Viking Link Between UK and Denmark Gets Green Signal
Viking Link, an electricity link between Denmark and the UK has been given the green light by the government. The a proposed 473-mile (761km) electricity cable between Bicker Fen, near Boston, and Revsing, in southern Jutland.The cable running from the Lincolnshire coast to Denmark, uniting UK offshore wind with the sector’s pioneering nation. The GBP1.8 billion (USD 2.31 bln) project hits UK landfall between Sandilands and Anderby Creek.It will include about 40 miles of underground cables before it reaches landfall…
Eelectrification: Re-engineering a Low-carbon O&G Industry
Cleaner and greener: Azeez Mohammed, president & CEO of GE's Power Conversion business, discusses the key role of electrification technology in decarbonizing the oil and gas value chain.The renewables revolution is in full swing. However, renewable energy alone will not be sufficient to meet EIA’s forecast[1] of a 28 percent increase in world energy use to 2040. And that’s despite its prediction in the same report that wind, solar, hydro and other clean technologies will collectively be the fastest-growing…
German North Sea Wind Capacity Up 12.7%
Offshore wind power operators in the German North Sea raised generation capacity by 12.7 percent to 6,232 megawatts (MW) last year, nearing a government target of 6,500 MW national offshore capacity by 2020, grid company TenneT GmbH said on Thursday.TenneT, the German arm of the bigger Dutch transmission network group, plays a key role in the sector because it is responsible for linking North Sea wind farms to onshore grids in the states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig Holstein.Its German North Sea connection capacity already outstrips that of existing wind parks, having grown by 16.9 percent to 6,232 MW last year, as it anticipa
SurfWEC to Tap Ocean Wave Power
New Jersey based marine engineering firm Martin & Ottaway together with industry partners, has formed a new company, SurfWEC LLC, that will develop Wave Energy Converters (WECs) using patented features that are expected to increase energy recovery rates by an order of magnitude over legacy WEC systems.The marine consultancy firm said in a press release that SurfWEC has broken through the barriers holding back wave energy recovery technologies from successfully and economically harnessing power from ocean waves.SurfWEC avoids wave damage associated with equipment located in surf zones and stationary mooring systems offshore.
Offshore Wind Ready To Take Off in US
Up and down the East Coast, initiatives to develop a massive and largely untapped market can make sea change in American offshore wind, says the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).IEEFA pointed out that the big lease sales ($405 million) last month in coastal waters off Massachusetts for three federally owned tracts that didn’t sell at an auction in 2015 signal a sea change in how U.S. offshore wind generation potential is now perceived.The winners of that auction, who emerged after 32 rounds of bidding over two days, have global energy-industry pedigrees that bring market-making heft.
LNG to Fuel Central American Plant
Finnish technology group Wärtsilä said it recently started site work for a new 378 megawatt power plant in El Salvador, Central America to be fired by liquefied natural gas (LNG).The technology group said that this facility, ordered by Energía del Pacífico, will be the largest and most efficient power plant in El Salvador, and one of the first in Central America to be fired by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The installation will feed electricity to the national grid. A dedicated floating LNG import terminal…
Renewables Take Over as Germany's Main Energy Source
Renewables overtook coal as Germany's main source of energy for the first time last year, accounting for just over 40 percent of electricity production, research showed on Thursday.The shift marks progress as Europe's biggest economy aims for renewables to provide 65 percent of its energy by 2030 in a costly transition as it abandons nuclear power by 2022 and is devising plans for an orderly long-term exit from coal.The research from the Fraunhofer organisation of applied science showed that output of solar…
Argentina's Energy Chief Quits
Argentina's energy secretary resigned on Friday, the government said in a statement, less than 24 hours after news leaked that the administration of President Mauricio Macri plans to increase electricity prices by an average 35 percent next year.Higher power bills are sure to be unpopular as they would hit families already struggling with 47 percent inflation and a shrinking economy that has caused job losses and an increase in poverty.The statement announcing Energy Secretary Javier Iguacel was stepping down gave no reason for his resignation.
