News Archive September 2023

ESVAGT and Hvide Sande Shipyard work on advanced transfer boat

ESVAGT and Hvide Sande Shipyard are developing a bigger Safe Transfer Boat (STB).

Ørsted and the University of Melbourne join forces

The University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with offshore wind developer Ørsted.

Renewable energy company Green Genius, operating in 8 European markets, signed 92 million EUR loan with Swedbank in Lithuania. These funds will be used for the construction of an 80 MW wind farm in Jurbarkas district, Western Lithuania.

Huisman signs Letter of Intent (LOI) with DFO for the delivery of a Cable Carousel

The Cable Carousel has a storage capacity of 3,000mt and will be positioned below deck, maximising free space on deck.

Aruba wants to become energy independent

ACCIONA Energía has announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Aruba to work together in the development of a Green Hydrogen Valley on the island.

Kuehne+Nagel has secured a contract from the leading global wind turbine supplier Envision Energy to transport 190 wind turbine generators (WTG) and 67 tower sets to Saudi Arabia’s new special economic zone, NEOM.

Brazil passes 25% of renewables in July

Wind and solar have generated more than 25 % of electricity in Brazil in July.

RWE and Stanwell sign MoU for two onshore wind farms in Australia

The two planned Queensland onshore wind projects have a combined capacity of up to 1.8 gigawatts (GW).

PWS installs turbine toilet on Aberdeen Wind Farm

Pegasus Welfare Solutions (PWS) has successfully delivered welfare solutions to Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm as part of a 3-year service agreement with Vattenfall.

Winergy presents Service 360 at Husum Wind

At the Husum Wind trade show Winergy is presenting Service 360, a new service concept for wind turbine drivetrains.

Vestas wins 54 MW Energiequelle project in Germany

The order consists of nine V162-6.2 MW wind turbines in 6.0 MW operating mode and includes supply, delivery, and commissioning of the turbines.

ABO Wind wins bid for major project in Canada

ABO Wind secures lands for Toqlukuti’k Wind and Hydrogen Project in Newfoundland and Labrador

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier (FOWIC) has won a contract working with Shimizu for the transportation and installation of monopile foundations for the 640 MW Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan.

The company’s portfolio of 20 assets in operation or under construction consists of 2 GW of generation capacity evenly split between solar and wind and 1.3 GW / 2.8 GWh of battery storage.

Pattern Energy’s SunZia Transmission Project starts construction

The largest clean energy infrastructure project in U.S. history receives Notice to Proceed, clearing way for SunZia to provide renewable power for 3 million Americans

Global wind turbine order intake reached new highs in the first half of 2023 with 69.5 GW of activity, a 12 percent increase year-over-year, according to a new analysis from Wood Mackenzie.

Prysmian Group has successfully completed the installation and HV testing activities of its 1,400 km of submarine and land power cables for the Viking Link Interconnector between the UK and Denmark.

SSE Renewables finishes geophysical surveys for Irish offshore wind farms

The geophysical surveys have been completed by specialist Cork-based offshore site investigation company Green Rebel.

Having welcoming the draft strategy published earlier this year calling it ‘bold, ambitious and potentially transformative’, Scottish Renewables is calling for a clear delivery plan to provide much needed certainty for developers and supply chain businesses.

Increasing grid capacity in New York to accelerate renewable energy adoption

Avangrid has announced a pilot project with LineVision to unlock additional capacity on its transmission lines for renewable energy in New York state.

EBRD finances Kazakhstan wind farm

The 100 MW wind farm will boost the renewable energy capacity of the country.

ESB and Shannon Foynes Port support floating wind research at UCC

The aim is to examine the use of wet storage to support floating offshore wind projects off Ireland’s coast

Ørsted deploys buoy for the first offshore wind farm project off the Isle of Man

The deployment of the measurement buoy is the latest step in the ongoing survey and exploration work at the proposed site.

