News Archive May 2023

Suzlon wins second order for 3 MW series within a week

Suzlon's 3 MW turbines feature a 144-meter rotor diameter and are designed to unlock low wind sites and deliver improved energy yield suitable for all Indian wind regimes.

Irish Offshore Wind Farm announces new €500,000 Fisheries Fund and Charter

The fund will support both inshore and offshore fishing initiatives for local fishers.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has extended its run of orders for walk-to-work gangway technology from Edda Wind, after receiving a contract to equip the 8th service vessel in succession for the Østensjø Group operation.

Fugro to work on Australia's first offshore wind farm

Fugro has been awarded a contract to perform an offshore geotechnical site investigation for Australia's offshore wind project Star of the South.

There is no evidence to support speculation that noise resulting from wind development-related site characterization surveys could potentially cause mortality of whales.

RWE and Siemens Gamesa announce large-scale partnership for European onshore sector

RWE has ordered wind turbines with a total capacity of 1,000 MW from Siemens Gamesa for the company's European onshore pipeline.

Qualitas Energy pays voluntary municipal levy to German communities

Qualitas Energy is giving German municipalities a share in their economic success by paying a voluntary municipal levy of €2 / MWh for wind farms.

Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm enters new construction stage

There was a celebraion for the launch of Revolution Wind’s advanced foundation components construction at the ProvPort offshore wind construction hub.

ZITON and Siemens Gamesa expand their partnership

ZITON and Siemens Gamesa signed strategic agreements extending the current charter of WIND ENTERPRISE and adding a new charter for the sister vessel.

Bute Energy plans onshore wind farm in Wales

Located near Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, in Conwy, the proposed Moel Chwa Energy Park includes 12 turbines up to maximum tip height of 200m with a capacity of 80 MW.

Specialist Marine Consultants (SMC) have been awarded a contract from RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind Farm to deliver Offshore Resources and Services for the duration of the project’s offshore construction, commencing in 2023.

After generating one million megawatt hours of green energy in the last two years alone, the Banks Renewables' ten onshore wind farms have just produced their three millionth megawatt hour of green energy in total.

The proposed rule would modernize regulations governing offshore wind development to reduce administrative burdens for both developers and regulatory agencies.

Statkraft at E-World 2023

From 23 to 25 May 2023, the energy world will meet at the E-World trade fair – and Statkraft will also be there.

Schaeffler at the maintenance in Germany

Schaeffler combines smart condition monitoring and lubricant management to form one predictive maintenance solution.

Energy yield assessments considering climate change

GEO-NET Umweltconsulting GmbH from Hanover (GEO-NET) can now perform wind energy yield assessments considering various climate scenarios.

Aurora Energy Research: Global hydrogen pipeline surpasses 1 TW

The latest additions of projects are challenging Europe’s dominance of the sector - the region will lose its majority share of manufacturing capacity in 2025.

Roxtec and Consilium announce strategic partnership to enhance marine safety

As part of the cooperation, Consilium Safety Group will become a trusted service partner for Roxtec cable and pipe sealing solutions.

While the EU only recently decided to develop the North Sea into a large-scale power plant for the production of offshore wind energy in the long term, the effects of offshore wind turbines on ocean biodiversity have so far been largely unknown. Now, a new research project aims to collect data.

The offshore wind sector must take action to address a rising tide of mechanical breakdown issues, component failures and serial defects ensuing from the deployment of ever-larger offshore wind turbines, GCube Insurance says.

If approved, the draft Request for Proposals (RFP) will invite submittals for offshore wind generation to procure up to 3,600 MW, which represents 25 percent of the state’s annual electricity demand.

Energiequelle celebrates sales record in 2022

In 2022, Energiequelle GmbH broke a company record with sales of 213 million euros, exceeding its profit forecasts.

Implementing this five-point-plan could unlock new wind and solar farms with clean electricity for around 2.5 million homes - covering the electricity needs for households in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds combined every year.

