and engineers.

NREL emphasised that by combining the University’s educational expertise with NREL’s wind technology expertise, the focus will be on training future wind energy professionals to provide a skilled workforce for the offshore wind industry.

Petrofac buys TNEI Services

International oil & gas facilities service provider Petrofac has acquired renewables sector technical specialist TNEI Services (TNEI) through the £7.5 million acquisition of its holding company New Energy Industries.

According to Petrofac, 30% of the deal is contingent upon senior management's continued participation in the business.

TNEI provides services in the areas of power transmission and distribution, planning and environmental consent and energy management. It is a specialist consultancy supporting the energy, power and renewables sectors and has some 50 staff in Newcastle andManchester.

As Petrofac plans to build its presence in the renewable energy sector, the company believes that its existing technical consulting, offshore engineering, project management and operational skills provide a strong

base from which to enter this rapidly developing market.

For its part, TNEI hopes to help Petrofac in building a strong, technically-competent service to the wind renewables sector.

ScottishPower Renewables awards seabed survey contract

ScottishPower Renewables, a part of Iberdrola Renovables, and Vattenfall, the developers of the East Anglia offshore windfarm zone, have awarded local company, Gardline Hydro from Great Yarmouth, a contract to conduct seabed surveys on the first section of the site.

Gardline Hydro will complete extensive geo-physical surveys of one section of the development site and correlate crucial data that will assist in the first part of the project. 

The 7.2GW development will be built in several sections with the proposed first project consisting of approximately 240 turbines. It is proposed that the first project will be located 42 kilometres offshore.

Two vessels from their offshore fleet, the Confidante and Tridens 1, will be employed with the work expected to take around three and half months to complete, subject to weather conditions. These surveys will provide ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall with detailed information about the seabed and will be used throughout the planning and construction of the project.

ScottishPower Renewables is currently developing offshore energy projects in the UK totalling more than 1,700 MW, including co-development of the 500MW West of Duddon Sands offshore wind project.

OWPMS forms JV to build farm support vessels

Offshore wind farm support vessel specialist Offshore Wind Power Marine Services (OWPMS) has partnered with the Brook Henderson Group to provide a bespoke package for offshore wind farm operators, focusing on vessel supply during construction, and operation and maintenance phases throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

Brook Henderson is committing equity of over £30 million to build a fleet of up to 60 vessels in the next two years.

Eddie Ward, a spokesperson for OWPMS, highlighted that due to recent events within the banking sector, it has made raising funds to build new vessels very difficult and was preventing the company from expanding to allow it to tender for new work.

With this new partnership, the company can now pick up and proceed with new and existing tender opportunities as a preferred supplier to the utilities and develop new markets outside of Europe.

Block Island Offshore wind project makes progress

Rhode Island’s Governor, Donald L Carcieri has signed the Offshore Wind Project Legislation thereby clearing the way for the Block Island Offshore Wind Project.

Carcieri was part of a ceremony held last week, to formally sign into law H8083 Sub A & S2819 Sub A legislation that clarifies the General Assembly’s original intent to encourage and promote clean, independent, renewable energy in Rhode Island through a demonstration sized, offshore wind project.

The legislation requires that a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between National Grid and Deepwater Wind be filed with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with a decision rendered within 45 days and includes public comment.

In addition, the legislation requires the RI Economic Development Corporation and the RI Department of Environmental Management to offer testimony before the PUC on the economic development and environmental benefits of the project.

The legislation also mandates that the new PPA contain an “open book” approach that requires Deepwater Wind to disclose and the Division of Public Utilities to verify, the construction and development costs of the project.