Opinion: Egypt Banks on Renewables to Meet Expected Energy Demand Surge
To meet its soaring demand for energy, Egypt is turning to renewable sources. Its targets, if accomplished, will see it become a pioneer in the African energy landscape. But are the plans realistic?Egypt’s population has now passed 100 million. As one of the most populous and fastest-growing nations on the African continent, providing electricity to all its citizens is a matter of priority for the Egyptian government.To ensure continuous security and stability of energy supply, Egypt has launched an energy diversification strategy…
Poland to Merge Four Energy Groups with Aim to Make International Player
Poland laid out plans on Tuesday to merge four of its largest energy groups in a move the government hopes will create a player able to compete in international oil, gas and electricity markets.PKN Orlen, the country's largest refiner on Tuesday received conditional EU antitrust approval to take over smaller rival Lotos, and also said it planned to buy Poland's largest gas company PGNiG. Earlier this year, PKN Orlen had acquired utility Energa."We are building a powerful global multi-energy group in Poland…
Japan's JERA Books Hefty One-off Losses on 2019/20 LNG Supplies
Japan's JERA, the world's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), booked tens of billions of yen in estimated one-off losses on its supply in the year ended on March 31, due to slumping prices, its president Satoshi Onoda said on Thursday. The losses highlight the issue for Japanese utilities, which have committed to large LNG volumes on contracts linked to oil prices, while spot prices for the chilled fuel are barely off record lows touched this year due to oversupply and the drop-off in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Indonesia Produced 104.8 LNG Cargoes in Jan-June Period
Indonesia produced 104.8 standard cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Bontang and Tangguh LNG plants in between January to June. Susana Kurniasih, upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas' spokeswoman told Reuters.79 cargoes of LNG were exported and 25.8 cargoes were sold domestically in first half of 2020. 20.5 cargoes of domestic sales were sold for electricity. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Louise Heavens)
This Energy Source Can Support Your Sustainability Goals Without Wrecking Your Budget
Port operations are so all-encompassing and downright dynamic that they operate almost like miniature cities. So it’s no surprise these key transition points in the global supply chain are treated as such by regulators with regard to emissions compliance and air quality standards.On their path to a cleaner operation, ports can often face outside pressure on their operational budgets. Even the tiniest decision on how to move goods from sea to shore to the nation’s thoroughfares can have dramatic impacts on the bottom line.
Japan's LNG Investments Drive Faces Risk of Souring
Japan's banks and public agencies have funneled nearly $25 billion into liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects since 2017 but the investments may sour as prices plummet from the COVID-19 pandemic and as climate change risks rise, a new study shows.Spurred on by the government to boost energy security since the 2011 Fukushima disaster shut down the country's reactors, Japan's investment in LNG rivals that for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, while more evidence is emerging of the high climate impacts from LNG and gas.The backing of high-risk projects that require decades of sales to return investments looks questionable…
UK Gov't Advised to Harness Pandemic to Speed Zero-carbon Aims
From creating jobs in home insulation to hiking dirty fuel taxes and expanding electric-vehicle charging, Britain's government should harness the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate cuts in planet-heating emissions, an advisory panel said on Thursday.With public support for low-carbon shifts growing and the state spending billions to boost its flagging economy, now is "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to ramp up the transition, said John Gummer, chair of Britain's Committee on Climate Change."If we are to emerge successfully from COVID-19…
Amprion Sets Out North Sea Offshore Wind Grid Vision
German power grid company Amprion on Wednesday unveiled long-term plans for joint European offshore wind links in the North Sea and announced a trebling of spending in the next 10 years.Amprion, with 11,000 kilometers of high voltage transmission lines in western Germany, is the second biggest of four regulated operators of grids criss-crossing the country and offshore, which fund themselves via consumer fees."If we want to have a climate-neutral energy system by 2050, we have to start developing it today…
Innogy Picks Most Powerful Wind Turbine for Its Largest Offshore Wind Project
Offshore wind developer Innogy has chosen giant 14 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbines for its flagship 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, located 195 kilometers from the UK coast on Dogger Bank in the shallow area of the central North Sea.Subject to a final investment decision - expected in 1Q 2021 - Innogy will order 100 units of the recently launched new Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines, for the Sofia OWF, which will be its largest offshore wind project.The announcement takes the total conditional order backlog for the new offshore wind turbine to 4.3 GW…
New Report Outlines Big Potential for Offshore Wind
Offshore wind currently represents just a small piece of the world’s energy supply. But that’s changing faster than ever before as new and existing players look to tap the huge resource potential—and market opportunities—being unlocked by shrinking costs and technological advances, as outlined in a recent comprehensive market report.In the coming two decades, the rapidly maturing offshore wind market is expected to become a trillion-dollar business as the pace of installed capacity growth accelerates, according to World Energy Reports’ (WER) Outlook for Offshore Wind Power: The Frontier of Future Energy…
The Emerging U.S. Offshore Wind Industry in a Post-COVID-19 World
Join a webinar on June 17, 2020 for the global release of a major new market study on the depth, breadth and growth prospects of the Offshore Wind Market -- https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UR5uY1boTOKdAAcAXDbR4gJust when it was looking like the offshore wind industry was finally about to take off in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced one more significant layer of uncertainty upon an already very complicated playing field. There are currently 15 active offshore wind projects in the planning stages which…
Faroe Islands: Minesto Installs Foundation for Tidal Kite System
Tidal energy developer Minesto has completed the first offshore installation phase of its tidal energy project in the Faroe Islands, as the gravity-based foundation for the powerplant has been installed at the site in Vestmannasund.David Collier, COO at Minesto said: “We are very pleased to have the first sub-sea hardware in place. The operations team has managed to safely progress the offshore installation campaign, adapting the plan to overcome both unfavorable weather conditions and logistical challenges related to the ongoing pandemic”…
Hybrid AUV Completes Depth of Burial Survey for Offshore Wind Farm
Modus Seabed Intervention completed a high speed bathymetric and depth of burial survey of the inter array cable routes on the innogy operated Gwynt-y-Môr offshore wind farm, using the Modus HAUV-2 (Hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) .The Gwynt-y-Môr Offshore Wind Farm comprises 160 Siemens 3.6MW WTGs located approximately 8 miles from the North Wales coast in Liverpool Bay in water depths ranging between 12m and 28m. The WTG’s are connected by 161 inter array cables which total circa 147km in length.