Prysmian Group has reserved the capacity to design, test, supply and install a HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) Cable System, consisting of 320 kV single-core cables with XLPE insulation and single-wire armouring, covering both submarine and land sections.

OEG Renewables acquires GEOSIGHT

The acquisition of GEOSIGHT by OEGR marks an exciting milestone for both companies.

RenewableUK criticises UK Government plans

While the Government announced onshore wind policy changes, RenewableUK says "The proposed changes don’t go far enough."

Boskalis wins Polish offshore wind logistics contracts

Boskalis has secured two contracts for the transportation and installation of the export and array cables for the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm off the coast of Poland.

The report, commissioned by Crown Estate Scotland, uses a range of scenarios for Scotland’s potential future hydrogen generation, with a focus on ScotWind and INTOG offshore wind projects which might dedicate some of their output to hydrogen electrolysis.

Northern Ireland will struggle to meet its target of 80 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2030 without significant reform according to a new report by RenewableNI.

The comfortable ‘wear all day’ lifejacket’ offers cross-compatibility with a range of fall arrest harnesses, integrated sprayhood with airway protection and Fusion 3D technology.

After eight years, the British government has lifted the de facto ban on the development of new onshore wind farms in England. This follows months of wrangling within the Tories. Still, not everyone agrees with the measure.

The wind farm is backed by a sales contract with SNCF Voyageurs, via its in-house electricity supplier SNCF Energie, which will buy all the plant's output for 25 years.

ABB Motion acquires minority stake in WindESCo

US-based WindESCo is the leading analytics software provider for improving the performance and reliability of wind turbines.

DORIS, a leader in engineering, advisory and project management for energy, has been awarded a framework agreement by bp for the provision of engineering services to bp’s offshore wind projects.

Landinfra Energy AB is currently investigating the conditions for the establishment of offshore wind in the Swedish economic zone and Swedish territorial waters.

August set a new record for wind energy in Ireland

Wind Energy Ireland reports a second consecutive month of records in wind power generation in Ireland, with both July and August surpassing previous monthly records.

While AI can be key to advancement and innovation in energy supply chains, a new report found that putting in place the foundations for trust in AI must be prioritized in light of recent geopolitical events.

Turning turbine blades into footbridges

The researchers have also been looking at ways to use the blades to build bus shelters, barriers, street furniture and telecommunications towers.

The High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) bipolar cable line will allow a transmission capacity of up to 1,000 MW and will increase the exchange of energy between the central-southern and central-northern areas of Italy.

European Energy plans to connect more than 600 MW this year

European Energy announces its accomplishment of connecting more than 400 MW of wind power capacity to date this year.

RWE wins onshore wind and solar auctions in the UK

RWE has been awarded Contracts for Difference for nine of its new renewable energy projects in the latest Auction Round 5.

ALTANA publishes prospectus of offer for Von Roll

The merger of ELANTAS and Von Roll combines the innovative strength of the two companies with the aim of expanding electromobility and renewable energies.

wpd refinances Taiwanese onshore wind farms

German company wpd concludes the refinancing of the Luwei and Chungwei onshore wind farms in Taiwan.

Offshore wind fails in UK auction

The latest auction of clean power contracts has failed to secure any new offshore wind, a technology crucial to meeting the Government’s energy security targets.

Repsol enters US onshore wind market

Repsol acquires the renewable energy platform ConnectGen with a 20,000 MW pipeline and development capabilities

Leaders at the G20 Summit agree to triple total renewable energy capacity and underscore global need for over USD 4 trillion of annual investments until 2030

OX2 sells onshore 20 MW wind farm in Poland

The Bejsce wind farm, that will consist of six turbines, will be constructed in the southeastern part of Poland.

Varco Energy and GE Vernova annouce partnership to build UK battery

GE Vernova will supply the complete Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for the Native River project.

PNE wins tender fo two onshore wind farms in Germany

The PNE Group was once again very successful in the round of tenders for onshore wind turbines issued by the Bundesnetzagentur in August.

