Power & Energy Solutions

The premier renewable energy publication

Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Think Tank

The declaration of a climate emergency in Scotland, quickly followed by the rest of the UK, has been a boon for the renewable energy sector. After all, without clean power, heat and transport fuels, our ambitious net-zero targets are totally out of reach. But we know tackling the carbon emissions caused by our increasing demand for energy isn’t enough on its own. The world’s raw resources are limited. As demand for these resources increase, supplies deplete, driving up costs. It’s imperative that we change the way we use products and materials, and Scotland’s ambition for a circular economy shows we are committed to making that change. The circular economy represents an opportunity to move away from the linear approach of creating and delivering a product or service that is disposed of at the end of its life. This waste represents an enormous pool of resources that can be exploited with minimal impact on the environment. A circular economy focuses on responsible production: businesses which supply products and services get the maximum life and value from the resources used to make them, keeping these resources in a continuous loop of re-use. Doing that can take a number of forms: • from re-use and repair -where a product’s

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Ask the Experts, Exclusive Articles, Wind

Scopito ApS grew from a hobby and a bet, how many companies can say this about their origins? We at PES were intrigued and wanted to know more, so we decided to talk with CEO and Founder, Ken Isobe Falk. The end result is their state-of-the-art inspection software, which is used in drone inspections and for the digitization of assets. Clients are able to use the data to manage their assets via a cloud-based platform. This in turn will help to improve the lifespan of wind turbines. A solution that is proving very popular in the wind industry. PES: Hi Ken, welcome back to PES Wind, it’s great to have this opportunity to talk with you. For the benefit of our new readers would you like to begin by telling us something about the background of your company? Ken Isobe Falk: I am grateful for the opportunity to catch up with you again, thank you for that. Scopito’s story runs parallel to my story, which I’d be happy to share with you. About ten years ago, I worked with mission-critical software at a Danish conglomerate by the name of Systematic. My time there was challenging and rewarding alike, and the lessons

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Exclusive Articles, Think Tank, Wind

Delivering climate neutrality requires adequate new national energy strategies, policies, and regulatory frameworks to be in place due to the massive energy transformation needed. The European Union has been at the forefront of global climate action so far, and is the first major economy to put in place a legally binding framework to deliver on its pledges under the Paris Agreement and it is successfully transitioning towards a low emissions economy, targeting to reach climate neutrality by 2050. We have useful lessons that can be drawn from the renewables energy industry, showing what can be achieved when there is a joint commitment by governments, energy companies and regulators. Denmark’s energy transition experience can teach very valuable lessons. The transition in Denmark started more or less 50 years ago, when the oil crisis rocked the world in the 1970s and Danish industries had to shut down; at that time almost 90% of the energy was coming from imported oil. From the oil crisis of the 70s, via the first offshore wind farm in 1991, today 44% of electricity in Denmark is supplied by wind and solar power. So far from the 90s their carbon emissions dropped by 38%, while its GDP more than doubled.

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

Here is the second unmissable PES show preview. In a couple of weeks, the 14th edition of Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference opens its virtual doors! Enough said about the challenges and limitations that Covid-19 poses to all of us and our industry. Much can be done, especially online, to connect with our peers, have experts inform us about the latest ideas and technologies and grab the attention of our customers without showing them our products and services in person. At OEEC’s first virtual edition, all this and more is possible. Have a look below at what to expect after logging in on 27th - 28th October. What to expect? OEEC creates the perfect opportunity for people working in the offshore energy industry to establish new business relationships and maintain existing ones. You can expect plenty of interaction, information, presentations and innovations, lots of which will be live-streamed. We built a studio in RAI Amsterdam from which talk shows and discussions will be recorded and broadcasted. In summary, OOEC 2020 offers: 1. Offshore Energy Talks (with experts) 2. Showcases and presentations from companies 3. Live Talk Shows (with industry panels) 4. Round table sessions (organise an exclusive session about a topic of your own choosing) 5. Offshore

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

By 2040, it is expected that around 4GW of the UK’s onshore wind capacity will be repowered projects. The next few years will see slow growth in this sector, around 100MW per year from 2020, but increasing to around 500MW per year by 2035. So as a significant number of wind turbines begin to reach the end of their original planned life service, our attention is focussed on the topic of life management strategies to support owners make smart business decisions about the next phase of their wind farms. The decision on life extension is complex and inevitably includes technical, economic and legal considerations as well as acknowledging uncertain future electricity market prices and revenue streams, which determine if life extension is economically feasible. Decommissioning, repowering or continued operation are the main options to be considered and although wind turbines are generally designed for a service life of 20 years, many can continue to operate past their original design life. As the size and capacity of turbines increase, and technology continues to improve, the economic case for life extension is likely to become clearer. In fact, the lifetime of a wind turbine can often be extended by minor and low-cost