China's LNG Imports Hit Record High
China's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in November surged to a new record as the country briskly promotes the green fuel to clean its energy mix, said a report in Xinhua.In November, LNG imports totaled 5.99 million tons hitting a new record, rising 48.5 percent year-on-year, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs released over the weekend. The previous record was 5.18 million tons set in January this year, according to media reports.The report said that the country's appetite for natural gas has swelled rapidly in recent years…
Meet WaveGem: New Offshore Power Platform
Geps Techno recently named its new power platform WAVEGEM. Designed and built in Saint-Nazaire, France, the platform is a part of the R&D project IHES (Integrated Harvesting Energy System) which includes partners as Blue Solutions by Bolloré, Centrale Nantes, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, ICAM, Ifremer, SNEF et financed by Bpifrance PIAVE and INTERREG FORESEA.The 200-ton unit measures 21 x 14 x 7 m and is equipped with 150 KW power capacity, designed to produce energy courtesy of waves and sun. It is starting…
Poland and Lithuania Agree to Build Undersea Power Cable
Polish and Lithuanian power grid operators said on Friday they had agreed to build a high voltage direct current (HVDC) underwater cable by 2025 as part of a plan to connect the electricity grids of the Baltic states with those of the European Union.Poland's PSE and Lithuania's Litgrid said they signed an initial cooperation agreement regarding what they called a "Harmony Link", with an investment decision expected in 2020.EU Climate Commissioner Arias Canete was quoted in a statement as saying the cross-border project was a clear sign of how political and professional accords were helping the three Baltic states gain full cont
French Wind Power Generation Jumps
Electricity generated by French wind turbines rose 18.8 percent in November to 2.78 terawatt hours (TWh) due to increased wind capacity connected to the grid and favorable weather conditions, grid operator RTE said on Friday.Electricity generated by renewable sources, excluding hydro power, rose nearly 10 percent to 4 TWh during the month compared with the same period a year ago, RTE said in its monthly report.Nuclear power generation, which accounts for over 75 percent of France's electricity needs, was up 7.6 percent during the period at 32.7 TWh, while thermal fuel, coal and gas-fired power production fell nearly 20 percent
Vattenfall Okays 605MW Kriegers Flak offshore Wind Farm
Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall has reached a final investment decision for the 605MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm in the Danish waters of the Baltic Sea.Vattenfall has made the final investment decisions for the offshore wind farm Kriegers Flak in Denmark. Further action for Vesterhav Syd & Nord is awaiting the result of the appeal process. The two projects amount to a total value of 1.7 billion euro (USD 1.95 bln)" said a statement from the Europe's generator of electricity and heat in Denmark…
Aqueos Supports South Texas-Tuxpan Gas Pipeline
Aqueos Corporation said it has completed a major diving scope for the installation and commissioning of the South Texas-Tuxpan Gas Pipeline. The South Texas-Tuxpan Gas Pipeline is being constructed by a joint venture between TransCanada (60%) and Sempra Energy’s Mexican unit IEnova (40%), also known as Infraestructura Marina del Golfo (IMG). The $3.1 billion project is being sponsored by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) of Mexico.Carrying U.S. natural gas to Mexico from west Texas, this 42-in. pipeline is ~800km in length and runs offshore from Brownsville…
Shell Buys Stake in Cleantech Solar
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to acquire a 49 percent stake in Asia-focused firm Cleantech Solar, the energy giant's second investment in solar power this year.The Anglo-Dutch company will have an option to increase its holding in Cleantech after 2021. The deal is expected to close in January 2019.Cleantech Solar develops, owns and operates commercial and industrial solar energy systems in Southeast Asia and India that have generated over 100 million megawatt hour units of electricity, it said in a statement.In January, Shell acquired acquired a stake in U.S.
Dudgeon Offshore Wind Bags $1.77B Refinancing
One of the world’s largest offshore wind projects, the 402-megawatt (MW) Dudgeon offshore wind farm in the U.K., announced the signing and pricing of privately placed notes for the refinancing of the project’s existing non-recourse project debt, with financial close expected next week. The original financing for Dudgeon was successfully closed in May 2016.The refinanced debt consists of approximately GBP1.27 billion ($1.77 billion) in fully-amortizing senior-term loans, comprising around GBP561 million in commercial debt and a GBP706 million private placement of senior secured notes…
Hornsea One Export Cable Installation Completed
The installation of export cables at the world's largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea One in the North Sea off the coast of England, has been completed several months ahead of schedule, Danish operator Ørsted announced Tuesday.With offshore export cables totaling 467km, plus an onshore cable route of 38km connecting each of the three strings to the national grid, it is the longest AC offshore wind export cable system ever to have been installed. The cables were manufactured by NKT at their facilities in Cologne…
PGE Seeks Offshore Wind Partners
Polish state-owned power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has invited over a dozen parties to potentially cooperate with the company оn building up to 2.55 GW of offshore wind parks.The Polish power group said in a statement that it was looking for an experienced partner with knowhow in developing offshore wind farms. The two facilities, the 1,500 MW Baltica 2 and 1,045 MW Baltica 3, will be situated 30 kilometers north of Poland's coast near the town of Leba with and set to be completed after 2025.PGE…
MHI Vestas Confirms Scotland Offshore Wind Order
MHI Vestas Offshore Wind will supply 100 turbines for the 950-megawatt (MW) Moray East offshore wind farm in waters off the northeast coast of Scotland.Under the contract, MHI Vestas will deliver one hundred of its V164-9.5 MW offshore wind turbines for the project in the Moray Firth. The order includes a 15-year service agreement, MHI Vestas said. This is the company’s largest ever MW project.Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited, known as Moray East, is a 950 MW offshore wind project 22km from the coast of Scotland…
Croatia's HEP to Invest $1.85 bln in Renewable Energy by 2030
Croatia's state-run power utility HEP aims to boost renewable energy to 50 percent of its total capacity from the current 35 percent, investing 1 billion Croatian kuna ($153.96 million) a year on average until 2030, it said on Thursday.It will upgrade existing hydro power plants, as well as adding new ones, and invest in other renewable sources, HEP said in a statement.The company is currently running an open tender procedure for the construction of a 6.5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant on the island of Cres…