ENERCON reaches global milestone

ENERCON reached 60 GW wind onshore capacity installed worldwide. More than 32,000 wind turbines have been designed, produced and commissioned in 50 countries since ENERCON’s foundation in 1984

Boralex to build 108 MW wind farm in Scotland

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has awarded Boralex’s 108MW wind energy project near Thurso, in the north of Scotland, a 15-year CfD.

The industry needs to approach a strategy for environmental data collection, storage, and sharing on a larger, more comprehensive scale to support industry-wide learning, overcome obstacles, and make the permitting process more efficient.

RWE and TenneT reach agreement on grid connection of Dutch offshore wind farm

Grid operator TenneT and RWE have signed contracts for an offshore grid connection of RWE's OranjeWind offshore wind farm.

Ørsted has renewed a framework agreement with Hitachi Energy to support the developer's global portfolio of offshore wind farms inclusing the planned 1.5-GW Skåne offshore wind farm in Sweden.

The analysis shows that there is a workforce ‘goldilocks zone’ between 2024 and 2028 when the UK supply chain capacity and capability can be sustained, developed and invested in, so that the transferability of the offshore energy workforce is optimised.

Statkraft takes full ownership of its Brazilian subsidiary Statkraft Energias Renováveis (SKER)

Statkraft has purchased 18.69% of the shares in its Brazilian subsidiary Statkraft Energias Renováveis (SKER) to become its sole owner.

DNV will certify new Polish offshore wind farms

The development of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea is a crucial step towards Poland's transition to a greener and more sustainable energy future.

WINDEA Offshore and Subsea Europe Services enter strategic sales partnership

Both parties expect promising synergies in the access to the international offshore wind market.

Until tomorrow afternoon, the wind industry will be meeting in Germany for the HUSUM Wind trade fair. The German Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, did not miss the opportunity to return to his personal origins and opened the trade fair on Tuesday - as he did more than ten years ago when he was still the Minister of the Environment of Schleswig-Holstein where Husum is located. He met an industry in a spirit of optimism.

As planned, the extraordinary General Meeting of Von Roll Holding AG took place on September 13, 2023 at 10.30 a.m. at the Headquarters of the company in Breitenbach (Switzerland). All proposals presented by the Board of Directors were approved by a large majority of the shareholders.

Vestas secures large U.S. order

Vestas wins a 243 MW turbine order from RWE in the United States.

BOEM completes environmental analysis for proposed offshore wind farm Empire Wind

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of the proposed Empire Wind Farm Project offshore New York.

The cooperative relationship between Ulsan Metropolitan City and Ocean Winds aims at developing a 1.2 GW KF Wind floating offshore wind project off the coast of Ulsan.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the European Union speech. As she addressed the EU Green Deal, the President stressed that the wind industry, so central to its delivery, was facing a unique set of challenges. To address these challenges, President von der Leyen announced a new ‘Wind Power Package’. And concluded: ”The future of our clean tech industry has to be made in Europe”.

Ecowende and Van Oord to build most ecological wind farm yet

The aim is to enable the development of offshore wind farms with a net-positive impact in the near future.

Vineyard Wind 1 starts wind turbine installation campaign

The 806 MW project is located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod and will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.

With respect for the environment and close relationships with communities, Neoenergia becomes a reference in social actions for the sustainable energy generation chain

A new collaborative innovation project tracking seabirds with AI technology has started at Vattenfall’s offshore wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Statkraft opens new office in Glasgow

Statkraft has officially launched its new sustainable Scottish headquarters in Glasgow.

Community Offshore Wind's collaboration with NOAA sets a new industry standard to increase transparency and share expertise between researchers and developers

Andel and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners form strategic partnership for Danish offshore wind development

Andel and CIP will form a consortium to cooperate on two tenders for offshore wind farms in Denmark.

