Power & Energy Solutions

The premier renewable energy publication

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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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Although being versatile is not a goal on its own, it does pay off to be able to meet the ever-changing requirements of the offshore market. The saying ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ is confirmed in the offshore market on a daily basis. Working around these changes of plan can be difficult and may even push your assets to the limits of their capabilities. This is where ELA Container Offshore is able to alleviate the stress, using their highly versatile fleet of container modules. Whether you need additional storage facilities onboard your offshore assets, or you are looking to add workstations, office areas or even living quarters, ELA is able to assist. The offshore modules are available ex-stock and are suitable for deployment in any offshore environment, on both fixed- and mobile assets. The challenge In order to complete projects in the offshore environment, it is critical to ensure availability of all tools, resources and equipment onsite. These projects can involve a wide array of assets, ranging from offshore platforms to wind-turbines and vessels of any shape and size, but also includes monitoring stations, transmission towers and any other installation at, or below sea level. Containers

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Exclusive Articles, Think Tank, Wind

The reliability of an offshore wind turbine and the resources required to maintain it can make up ~30% of the overall cost of energy, thus determining and understanding offshore wind turbine failure rates is vital for modelling and reducing O&M costs and in turn minimizing the levelized cost of energy (LCoE). The reliability of an offshore wind turbine and the resources required to maintain it can make up ~30% of the overall cost of energy, thus determining and understanding offshore wind turbine failure rates is vital for modelling and reducing O&M costs and in turn minimizing the levelized cost of energy (LCoE). One of the main optimization challenges that offshore wind faces is the cost of Operation and Maintenance activities, especially because of the difficulties associated with access for maintenance. The reliability of an offshore wind turbine and the resources required to maintain it can make up ~30% of the overall cost of energy, thus determining and understanding offshore wind turbine failure rates is vital for modelling and reducing O&M costs and in turn minimizing the levelized cost of energy (LCoE). Even if the documentation on offshore failure rates is rather poor in the past, some recent analyses have already identified

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Newly developed ground-based winch system shortens the amount of time needed to replace large components When a large component of a wind turbine fails, the operator often has no other choice but to have the damaged component replaced. This often involves a considerable amount of organisational work and financial expense – not just for the spare part itself but also for the logistics and infrastructure required to carry out the replacement. The loss of income due to system downtime also has a significant impact. The service provider GFW, a subsidiary of Deutsche Windtechnik, has developed a new ground-based winch system (GBWS for short) for replacing large components that can save tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros. Using the laws of nature for specific purposes The GBWS’s intelligent system of pulling and weight mechanisms makes the use of large cranes and the modification of local infrastructure that goes along with it unnecessary. The heart of the GBWS consists of load winches, support winches, support frames, counterweights and a control system. After the support frame has been securely set up on a suitable surface, the load ropes are pulled to the hub of the wind turbine. Depending on the type of large component

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