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

With the world engaged in the energy transition and the environmental sustainability high on business agendas, scientists and governments are working to identify alternative technologies that will generate enough energy to meet the growing demand while reducing greenhouse emissions. The wind sector and the energy transition Within the transition trend, there is a wide portfolio of alternative energy sources available, from a large-scale development of hydrogen as a clean fuel, to renewable energy such as solar or wind power.  Offshore wind is considered as one of the fastest growing energy industries, with 2019 being the biggest growth year to date, and has the potential to create as many as 77,000 jobs within the industry on a global scale. The importance of a workforce According to the recent Global Wind Organisation (GWO) and Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) report, as the offshore wind industry continues to thrive despite the impacts of COVID-19, we will see not only a substantial growth of the industry, but also the emergence of new markets, offering further opportunities in the sector. In order to secure a healthy long-term growth and the necessary degree of sustainability of the sector, it is crucial that there is a skilled workforce available, able to support the industry’s ambitions and

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Exclusive Articles, Think Tank, Wind

How lessons from the oil and gas industry can support the floating offshore wind (FLOW) sector’s sustainable development Floating offshore wind has the potential to substantially increase access to an unlimited energy resource in deeper waters, and can play a crucial role in driving the world’s transition to clean energy. This paper examines the importance of adopting proven approaches from the offshore hydrocarbon sector to realise floating offshore wind’s successful commercialisation, drawing on comparisons between the sector’s current use of asset monitoring systems in pilot projects and the potential of the technology’s full-scale application. Going beyond model verification, it analyses how the technology can secure platforms throughout their entire lifecycles; mitigating risk to stakeholders, supporting array upscaling, and delivering the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) benefits of digitalisation. As part of the worldwide aim for net-zero, or carbon neutrality, European leaders have committed to reaching a 32% renewables grid contribution by 2030 – up from 17.5% in 2017. Recognising the limitations of fixed bottom offshore wind, floating offshore wind (FLOW) is increasingly viewed as an integral part of this initiative. With consistent high-velocity winds, operating in deep waters has the potential to uplift FLOW’s capacity factor when compared with its fixed

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

It is not an understatement to say that 2020 has been one of the most turbulent years in recent history, with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to seismic shifts in industries the world-over. But despite significant supply chain disruption, the renewables industry has remained remarkably resilient compared to conventional power and wider infrastructure asset classes. A growing variety of investors have subsequently entered the space, expecting to grab a slice of the pie and reap the dual benefits of non-correlated returns and greener credentials. But the renewable energy market is not so black and white. Broader trends at play in the space are generating new investor needs, and renewables owners must adapt their offerings to meet these accordingly. Indeed, the renewables market has been undergoing a shift of its own amid the phase out of state-backed subsidies, with portfolios growing more diverse and owners adopting more merchant-led approaches. This has raised several new challenges in the industry as projects have become increasingly exposed to volatile power prices. Whilst the renewables sector has continued to perform strongly during the pandemic, the coronavirus has brought these new market risks to the fore, and developers and renewables project owners now need to provide investors with confidence around the

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Exclusive Articles, Think Tank, Wind

In recent years, the construction of offshore wind farms has flourished as many countries strive to increase the share of renewable energy in their overall energy mix. Offshore wind offers some significant advantages compared to onshore developments, including stronger and more stable wind conditions ensuring a more dependable energy output, sufficient space in the national EEZs for large projects, and, last but not least, increased public acceptance compared with onshore developments. These benefits have fueled the realization of numerous projects not only in the North Sea, but also in many other shallow-water, mid-latitude areas of the world. However, the nature of offshore wind turbine generator (WTG) foundations and offshore environmental conditions pose serious challenges for the construction of wind farms. Today, WTG foundations are most often constructed as monopiles: large-diameter: 5 -10 m steel pipes that are rammed, or vibrated into the seafloor sediments to a depth of 30-80 m. However, several other foundation types have been used, e.g., jacket and gravity foundations and, more recently, suction buckets in conjunction with monopoles or jackets. The decisions as regards foundation types and necessary installation depths generally depend on the local geotechnical characteristics of the encountered sediments. Foundations are designed in the appropriate

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

The daughter craft for wind farms far from shore Over the last three years we have seen the introduction of purpose-built Service Offshore Vessels (SOV). These 70-100 m long vessels service wind farms, where a long distance to shore makes a land-based service organization impractical. Typically, 40-60 technicians live onboard the vessels and are transferred to the wind turbines with motion compensated walk-to-work gangways. A challenge for this operation is the efficiency of getting the technicians around the wind farm. The SOV transits at typically 10 knots and needs time for accurate positioning, to set out and also collect the personnel. This is the background for using daughter craft. Deployed and retrieved by a davit system onboard the SOV, she can complement the gangway, shuttle between the SOV and turbines near and far throughout the wind farm. So far these daughter craft have been of similar type to existing small rescue crafts. Monohull, 10-12 m in length and weight 8-15 tons. But these small vessels can transfer to the turbines in limited wave height, typically up to 1 to 1.2 m significant wave height and will therefore get limited weather windows. An alternative is to use larger Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) of

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