Friday, July 26, 2024

Renewable Energy News

Solar, Wind Uptake to Reach 5.4 TWac from 2024 to 2033, Says Wood Mackenzie

Solar: Cumulative installed global solar PV capacity to nearly quadruple from 2024 to 2033. Source Wood Mackenzie

Global solar deployment to add 3.8 TWac of new project capacity by 2033 compared to 1.6 TW of wind power, while 640% growth is forecast for energy storageFrom 2024 to 2033, developers will bring more than 5.4 terawatts (TWac) of new solar and wind capacity online, increasing the cumulative global total to 8 TWac, as the world endeavours to electrify economies and meet decarbonisation targets, according to latest analysis by Wood Mackenzie.Energy storage capacity (excluding pumped hydro) will grow by more than 600%, with nearly 1 TW of new capacity expected to come online in the same period.

Digitalization is Drawing CCS a New Learning Curve

SLB and Microsoft have partnered with Northern Lights on a data platform that will serve as the digital infrastructure for the Northern Lights project.
Image courtesy of SLB

Digital solutions are accelerating the progress required to ensure CCS earns its place in climate change mitigation history.Carbon capture has been around since the 90s, but the behavior of CO2 in pipelines is still not that well understood. A lack of suitable multiphase flow assurance models has meant that past CCS projects have had to apply large, costly safety margins to transport and injection systems. Between 2020 and 2022, the CO2FACT project addressed the shortfalls, and along with the development of the LedaFlow simulator, the knowledge gaps are being closed.

Floating Production – A Growing Segment in Transition

The FPSO offshore floating platform for oil production off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The structure is designed for ice conditions and deep wells. See Less
Copyright Dolores Harvey/AdobeStock

The specialized deepwater oil & gas and floating offshore wind segments will share many of the same stakeholders and supply chains, competing for increasingly scarce resources.To receive a full version of Inteletus analysis, click hereThe established floating production segment is forecast to experience continued growth through this decade, driving demand for, among other things, moorings, subsea systems, umbilicals, risers, flowlines and the large anchor handlers and subsea support vessels that will install and maintain the elements.At the same time…

Offshore Energy Production & the World Economy

Copyright NickEyes/AdobeStock

As the price of gas continues to seemingly hold steady at around three dollars a gallon, the pocketbooks of Americans continue to suffer. Regretfully, due to global conflict and the outbreak of wars across Europe and the Middle East, oil prices are continuing to climb upwards, troubled by geopolitical conflict and fears of a potential shutdown of international oil and gas fields.Thankfully, the United States has long been blessed with tremendous sources of domestic energy that, if properly utilized, can protect us from suffering a similar energy-reliance disaster as experienced in Europe.

Floating Wind Leasing Round in the Celtic Sea

Image courtesy RenewableUK Cymru

The Crown Estate, which manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, has set out further details of a new leasing round for three commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea off the coast of South Wales and South West England. The projects have the potential to deliver enough clean, renewable energy for more than four million homes.In one of the largest initiatives of its kind in the world, sites totalling 4.5GW of floating wind off the coast of South Wales and South West England will be leased across three agreed areas of the Celtic Sea.

Spain's Energy Firms Look to Central Europe Markets for Green Hydrogen Deals

© Corona Borealis / Adobe Stock

Spanish oil company Cepsa signed on Wednesday two agreements aimed at shipping green hydrogen between Spain and the Netherlands, a day after renewable energy giant Iberdrola took a similar step.The two Spanish companies are vying to become green hydrogen leaders, with planned investments worth billions of euros. The recent agreements will help them sell part of their expected production of green hydrogen and derivatives to industrial customers eager to decarbonize in Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, and neighboring…

Technip Energies Sets Up Green Hydrogen JV, Beats Quarterly Earnings Expectations

Credit: Corona Borealis/AdobeStock

French oil and gas services group Technip Energies on Thursday announced a green hydrogen solutions joint-venture with Belgian group John Cockerill, while reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. The need to combat climate change, along with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have created opportunities for energy service firms, with increased investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-carbon energy sources as Western countries impose sanctions on Moscow's energy exports. The JV, named Rely, will be 60% owned by Technip Energies and 40% by John Cockerill…

Protecting Offshore Energy Sources via USV

Photo courtesy Mr. Dave Meron

When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines, and wind farms, are incredibly vulnerable to anyone who wants to attack these sources in wartime, or just to make a political statement.One…

Markets: The Challenges of Developing Floating Wind at Scale

Hywind Scotland, the world.s first floating wind farm, operated by Equinor. (Credit: Signal Film / ©Equinor)

Tens of gigawatts of floating wind projects are slated for development in this and the next decade, but many obstacles remain.There has been much focus on the emerging floating wind market of late.The U.K. is forging ahead with commercial scale floating wind developments through the Scotwind and INTOG awards of at least 24 gigawatts (GW) of floating wind capacity representing close to 1,500 floating turbines that will come on stream through 2030. And this will be soon followed by the award of at least 4 GW of capacity through the Celtic Sea floating wind auctions. The U.S.

