Belgium: Offshore Wind Farms Break Record
Offshore wind farms in the Belgium North Sea had a record winter when it comes to electricity production.According to the Belgian Offshore Platform, during the Nov 2019 – March 2020 winter period, offshore wind farms in Belgium produced 60% more electricity compared to the 2019 winter. This winter the wind farms produced 3.2 TWh, compared to 2 TWh in 2019.Due to rapidly advancing technology and new wind farm installations, winter production will also increase next year and will continue to make an increasingly significant contribution towards peak winter consumption.
Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Project Fully Complete
Canada-based Northland Power has informed that its 252 megawatt (MW) Deutsche Bucht offshore wind project in Germany has achieved full completion.The offshore wind project is located in the North Sea, more than 100 kilometers from the mainland in the German Exclusive Economic ZoneAll 31 monopile foundation turbines have been generating power since the end of September 2019 and to date, have generated over €130 million of pre-completion revenues. Final completion marks the official end of construction and the start of the operational phase of the project…
Minesto Gets OK for Tidal Kite Installation in Faroe Islands
Marine energy developer Minesto has said it been granted all necessary permits and consents for the installation of two grid-connected tidal kite systems in Vestmannasund, Faroe Islands.The granted permits and consents cover two DG100 tidal kite systems which will be installed in Vestmannasund in a collaboration between Minesto and the Faroese electric utility company SEV. Minesto has been granted public funding totaling approx. €3.5 million through the EU's EIC Accelerator and the Swedish Energy Agency…
Borssele Beta Topside Sails Away
Dutch state-owned grid operator Tennet has informed that the Borssele Beta offshore substation has sailed away to the Borssele Area in the Dutch North Sea, where it will be placed on a subsea jacket by a crane vessel later this week.The topside is 25 meters high, 58 meters long and 32 meters wide, and it weighs 3,650 tonnes.The Borssele Beta offshore transformer platform, will provide access to the electricity produced by the offshore wind farms Borssele III, IV that are still under construction, and bring…
Seajacks Clinches Japanese Offshore Wind Farm Gig
UK-based firm Seajacks, an offshore wind power installation specialist, has signed a foundation installation contract with Kajima Corporation for an offshore wind farm project at Akita Port and Noshiro Port in Akita Prefecture, northern Japan.The project is expected to be the first bottom-fixed large-scale offshore wind power project in Japan funded 100% on a commercial basis.This is the first contract in Japan for Seajacks which will start offshore construction work on a large wind installation vessel called Zaratan in Japan in 2021…
Tidal Power Firm gets Funding from Scottish Gov't
Tidal energy developer MeyGen Ltd has been awarded a £1.545 million grant from the Scottish Government's Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund.The proceeds will be used to develop a subsea tidal turbine connection hub for the next phase of development of the MeyGen tidal power array, the world's largest tidal stream power project, SIMEC Atlantis Energy, the parent company of MeyGen Ltd. said.The MeyGen Phase 1A, located off the northern tip of Scotland, formally entered the 25-year operations phase in April…
U.S. Clean Energy Sector Seeks Subsidies to Keep Projects Moving
Wind and solar energy companies on Thursday called on Congress to pass tax incentives that would help the sector avoid project delays and keep financing flowing amid a pandemic that has choked off supply chains and slowed construction.In a letter to House and Senate leadership, seven clean energy trade groups asked lawmakers to extend deadlines that would allow their projects to qualify for generous wind and solar federal tax credits despite delays caused by the spread of the coronavirus across the globe.The American Wind Energy Association…
DEME Installs Second SeaMade Offshore Wind Farm Substation
Offshore installation company DEME has installed the second offshore substation at the SeaMade offshore wind farm in Belgium.In a social media post on Wednesday, Deme said: "The two substations for the SeaMade offshore wind farm have been successfully installed in the Belgian North Sea with heavy lift vessel ‘Gulliver’. Despite the challenging conditions over the past weeks, the SeaMade project is firmly on track...We are now gearing up for the installation of the inter-array cables and 58 turbines."This was also confirmed by SeaMade NV…
VDL Wins TenneT Gig
European transmission system operator TenneT has awarded VDL Network Supplies a contract to support the construction of half of the wintrack pylons (high-voltage pylons) for a new 380 kV high-voltage connection from Borssele to Rilland.The new pylons, which are some 60 to 80 meters high, will be produced by VDL KTI in Mol (Belgium). The high-voltage pylons will be supplied between early 2021 and late 2022 and erected on the TenneT route between Borsele and Rilland in the province of Zeeland.The high-voltage lines that connect the pylons will transport electricity originating from wind farms off the coast of Zeeland…
Taiwan Gets 1st Carbon Neutral LNG Shipment
Taiwan accepted its first carbon neutral shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG). State-owned CPC Corporation, a natural gas, and gasoline company in Taiwan announced receipt of LNG cargo from Shell.Nature-based carbon credits have been used to compensate the full carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated – from exploring for and producing the natural gas, to use by the final consumer.The cargo, which was delivered at the Yung-An LNG Receiving Terminal, will provide enough carbon neutral LNG to power nearly 150…
Amsterdam Port Launches Floating Battery Service
Dutch start-up Skoon Energy and the Port of Amsterdam have launched a floating battery service to bring mobile stored power into the port and inner city of Amsterdam.According to a release from the sea port, the battery, which is placed on a barge and powered by local, renewable energy, will help balance the electricity grid. Because it is placed on a barge, the battery can deliver electricity anyplace close to water.Skoon operates a platform that enables mobile battery sharing to optimize the economics for battery owners and user.