Sweco to modernise Swedish electricity grid

Sweco will complete a comprehensive review and upgrade of the electricity transmission system throughout Sweden.

Report: stronger international cooperation needed to reach climate goals

Countries must supercharge international collaboration to get on track for 1.5°C climate goal.

AI and 5G reshaping energy efficiency

The integration of AI and 5G in modern switchgear marks a significant leap in the electrical infrastructure management, GlobalData says.

California approves Clean Energy Package

“AB 1373 positions California to be a global leader in floating offshore wind", says Molly Croll, Pacific Offshore Wind Director, ACP-CA.

Heightened understanding of the climate crisis through art

AkzoNobel Art Foundation explores Earth’s precious landscape with new exhibition

Schaeffler and H2 Green Steel extend cooperation

Schaeffler, the motion technology company, and Swedish startup H2 Green Steel have decided to intensify their already close partnership.

Three OEMs will surpass the 300 GW cumulative install mark this decade

Wood Mackenzie says, western wind turbine manufacturers are prioritising profit over volume, opening the door for Chinese market share growth.

Ocean Infinity to undertake a site investigation survey on US West Coast

Ocean Infinity has secured a survey contract for first-ever floating offshore windfarm project on US West Coast by Norwegian developer Equinor.

Suomen Hyötytuuli starts working on the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for turbine foundations in Tahkoluoto offshore wind farm extension project.

Petrobras and WEG signed a strategic partnership agreement for the joint development of a 7 MW onshore wind turbine, the first of this size – and the largest – to be manufactured in Brazil.

Adapting wind turbines to bird behaviour

Norwegian researchers at SINTEF are currently working on a new concept – involving turbines that adapt to bird behaviour, rather than the other way around.

Prysmian Group at Connected Britain 2023

EVP P. Vanhille: “Need for connectivity is growing. We will keep focusing in reliability, performance and sustainability of our optical fibre solutions”

Bladt Industries, together with Port of Aalborg, is piloting the foundations that will eventually lay the foundation for five offshore substations (OSSs) at the same time at the Aalborg site in Denmark.

Skyborn Renewables received permits for the 1 GW-Storgrundet OWF

Skyborn received the environmental permit for the planned Storgrundet Offshore wind farm off the coast of Sweden.

To test the hypothesis that wind turbine color attracts insects, a group of University of Wyoming researchers sampled insects near experimental wind turbine mimics with nine different colors during summer 2017.

Wood Mackenzie predicts US renewables annual capacity additions to nearly triple in 10 years

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is driving the economic competitiveness of renewables in the U.S.

European Investment Bank to support construction of Estonia's largest wind farm

Enefit Green and the EIB have signed a €180 million financing agreement to support the construction of the Sopi-Tootsi onshore wind farm in Estonia.

The floating offshore wind project DemoSATH, led by the Spanish engineering firm Saitec Offshore Technologies, in collaboration with the German energy company RWE and the Japanese company Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO), achieves a significant milestone as it commences electricity generation.

GE Vernova awarded transformers order by Amprion in Germany

German TSO Amprion has ordered 400 kV transformers from GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions business.

A new report by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) says U.S. grid operators lag far behind international counterparts in deploying a technology that is supporting grid modernization efforts across the world.

Octopus Energy invests in the Borssele III & IV Dutch offshore wind farm

The wind farm has been operational since 2021 and generates enough power every year equivalent to around 825,000 Dutch households.

For almost a year, Dutch company Smulders has been struggling to settle in Rostock, Germany. Smulders wants to build transformer platforms for offshore wind farms on a partial area of the port there. Now a decision is apparently imminent. 1,000 jobs are at stake - and also the future of Germany as an offshore wind location.

Vessel reservation contract signed

Eneti's subsidiary Seajacks UK has signed a vessel reservation agreement with an undisclosed client to transport and install offshore wind turbines.

Vestas secures order for the Engelhartstetten wind farm in Lower Austria

The order consists of 11 V136-4.2 MW wind turbines and includes supply, delivery, and commissioning of the turbines.

