E.ON, RWE Renewables Sign Clean Power Deal
Global energy company E.ON has signed an agreement to purchase clean energy from British wind farms of RWE Renewables.The 2.5-year agreement is on purchasing the output of more than 20 British wind farms, supplying sustainable power to the grid and supporting E.ON’s commitment to provide 100% renewable power for its UK customers.With this power purchase agreement (PPA) E.ON buys around 3TWh of power annually from wind farms around Great Britain which are operated by RWE. It covers a capacity of 892MW of onshore and offshore wind generation and includes a proportion of the London Array…
Global Offshore Wind Market Grows 30%
The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, benefiting from rapid technology improvements and about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world.Europe in particular has fostered the technology’s development, led by the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018, says 'Offshore Wind Outlook 2019', a report funded by the governments of Denmark and Germany.Yet today's offshore wind market doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential – with high-quality resources available in most major markets…
50 years of LNG imports in Japan
Japanese gas buyers marked the 50th anniversary since the first cargo of liquefied natural gas arrived in Japan, now the world’s biggest importer of the fuel.On November 4th, 1969, LNG was first imported to Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Company (now JERA Co., Inc.) and Tokyo Gas, through Mitsubishi Corporation acting as a buyer’s agent, started receiving LNG in 1969 from the Alaska LNG Project with Phillips Petroleum (now ConocoPhillips) as a seller.Demand for LNG and natural gas is expected to further increase globally, especially in the emerging countries.
GE's Haliade-X Produces First Power
GE Renewable Energy has generated first power from its 12MW Haliade-X prototype - the world's largest and most powerful wind turbine - located at Maasvlakte, the Port of Rotterdam.According to GE, local teams will now proceed with the testing phase, during which different types of measurements will be performed to obtain a Type Certificate for the Haliade-X in 2020.John Lavelle, CEO of Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy, said “This first kWh is a critical achievement for our whole team, bringing to fruition our vision and all the hard work put in place.
SGRE Powers Google in Sweden
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has secured an order to supply its turbines for a 254MW wind farm in Sweden that will power Google’s Hamina data centre in Finland.The Stavro wind farm, SGRE's largest ever onshore wind order in Sweden, will use 62 turbines with a 4.1MW rating. It is expected online by the end of 2021.Stavro is located in the northern part of Sweden, northwest of Umeå, and divided into two sub-sites: Blodrotberget, with 40 turbines, and Blackfjället, with 22 turbines.Commissioning…
Shell to Buy French Wind Farm Firm
Royal Dutch Shell is buying French renewable power company EOLFI as part of its plans to ramp up the oil major's electricity business.EOLFI has largely focused on solar and wind projects, including offshore wind farms.
Mayflower Wins 800MW Massachusetts OWF
Mayflower Wind Energy, a joint venture of Shell New Energies US and EDPR Offshore North America, has been chosen by Massachusetts for an 804-MW offshore wind farm (OWF), located 20 miles south of Nantucket.“Mayflower Wind is proud to have been selected to provide low cost renewable energy to Massachusetts,” said Mayflower Wind President John Hartnett. He added, “Development of the Mayflower Wind project will contribute to the building of an offshore supply chain on the South Coast and across the Commonwealth, helping to launch a new clean, safe and innovative sector of our economy.
WaveRoller Tested in Portugal
A first-of-a-kind commercially-ready offshore wave power generation device is soon to be completed thanks to the experts from Finnish-based wave energy technology developer AW-Energy. The team has deployed its WaveRoller device offshore at Peniche, a seaside municipality and a city in Portugal.Extended sea trials are being used to fine-tune the WaveRoller’s control system to maximize its performance and yield. Engineers are also monitoring the device’s performance using the company’s next generation monitoring…
Germany's RWE Eyes Japan OWP
German utility RWE Renewables has opened its first Asian office in Tokyo, Japan and planning to invest in Japan’s offshore wind power (OWP) projectsLed by the Japanese Country Manager, the new Tokyo office will support RWE’s aim to expand its renewables business to Japan.RWE Renewables chief operating officer Sven Utermohlen said: “We expect Japan’s offshore wind industry to gain real momentum."“The Japanese government has plans to considerably increase the role of offshore wind energy in electricity production.