ABB Bags DolWin5 Gig
Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation ABB has won EUR10.6 million order for digital products and services to support the DolWin5 (Epsilon) offshore grid connection project in Germany.According to a press note from the technology company, ABB will provide a system for IT infrastructure, OT1 security, plant-wide condition monitoring, SCADA2 and remote access services to facilitate stable power transmission to the German national grid.The DolWin5 (Epsilon) platform will deliver 900 megawatts of zero-carbon electricity from three connected wind farms in the North Sea, 100 km off the German coast.
Saudi Aramco Launches Largest Shale Gas Development Outside US
Saudi Aramco is launching the biggest shale gas development outside of the United States to boost domestic gas supply and end the burning of oil at its power generation plants, Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser told Reuters on Monday.The world's top crude oil exporter has for years battled for market share with rapidly expanding shale oil producers in the United States, which in just a decade have developed capacity to pump millions of barrels per day of oil from rock formations that were previously too costly to tap.Saudi Arabia fought a price war aimed at putting the U.S.
Global LNG Demand to Double by 2040: Shell
Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), rose by 12.5% to hit 359 million tons last year, according to Royal Dutch Shell’s annual LNG Outlook report.According to the forecast by Shell, LNG demand was expected to double by 2040 to 700 million tons, with natural gas set to play “a growing role in shaping a lower-carbon energy system.”Asia is expected to remain the dominant region in the decades to come, with South and South-east Asia generating more than half of the increased demand.Natural gas emits…
Kongsberg, Zero Join Forces for Renewables
International marine technology group Kongsberg Gruppen and Zero environmental foundation signed a three-year collaboration agreement.The main intentions of the collaboration are to create increased momentum in the shift to renewable and emission-free solutions.Together, we will work to make Norway an important global test arena for the development and realization of new zero-emission solutions for all types of ships, and to spread these solutions internationally.The collaboration will also work to develop electricity and hydrogen infrastructure for emissions-free shipping.
Offshore Wind to Hydrogen Project Progresses
The next phase of Gigastack, a renewable hydrogen project, has secured GBP 7.5 million funding as part of the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Hydrogen Supply Competition.The Gigastack project, led by ITM Power, Ørsted, Phillips 66 Limited and Element Energy, will show how renewable hydrogen derived from offshore wind can support the UK's 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emission target. Producing hydrogen has traditionally been associated with high carbon emissions, but by using renewable electricity, e.g.
Kiel Intros Germany's Largest Shore Power System
The Port of Kiel commissioned Siemens to build Germany’s largest shore power system to date which is capable of supplying two ships simultaneously.With a power of 16 megavolt amperes (MVA), the Siharbor solution will supply two ships simultaneously with certified eco-power, for the first time. This will reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 8,000 tons.The system is expected to go into test operation within the 2020 cruise ship season. Maritime shipping plays a special role in Kiel. The port is the point of departure for cruises and has ferry connections to the Baltic states and Scandinavia.
Siemens Hands Over BorWin3 to TenneT
The BorWin3 offshore wind grid connection project in the German North Sea has been handed over to the German/Dutch transmission grid operator TenneT, by contractors Siemens and Petrofac.The 900 MW project will convert three-phase electric power generated by the Hohe See and Albatros offshore wind farms into direct current and transmit it 160km back to shore to the German national grid.Siemens was responsible for the grid connection system including an onshore converter station.The grid connections HelWin1 and HelWin2…
CMA CGM Joins Energy Observer in Hydrogen Project
French shipping giant CMA CGM is joining forces with Energy Observer within a project focusing on testing the potential of hydrogen as a marine fuel.Energy Observer, formerly a racing catamaran, is now an experimental platform for tomorrow’s energy sources. It is sailing round the world in order to speed up development of the innovative solutions for the environment.This partnership with CMA CGM deals with the development of cleaner and more sustainable energies to eliminate CO2 emissions, greenhouse gases and air pollutants.
Total CEO: Governments Not Oil Firms Must Drive Carbon Curbs
It is up to governments to drive decarbonisation and consumers will have to pay more to achieve carbon neutrality, Total's chief executive said, adding the French firm has no intention of moving away from oil and gas production.Oil firms should not be seen as "villains" amid growing pressure from investors and climate activists, chief executive and chairman Patrick Pouyanne told Reuters at Total's headquarters in the Scottish oil hub of Aberdeen.Giving up on oil and gas would be "a huge mistake", partly because it pays for investment in green technology…
