Samsung Heavy Industries unveils its offshore wind turbine in Fife

Korean industrial giant Samsung Heavy Industries’ (SHI) prototype offshore turbine is making steady progress and is due to become operational later this year. The turbine was unveiled in Fife last week. For SHI, which chose to base its UK offshore wind project at Fife Renewables Innovation Centre (FRIC) at Energy Park Fife, Methil, the structure is its first European offshore wind project. It is situated 50m offshore in the Firth of Forth and the tip of its blades stretch 196 metres above the sea.

As already mentioned, in case the 7MW turbine performs as expected throughout the demonstration programme and orders be forthcoming, SHI has indicated its intention to put the machine into manufacture at a new-build facility in the region. The entity has invested £70million in the Fife wind turbine demonstrator scheme.

The nacelle, which contains all generating components for the turbine, was installed earlier this month. This was followed by the attachment of the three massive blades.

The structure was installed by GRAHAM Construction, the principal contractor on the project. SHI worked very closely with both Fife Council and Scottish Enterprise as it developed the project.

11 advanced stage projects proposed in US waters

Eleven offshore wind projects representing 3,824 MW of capacity are currently in an advanced stage of development in the U. S., according to a new report released by The U.S. Department of Energy.

The list includes projects that have at least signed a power purchase agreement, received approval for an interim or commercial lease in state or federal waters, or conducted baseline or geophysical studies at the proposed site. The average turbine size for advanced-stage, planned projects in the U. S. is expected to range between 4 and 5 MW.

Other key findings of the report include:

• Developers continue to test a variety of platform and foundation types as the industry seeks to address deeper waters, varying seabed conditions, increasing turbine sizes, and the increased severity of wind and wave loading at offshore wind projects.

• The main challenges faced by U.S. offshore wind developers are cost-competitiveness, a lack of infrastructure such as offshore transmission and purpose-built ports and vessels, and uncertain and lengthy regulatory processes.

• Transmission infrastructure projects that saw progress in 2013 included the Atlantic Wind Connection and the New Jersey Energy Link.

Two offshore wind projects to be part of UK guarantee scheme

The U. K. government recently announced a couple of offshore renewable energy projects that have been earmarked to receive a share of the £40 billion government infrastructure guarantee scheme. These two projects are: Able Marine Energy Park, a port facility to support the manufacture, assembly and installation of offshore renewable technologies on Humberside, and Mainstream Renewable Power’s Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm in the Firth of Forth.

Forty projects are now at the stage known as prequalification, meaning that they are eligible for the UK Guarantee scheme. Over half that have prequalified are energy projects.

The guarantees are one option for projects to use when financing themselves - many are also in discussion with private lenders. The pre-qualification means that should efforts to secure private finance fail, the government is there to help. Government guarantees are offered on commercial terms so involve a fee which is based on the riskiness of the project.

Vestas introduces de-icing system

Vestas has worked on a new offering to boost the business case for operating wind power plants in cold climate. The Vestas De-icing System (VDS) has been developed to detect and remove ice formed on wind turbine blades, maintaining full power production through the winter months.

The company mentioned that severe icing can potentially reduce wind turbines’ annual energy production by more than 20%. Vestas explained that the VDS is an active de-icing solution consisting of an ice detection system and a hot air flow unit within the blades. The hot air flow targets the blade’s most critical parts to efficiently melt ice build-up, with no negative impact on the noise level or overall performance of the turbine.

The first prototype for the VDS has been installed at a site in Sweden and will be tested throughout the winter.

Gamesa’s offshore wind turbine achieves milestone

Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa has inaugurated its maiden offshore wind turbine - and the first to be installed in Spain - in Arinaga Quay (Gran Canary Island).

The G128-5.0 MW wind turbine, the first 5.0 MW Offshore platform prototype, has a rotor with a diameter of 128m and a total height of 154m.

Since it started operating last July, it has been producing energy at full capacity. Mass production will commence over the course of next year.

GL RC releases new technical note

GL Renewables Certification (GL RC) has released its new technical note for the certification of wind turbines for tropical cyclones.

The note attempts to explain how cyclones are influencing wind turbine designs.

It has been highlighted that a rising number of onshore and offshore wind parks are proposed in cyclone-affected areas, mainly in the U. S, China, Korea and Japan.

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