Boskalis, Bouygues, Saipem JV to Build Fécamp OWF GBS
A consortium of Bouygues, Saipem, and Boskalis has been awarded the contract for design, construction, and installation of 71 concrete Gravity-Based Structures (GBS) which will serve as foundations for the Fécamp offshore wind farm turbines in Normandy, France. The award was made by Eoliennes Offshore des Hautes Falaises (EOHF), following the launch of the $2,2 billion offshore wind project by EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and wpd on Tuesday.The contract carries a total value of EUR 552 million (USD 616 million).
Seastar Wind Farm Connected to Elia's MOG
Belgium’s high-voltage transmission system operator Elia has informed said that the connection of the Seastar offshore wind farm marked the completion of Elia’s offshore power hub Modular Offshore Grid (MOG), Located 40 km off the Belgian coast, the Modular Offshore Grid switching platform bundles together the export cables from four offshore wind farms and transports the generated energy to the mainland via a shared transmission systemThe MOG has been operational since September 2019, when it was connected to the Rentel wind farm.
Deme Offshore Joins Neptune's Hydrogen Project
Offshore installation contractor Deme Offshore has joined Neptune Energy's PosHYdon pilot, the world’s first offshore green hydrogen project, being developed in the Dutch North Sea.Part of the Belgian Deme Group, the company joins as a partner and will provide the hydrogen unit for installation on the Neptune-operated Q13a platform. The pilot aims to integrate three energy systems in the North Sea: offshore wind, offshore gas, and offshore hydrogen by producing hydrogen from seawater on the Q13a.Lex de Groot…
First Turbine Installed at Borssele III/IV Offshore Wind Project
The first offshore wind turbine has been installed at the Borssele III/IV wind project in the Dutch North Sea, the turbine builder MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has said."The first turbine at the 731.5 MW Borssele III/IV offshore wind project has now been installed by MHI Vestas at site 55 km off the coast of the Netherlands. The first of the 77 V164-9.5 MW wind turbines was installed by the project team after setting sail from the Port of Vlissingen on the Aeolus offshore installation vessel," MHI Vestas said Thursday.The Borssele III & IV offshore wind farms are being built in the Dutch North Sea by Blauwwind…
European Energy Wins Approvals for Two Offshore Wind Farms in Denmark
Renewables developer European Energy A/S has received the approval of its environmental impact assessments (EIA) for two of its offshore wind projects, Omø South and Jammerland Bay in Denmark. European Energy started developing the projects back in 2012 through the so-called open door procedure. The two offshore wind projects are expected to enter into operation in 2023. They have a total capacity of 560 MW.According to the company the two offshore wind developments will create 60-80 permanent jobs and 3…
Siemens to Give Shareholders 55% of Energy Business Spin-off
Siemens will give 55% of its power business to shareholders when it spins it off in September, the German engineering group said on Tuesday, the latest stage in its shift away from a sprawling conglomerate.The trains to industrial software maker then wants to "significantly" reduce its remaining 45% position within 12 to 18 months after the shares are listed on Sept. 28, Siemens said, detailing the separation it announced a year ago.The flotation would be one of the biggest IPOs this year as companies avoided…
innogy Applauds Ireland's Offshore Wind Push
innogy Renewables Ireland, the joint developer of Dublin Array Offshore Wind Farm, has this week welcomed the announcement by Ireland's Minister of State, Damien English TD, of a clear road map for the development of offshore wind energy in Ireland. The government earlier this week announced the seven offshore wind energy projects that have been designated as Relevant Projects. These are offshore wind projects that either applied for or were granted a lease under the Foreshore Act 1933, or offshore wind projects that are eligible to be processed to receive a valid grid connection offer.