Wave of New LNG Export Plants Threatens to Knock Gas Prices

© NPershaj / Adobe Stock

A flood of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects due online worldwide in mid-decade will vie against lower-cost renewable energy and a revived nuclear power sector, which could rock gas prices and hurt some proposed projects, analysts say.Proposed and approved new LNG plants would boost LNG supply by 67% increase to 636 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030 from 2021 levels, potentially saturating the gas market."There's over a trillion dollars of natural gas infrastructure being built in the world today. There's a set secular shift and natural gas that is here to stay…

Petronas Clean Energy Arm Sees India, Australia as Key in Rapid Growth Plans

© Dan / Adobe Stock

Gentari, the clean energy arm of Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas, sees India and Australia as its key markets for growth and expects to tap more financing to meet its ambitious targets, its chief executive told Reuters.Petronas launched Gentari as a separate entity in June, aiming to build renewable energy capacity of 30-40 gigawatts and produce up to 1.2 million tonnes per year of hydrogen by 2030 in Asia Pacific.It also plans to establish 25,000 public charging points for electric vehicles.In an interview on Wednesday…

Blue Hydrogen: A Key Player in the Future of Energy Transition

Source: 2022 edition of GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050 - January 29, 2023

The energy sector is undergoing a transformation, with a growing focus on cleaner energy sources and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable future. In this context, hydrogen is emerging as a key player in the energy transition, with a variety of clean production methods offering different advantages and competitiveness in the market.The recent results of the Accelerated Energy Decarbonization Scenario (AEDS), developed within the framework of the 7th edition of the GECF Global Gas Outlook, provide valuable insights into the future of hydrogen as an energy vector.

Thinking Holistically about Hydrogen’s Place in the Energy Transition

©Shawn Hempel/AdobeStock

As energy operators across the world come to terms with the continuously changing nature of the energy transition, the need for a wide-lens view of the situation is clear. This includes knowing the capabilities and pitfalls of renewable energy sources at our fingertips, hydrogen being one that is especially prevalent.Kees van Wingerden, an expert with more than 45 years’ experience in industrial safety and infrastructure development, makes the case for holistic thinking and planning for the ‘new’ energy landscape. Everyone has an opinion on the energy transition and believes theirs is the ‘right’ one.

Thinking Holistically About Hydrogen’s Place in the Energy Transition

© magann / Adobe Stock

As energy operators across the world come to terms with the continuously changing nature of the energy transition, the need for a wide-lens view of the situation is clear. This includes knowing the capabilities and pitfalls of renewable energy sources at our fingertips, hydrogen being one that is especially prevalent.Kees van Wingerden, an expert with more than 45 years’ experience in industrial safety and infrastructure development, makes the case for holistic thinking and planning for the ‘new’ energy landscape.Everyone has an opinion on the energy transition and believes theirs is the ‘right’ one.

Megaton Project: Denmark's GreenGo to Build 4 GW Green Fuel Plant

©GreenGo

Danish renewable energy developer GreenGo Energy said on Tuesday that it's cooperating on 60 billion Danish crowns ($8.77 billion) project to develop a green energy park.The company is cooperating with a local municipality in western Denmark to develop 4 gigawatt (GW) of solar and wind energy for green fuel production, helping to cut emissions, it said. The "Megaton" project is based in the Ringkobing-Skjern municipality, it said in a statement. Megaton could be operational before 2030, and aims to produce 1 million tonnes of green fuel, such as hydrogen, by converting renewable energy through electrolysis.

Has Green Hydrogen Sprung a Leak?

©Andreas Prott/AdobeStock

The green hydrogen express is gathering pace, but it may have a worrying problem with leaks.As governments and energy companies line up big bets on the much-touted fuel of the future, some scientists say the lack of data on leaks and the potential harm they could cause is a blind spot for the nascent industry.At least four studies published this year say hydrogen loses its environmental edge when it seeps into the atmosphere. Two scientists told Reuters that if 10% leaks during its production, transportation, storage…

New Cloud Platform for Subsea Survey Data

Image courtesy TrueOcean

Subsea geo-information specialist TrueOcean GmbH launched a new digital platfom designed tor accelerate the transformation of marine data acquired by underwater sensors, including multibeam echosounders and related systems from any manufacturer, into actionable, easily shared information and insight via the cloud.In development since the Kiel, Germany headquartered company was founded in 2019, TrueOcean’s smart marine data platform (MDP) arrives at a critical time for the wind energy, subsea survey and offshore contracting sectors…

Renewable Energy: AWS Waveswing Put to the Test

The Waveswing. Image courtesy AWS Ocean Energy

Inverness-based AWS Ocean Energy announced encouraging results from the current phase of sea trials of its wave energy device at the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) in Orkney. In a key highlight of the scientific testing programme to date at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site, the Waveswing wave energy converter captured average power over 10kW and peaks of 80kW, during a period of moderate wave conditions. These figures exceeded the developer’s own predictions by 20%.Other key findings underline the survivability potential of the subsea Waveswing which continued to deliver power in poor weather conditions.

MTR100: For USVs and AUVs, is it a Hydrogen Future?

The Maxlimer hydrogen configuration.  Image courtesy SEA-KIT International

Hydrogen has been making big headlines in the energy world. It’s one of the potential routes to deliver high density energy to transport and heavy industry – but also to marine applications, as well as a way to move and store renewable energy. Various uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developers, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) builders and even subsea power delivery system providers are taking a serious look – and even trialing – hydrogen as an option.SEA-KITThe Maxlimer hydrogen configuration. Image courtesy SEA-KIT InternationalTwo UK firms, SEA-KIT and ACUA Ocean are working on hydrogen power systems for their USVs.

Incoming Shell Boss Aims Fire up Renewables Drive

Shell's incoming Chief Executive Wael Sawan. Copyright Miquel Gonzalez; Photographic Services, Shell International Limited.

Shell's incoming Chief Executive Wael Sawan is set to accelerate the group's drive to build its renewable energy business, including through a possible "transformative" clean power acquisition, company and industry sources said.Sawan will from January take on a firm with a strong balance sheet after a surge in oil and gas prices, but whose renewables capacity has lagged peers like TotalEnergies and BP as green issues come increasingly into vogue. Shell aims to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become a net-zero emitter by 2050…