Power & Energy Solutions

The premier renewable energy publication

Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Although wind power remains broadly powerful as a renewable resource, opposition to wind farms is nothing new. For supporters, wind seems to offer something for everyone: carbon-free electricity, construction and maintenance jobs, and competitive utility rates. Still, wind farms are not accepted by all, and criticism of new wind installations around the world has effectively stalled development of some projects and defeated others. Wind power production in the United States continues to increase, especially when local governments seek to generate more tax revenue, but despite the many environmental benefits, when residents organize and fight a project, they often succeed. Rural residents across America are increasingly rejecting the advancement of wind energy projects in their communities when given a chance. Arguments from wind farm opponents often focus on concerns about disruption of landscapes, noise, aesthetics, reduced property values, and bat and bird mortality. In rural states like Ohio and Minnesota, residents fear that large-scale wind farms will turn rural communities into industrial zones. To shift residents’ views on wind farms, they must be informed of the facts and many benefits of wind as a dominant energy source. South Africa has exceptionally promising conditions for wind power generation but has delayed wind power production,

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

PES wanted to know more about how Peterson is applying a collaborative approach, together with transferring expertise and know-how to become a top player in offshore wind and renewables logistics. Sander G van Helvoort, Business Manager Wind & Renewables, Peterson was happy to help with this. The global energy industry is currently under-going a change in direction with leading innovators and companies across the globe working to speed up the transition towards clean and renewable energy sources. Access to sustainable and clean energy sources is essential to the goals set by the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Not only does this lead the charge in sustainable energy, but renewables also contribute to a higher standard of living, as well as better health and education, and is crucial for the productive activities that can raise people out of poverty. With its origins rooted in the Netherlands, Peterson has long been inspired by the culture of its home country, and, as it moves towards renewable energy, paying particular attention to offshore wind power. The European offshore wind market is predicted to record remarkable gains over the coming six years, with the UK, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands all driven by the strict

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

The past ten years has seen a massive step change in the renewable energy sector. It is becoming one of the most innovative industries, continually evolving to deliver greater value to wind farm owners and to provide a future-proof solution for our global energy demands. With the demise of subsidy driven economics, the industry has focussed on becoming much more pro-active. Performance optimisation, continual data analysis and cost competitiveness are all essential in the effective management of renewable energy assets, and, at Natural Power, our cutting edge methods have been developed to ensure we match what the industry needs to keep pace. Early last year, we decided to take our ‘ControlCentre’ to the next level. To ensure we were positioned at the forefront of asset management, real time data provision and security requirements, this investment is designed to deliver the next decade of services to a market where our clients demand more flexibility; where interaction between generators, system and network operators becomes more sophisticated; and where intelligent management of assets brings higher returns. Located at our global headquarters in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, we embarked on a market leading programme that included the design and build of a new control services

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

The battery storage market is expanding and domestic and community users are expected to install small-scale batteries. This is linked to coal phase out and cold waves, such as The Beast from the East. PES invited Keith Robertshaw, Business Development Director from N-ERGY Power Solutions to clarify the link and explain why the batteries market could face a boost very soon as a result. When the Beast from The East unwelcomingly visited the UK, residents were disturbed, and some were locked up inside unable to reach their jobs. It went beyond impacting individuals, it cost UK supermarkets £22m as shoppers made 5% fewer visit to them. The services sector was massively affected as well with Purchasing Managers’ Indices hitting a 20-month bottom low in March. Few would make the link between Beast from the East and Climate Change and some might argue that such waves have always hit the UK. But it is scientifically proven that climate change has been affecting the severity and the rapid frequency of such events. Extreme weather events cause major destructions on every scale, including causing deaths. And fighting such events and climate change is an international mission. But on an individual level, people cannot survive such events without energy. When

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Ask the Experts, Exclusive Articles, Wind

We look into the increasing importance of geophysical and geotechnical pre surveys in the offshore wind market. MMT is a Marine survey company that is leading the way in this specialist area. PES: Welcome back to PES Wind magazine. Thanks for talking with us. For the benefit of our new readers would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of MMT and the importance of the wind industry to you? Nils Ingvarson and Ola Arvidslund: MMT is a Marine survey company that has been around for over 40 years and for the past 25 years we have grown from a one boat company to a large fleet of operational platforms performing various type of survey operations to the Renewable, marine cable and Oil and gas sector. As for Offshore wind farms, MMT started with the geophysical and geotechnical pre surveys in the late 90s mainly in Danish and Swedish sectors. We have since then increased our operations and extended them to also perform these type of surveys in the UK and Germany primarily. During 2008 to 2010 the increased awareness of UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) made the UXO survey a requirement for these surveys. The UXO survey has also