Qualitas Energy starts construction at German repowering project

Qualitas Energy is entering the construction phase after successful development work at the Salingen repowering project.

RenewableUK slams Prime Minister's announcement of changing net zero goals

"Today’s announcements will undoubtedly knock investor confidence", RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said.

"It’s alarming for companies considering UK investments in these areas when these same policies are shelved the next day"

Energy UK’s chief executive, Emma Pinchbeck, commented on the British Prime Minister’s speech on Net Zero.

Canada announces federal investment in Indigenous-led clean energy projects

$175 million for 12 new clean energy projects have been cleared in Alberta.

Geoquip Marine to work on MarramWind offshore wind farm

Geoquip Marine’s geotechnical investigation will gather soil and geotechnical data essential for designing and constructing floating platforms.

Ocean Winds joins forces with the State of Rio de Janeiro for offshore wind development

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the Governor’s Palace in Rio de Janeiro

Petrobras wants to become the largest offshore wind developer in Brazil

The Brazilian company filed project licensing requests for 10 areas with 23 GW of total potential.

Merlins breed in UK onshore wind farm

One of the habitats where the red listed bird has successfully bred is Vattenfall’s Ray wind farm in north-eastern England.

US Government releases comprehensive transmission action plan for Atlantic offshore wind energy

The set of actions will catalyze offshore wind energy, strengthen the domestic supply chain, and create good-paying, union jobs.

According to a new report by Wood Mackenzie, this long-term growth will take place despite short-term challenges that have caused a net downgrade of 10.1 gigawatts (GW) from 2023 to 2025.

In its new report, A turning point for offshore wind, Allianz Commercial, as a leading insurer of renewable energy and low-carbon technology solutions, highlights growth opportunities, tech innovations, risk trends, and loss patterns for the offshore wind industry as the sector prepares for global growth.

Portugal and Norway forge partnership for floating offshore wind

Both countries want to strengthen the collaboration between the supply chains in the two countries.

Lerwick Port Authority has entered its first collaboration agreement aimed at providing support for the development and operation of a major floating offshore wind farm with ESB.

Awel y Môr Offshore Wind Farm gets development consent

The RWE-led project is planned for the north Wales Coast and will have a capacity of 576 megawatt.

HV Services for Borkum Riffgrund 1 & 2 and Gode Wind 1 & 2

Semco Maritime has partnered with Danish service provider KK Wind Solutions, known for its expertise in electro-mechanical systems for wind turbines.

Scottish Government supports onshore wind industry

An initiative to position Scotland as a European hub for the recycling and repurposing of wind turbine blades is included in a deal agreed by the Scottish Government and industry.

“The Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal is an excellent blueprint which could be replicated throughout the UK, to drive down electricity bills and boost our energy security," RenewableUK said.

Japanese floating project needs to be postponed

Developer Toda Corporation has announced that the planned floating 'Goto City Offshore Wind Power Project' must be postponed due to the discovery of defects in the floating structure.

wpd sees upturn on German onshore wind market

“We notice that the number of approved projects is growing. The new political framework conditions are starting to bear fruit,” COO Dr. Hartmut Brösamle says.

The non-recourse project financing will be provided by over 15 international and local lenders with support from multiple Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) from six different countries.

Statkraft to build battery energy storage system in Ireland

The 20MW BESS will be co-located with Statkraft’s 55.8MW Cushaling Wind Farm which is currently under construction.

Report highlights urgent need for investment in U.S. offshore wind port development

The report offers practical cost and timing requirements for needed projects to ensure ports are ready to meet current and future demand.

The power output of wind turbines can go up or down by 50 percent within seconds. Such fluctuations in the megawatt range put a strain on both power grids and the turbines themselves. A new study by researchers from the University of Oldenburg and the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran presents a method that could help to prevent these power swings.