IRENA: Shipping Industry Must Cut Emissions
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlighted the importance of reducing shipping emissions and following the path towards a carbon-zero industry, in line with International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s sustainability targets.IRENA said that immediate action is required if the global shipping industry is to meet a target of halving its carbon emissions by the middle of the century.With heavy fuel oil covering 82 per cent of the sector’s energy needs, decarbonizing global shipping will play a critical role in achieving climate objectives…
ABB to Connect World’s Largest OWF
Swiss technology company ABB ABB has won a big contract to connect the world’s largest offshore wind farm (OWF) to Britain’s electricity grid.ABB has been selected by energy companies SSE Renewables of the UK and Equinor of Norway to supply its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter systems to connect wind farms in the Dogger Bank region of the North Sea to the UK transmission network.In the first ever use of the HVDC technology in the UK’s offshore wind market, ABB will supply technology with one of the smallest environmental footprints…
OP/ED: Offshore Wind
Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role. Companies in the Gulf of Mexico, which traditionally support the offshore oil and gas sector…
Maersk Develops Ship Fuel from Alcohol
Danish shipping conglomerate A.P. Moller - Maersk has joined forces with Wallenius Wilhelmsen, BMW Group, H&M Group, Levi Strauss and Marks & Spencer to explore LEO, a blend of lignin and ethanol, as a potential future sustainable shipping fuel.The LEO Coalition, which also includes Copenhagen University, will consider the environmental and commercial viability of LEO fuel for shipping. Shipping accounts for 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, a proportion that is set to increase as global trade continues to grow at a sluggish but steady pace.
Singapore Sticking with Natural Gas
Natural gas will continue to play a dominant role in generating electricity in Singapore while the state plans to accelerate the use of renewable energy, primarily solar power, in the next decade to battle climate change, a senior government official said.The cost of installing solar power has become more competitive with the use of fossil fuels, making it more attractive as an energy source to reduce pollution and meet emission targets."We are now faced with new and urgent challenges in climate change," Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said at Singapore International Energy Week on Tuesday.Singapore…
Eni-led Group to Build Wave Power Stations
Italian oil group Eni is joining forces with shipbuilder Fincantieri, power grid group Terna and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to develop wave power stations.The agreement, which follows the understanding signed last 19 April, will launch the first phase of a joint project to convert the Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC) pilot project, an innovative system that transforms energy generated by waves into electricity, into an industrial scale power station, making its application and use immediately available.The partnership agreement will focus on two phases: during the first phase…
Minesto Boosts Taiwanese Presence
Swedish marine energy developer Minesto AB has renewed the collaboration agreement with National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) to explore the potential for Minesto’s Deep Green technology in Taiwan.The renewed collaboration agreement with NTOU's Center for Ocean Energy System (COES) was signed at a ceremony in Taipei by Minesto’s CEO Dr Martin Edlund and Professor Chen-Chou Lin, Director of COES.The collaboration between Minesto and COES builds on a phase-staged approach to go from a joint demonstration project at a test site in Keelung to full-scale ocean deployment of Minesto’s Deep Green technology in Taiwan.
B.C. Backs LNG Bunkering
The British Columbia Government has joined Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and FortisBC to establish the first ship-to-ship LNG marine refueling – or bunkering – facility on the west coast of North America.The use of LNG to power the world’s ocean-going vessels is forecast to expand and B.C. is well positioned to benefit from this growth.According to industry standards, replacing diesel fuel with LNG has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20%. Because FortisBC’s Tilbury facility runs on clean B.C.
Reaping Wind at Sea: A $1 Trillion Industry
Offshore wind could become a cornerstone of the world's power supply as steep cost reductions and improved technology unleash the potential of the green energy source, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday.Renewables replacing fossil fuel is crucial to meet a globally-agreed goal of limiting temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius this century and the expansion of offshore wind could avoid 5-7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the power sector globally, said the IEA.Power generated from wind turbines at sea only accounts for 0.3% of global electricity generation today…
Fortum Reports Quarterly Profit Surge
Finland's Fortum missed analyst expectations despite reporting a 59% jump in its comparable operating profit for the third quarter on Thursday, saying electricity price hedging and higher hydro and nuclear volumes had helped it achieve the rise.The firm's shares fell almost 2% after third-quarter operating profit came in at 153 million euros ($170 million) compared to forecasts for 164 million euros, based on the company's consensus of analysts.Sales stood at 1.06 billion euros, up 9.2% on the same period a year ago and roughly in line with analysts' expectations of 1.04 billion euros.Fortum…
Ofgem Rejects 600MW Shetland Cable Gig
Energy regulator Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has been "unable to approve" plans for two huge subsea cables to take energy from the Scottish islands to the mainland.The transmission links from Shetland and the Western Isles were proposed by Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) to connect planned new wind farms on the islands to the national grid.In March 2019 Ofgem said it was minded to approve the estimated £709 million link.The proposal from SSEN for a 600MW transmission link was based on the largest planned project…