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

With the continuous progression of the offshore wind industry we find more operators than ever searching for effective and efficient solutions to their operations. In the wind energy sector, modular units can be placed on a huge variety of vessels and barges to accommodate the manpower required during the commissioning phase of the projects. Accommodation modules are designed to interface with the control rooms, which enables great flexibility when it comes to last minute changes in projects and the varying requirements for staff. They host a range of benefits, as shown below. Fast and efficient With the palpable shift towards sustainable/renewable energy across the global industry, more organisations are opting for swift modifications on all types of fixed installations in order to keep-pace with the ongoing demand. In previous years, many of these organisations believed to have ample time to prepare for the next energy revolution, with long-term, extensive and costly new builds for their projects. However, we now find that in order to keep up, rapid conversions of existing vessel types, with the support of modular units is proving to be the way forward. As we know, a new build can be very expensive, with a long lead time to manufacture. When

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Compared to all other vessel type markets worldwide, the Crew Transport Vessel (CTV) is developing the fastest. According to MHO&Co A/S, the perfect CTV has yet to be built and as soon as the next generation is launched, there will be new requirements from a forever developing business. PES was intrigued and went to find out more from, Mik Henriksen, CEO and Dan Knudsen, COO. It is really interesting to see all the variations that are being built and the different philosophies used by various designers and builders. We have been involved in vessel design for more than 20 years, and it is fantastic to work on transfers to wind farms, where every month new turbines and concepts are being developed. There are many factors that a client needs to consider when choosing a CTV for a project: safety, operation limitations, comfort, fuel economy, cargo carrying capacity, speed and the day rate, amongst others. The CTV market has had a few hard years, following on from a some really good years, we are hopeful that the lessons learned during the hard years, will make all involved a bit more careful. MHO&Co A/S, has chosen to focus on larger CTVs, as wind farms are being

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Wind energy is proven to be a reliable way of producing clean renewable energy, and the net inflow of financial investors reflects that the industry has matured. Wind energy is clean and safe and simply constitutes a smart investment. The business will, however, see some challenges going forward. Generating new electricity has always depended on national support schemes whether it has been carbon-based or generated by renewable sources. Wind and solar will be the first renewable technologies to break this barrier in reaching the point where they can operate continuously and profitably without public subsidy. To ensure business sustainability, it will be increasingly important to continue and develop further efforts to reduce investment requirements and operating costs. Wind turbines will continue to grow in size. The components and the forces applied to the turbines will continue to grow. Which is why increasing our knowledge and understanding of how turbines operate and function is the key to reducing costs, especially as the wind business enters a critical transformative period. Integrated operations Data is increasingly driving the understanding of wind farms and their day-to-day operations. Various control and monitoring systems are available for all aspects of a wind turbine, from planned maintenance to lifecycle

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

The offshore industry is now recognising the potential of utilising hybrid power linked to innovative propulsion systems. However, the cost of adopting hybrid technology on retrofit projects and new vessels requires a viable business case to justify higher capital expenditure (CAPEX). Offshore maritime cannot afford to go ‘green’ for no reason; there simply is not the margin to add on another layer of costs. They need a viable business case or they need a compliance case. Which raises the burning question - how can the offshore sector finance hybrid marine power? Other transport sectors around the world are successfully utilising hybrid systems. Automotive manufacturers including Tesla and BMW are re-defining energy possibilities for land transport. The technology is transitioning from high performance automobiles to city busses and the future of aviation. Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is rated 1 to 9. Component parts of maritime hybrid powertrains typically achieve TRL8. By definition this is, ‘actual system completed and qualified through test and demonstration’. But maritime needs to move up to TRL9, ‘actual system proven through successful mission operations’. Emissions Compliance versus Engineering Efficiency Dramatically reducing pollution in both water and air, particularly in ports and around people to maintain their health, is becoming the most significant driver for change

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