Hitachi Energy enables Finland’s energy transition

More than half of the wind power generated in Finland flows through Hitachi Energy’s transformers and grid connection solutions.

BOEM finishes environmental review of proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind

The CVOW project off the coast of Virginia Beach would provide up to 3,000 MW of clean offshore wind energy.

Thrive Renewables to repurpose old rotor blades

The old rotor blades will be repurposed into furniture for councils, communities and businesses.

ACP: 'milestone' for U.S. offshore wind industry

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released a statement following the announcement of finishing the environmental approval for the CVOW project by the BOEM.

On September 21, 2023, the first eight monopiles for Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project were loaded at the quayside in Rostock, Germany, to be transported to the U.S.

Iberdrola commissions two wind farms in Greece

Iberdrola has commissioned the 37.8-MW Askio II wind farm and the 18-MW Rokani wind farm in Greece, thus bringing its total renewables capacity in the country to over 420 MW.

ScotWind collaboration gathers digital bird data

To date the team has analysed almost 35 million images and documented the habits of over 75,000 birds and over 700 non-avian animals.

Energy UK publishes final 'Accelerating Action' report

How can the UK attract the investment needed to maintain its world-leading role in clean energy, and ensure a secure, homegrown energy supply in years to come)

The participation demonstrates Prysmian Group’s commitment to meeting the US growing market needs in developing and upgrading power grid infrastructures to support the transition to renewable energy in the country.

False optimism, window dressing or miscalculation? The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published a new report that says the 1.5°C target for preventing the climate catastrophe is still achievable. This is justified by the record growth of the most important clean energy technologies.

Changing global dynamics by BRICS expansion

Despite rapid economic growth, BRICS+ nations face a challenge in reducing emissions due to their heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

Varco Energy secures funding of BEES pipeline

Varco Energy approached NatWest to help with the funding of its Native River and Sizing John BESS projects, which are both forecast to be operational in the last quarter of 2024.

By turning our backs on equipment designed and manufactured in Europe we increase our dependency on equipment from outside of Europe. That undermines our energy security. And goes against the lessons learnt from our previous dependency on Russian gas.

Statkraft and Zeiss sign several PPAs in Germany

The PPAs with different delivery start dates and periods support ZEISS in achieving the goal of becoming climate-neutral in its own activities by 2025.

SQ II was projected to cost c £300m however infrastructure costs have been hit with a triple whammy of extreme inflation, 4-fold increase in interest costs and a weak pound.

Vestas wins 147 MW order in Sweden

Vestas has received a firm order from SR Energy AB for the Horshaga wind park in Uppvidinge municipality, southern Sweden.

Vestas has secured a 1,140 MW firm order from Baltic Power Sp. z o.o, a joint venture between ORLEN S.A. and Northland Power Inc, for the Baltic Power Offshore Wind Project in Poland. The firm order announcement is in reference to Vestas’ Company Announcement 16/2023 of 28 September 2023.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last week has announced $72 million for three sets of projects that will innovate manufacturing processes for wind and water technologies and accelerate the equitable and sustainable deployment of offshore and land-based wind energy.

First test runs with hydrogen train in Bavaria completed

The Mireo Plus H hydrogen train by Siemens Mobility will cut CO2 emissions when passenger service starts in mid-2024.

Deme Offshore to provide rock installation works at Hollandse Kust Zuid

Vattenfall is taking proactive measures to reduce risk and increase the lifetime integrity by stabilizing the Inter Array Cables at HKZ 1-4 with rock berms.

NKT Victoria operates on biofuel

As one of the first companies in the power cable industry, NKT has certified its cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria to be able to operate on HVO.

Plans for hydrogen projects at risk due to lack of supporting policy

The report suggests several steps for governments to reduce risk and improve the economic feasibility of low-emissions hydrogen.

Waardenburg Ecology and Ecowende (a joint venture between Shell and Eneco) have announced to develop a comprehensive ecological programme for the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (west) Wind Farm Site VI in the Netherlands.