Tag: offshore wind

Belgium's plans to support three offshore wind farm projects are in line with EU State aid rules, the European Commission announced, noting that the measure will further EU energy and climate goals without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.

According to marine and engineering consultancy, LOC Renewables, out of 96 European ports analysed, only a limited number of them in Scotland, Norway and Spain are able to operate floating offshore wind farms. Most of European ports are not able to enable manufacturing and assembly works for large-scale floating wind farms.

Danish turbine manufacturer MHI Vestas announced launch of the industry’s first commercially available double-digit wind turbine, breaking the long-anticipated, double-digit barrier. The model is built on proven technology and lessons learned from previous installations of the platform.

Back in 2010 the US Energy Information Agency declared offshore wind power as the most expensive energy generating technology for large scale deployment. Lately, there have been significant cost reductions in both onshore and offshore wind sectors, while floating wind is expected to follow a similar downward trend.

DNV GL published the revised standard for design of floating wind turbine structures and a new guideline for the certification of floating wind turbines. The two documents define design and certification requirements for floating offshore wind turbine concepts, prototypes and projects.

The world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, Walney Extension, will officially open today at a ceremony in Barrow in the north-west of England. Walney Extension, which is owned by Ørsted and its partners PFA and PKA, is the first project to use wind turbines from two different manufacturers.

Harnessing offshore wind energy could triple the amount of wind energy jobs in five US Atlantic coast states -New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina- and add $3.6 billion to the economy, according to a new economic analysis from business group E2. 

Equinor and partners at Gullfaks and Snorre have decided to explore the possibilities of supplying the Gullfaks and Snorre fields with power from floating offshore wind. If this happens it would be the first time an offshore wind farm is directly connected to oil and gas platforms.

The Business Network for Offshore Wind will cooperate with New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland to help these states advance offshore wind projects and promote green energy in general. The Network will also be working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to create offshore standards and guidelines.

The US Department of Energy released three wind energy market reports showing that as wind installations continue across the country and offshore wind projects move beyond the planning process, technology costs and wind energy prices continue to fall. The reports cover three market sectors: land-based utility scale, distributed, and offshore wind.