Renewable Power Capital (RPC) closes the long-term refinancing of 3 onshore wind farms in Finland / The new package totalling almost €200m has been secured despite great market uncertainty, demonstrating the lenders’ faith in RPC’s long-term investment model / This follows the announcement in March that OX2 has handed over operation of the wind farms to RPC

US power grids need modernization now

In 2022 alone, there were 18 climate–related disasters in the U.S. that caused at least $1 billion in damages. The impact on customers is extreme, BNEF says.

If the UK does not step up, it risks being left behind due to ambitious tax incentives and subsidies offered abroad, such as the United States Inflation Reduction Act, which may attract investment and prospective suppliers away from this country.

Through this MoU, RES4Africa and the University of Pretoria aim to collaborate on promoting capacity building activities in order to enhance the country's human capital.

Social commitment, performance pursuit and miles accumulation are the goals of 2023 for the only Italian team vying for participation in next year’s solo round-the-world race / Sustainability and social commitment confirmed with ELECTRICIENS SANS

Ireland needs even offshore action to accelerate industry

As Ireland's first offshore wind energy auction opened, Wind Energy Ireland is calling for even more action to accelerate the offshore wind industry.

Chinese foundations for German offshore wind farm

Dajin Offshore has been contracted by RWE and Northland Power to supply foundations for the 1.6-GW offshore wind cluster off the German coast.

Under this frame, Nexans will be responsible for three grid projects, connecting the future offshore wind farms BalWin 3, LanWin 4, LanWin 2, in the German North Sea to main land.

Wind power and transmission line project SunZia is ready to kick off construction. Once completed, the project will generate and transmit a significant amount of wind energy from New Mexico to consumers in the western United States.

Jan De Nul lands gig by TenneT

Jan De Nul Group, LS Cable & System, and Denys NV have been awarded a 525 kV HVDC cable system portfolio for the German electricity grid by TenneT.

Rising costs and other challenges facing developers of clean energy projects means it is likely the auction will actually bring forward even less capacity than the maximum possible.

Thank you for meeting us at WindEurope 2023 in Copenhagen

Thank you for visiting Labkotec stand at WindEurope 2023 in Copenhagen! We are very pleased about the interest you showed for our products.

In the first quarter of 2023, PNE recorded total aggregate output of euro 45.3 million (prior year: euro 37.9 million) and revenues of euro 32.2 million (prior year: euro 29.5 million).

The conditional agreement will see Statkraft supply FFI with renewable energy from the Norwegian grid to support potential plans for a 300 megawatt green hydrogen and green ammonia facility.

The CEF Energy support will co-fund the preparatory studies that will help to assess the feasibility of a potential offshore wind farm of a capacity of approx. 300 MW in the Northern Adriatic coastal zone near Croatia and Italy.

Schaeffler Group starts with good results in Q1

Global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler published its figures for the first three months of 2023.

Last May, four countries in Northern Europe declared their intention to install at least 65 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy in the wind-rich North Sea by 2030, up from the current 20 GW. It’s another sign that the offshore wind industry is set for an unprecedented boom as the technology improves and countries rush to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and speed the journey to net zero.

PNE AG: General meeting of shareholders approves dividend

Dividend and special dividend of euro 0.08 in total approved / The general meeting was held as an event with personal attendance

Wind turbine blades are challenging to recycle due to the composite materials used in their production. Enva is now rolling out a solution for wind power producers that will see decommissioned turbine blades crushed and shredded to enable the recovery of recyclable materials such as steel.

While attending the 'Baltic Offshore Wind Forum', the German Transmission System Operator 50Hertz and its counterparts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania agreed to intensify their cooperation.

Trailstone and Glennmont Partners Sign PPA

This deal is the latest in a longstanding relationship between Trailstone and Glennmont that began in 2016.

Research project for construction of wind turbines on recultivated land under way

Is it possible to build wind farms on former opencast mining sites sooner than has been the case up to now?

Actis launches $500m renewables business in Japan

Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has launched Nozomi Energy, a new US$500 million Japan-focused renewables platform.

Siemens Gamesa and Repsol sign contract for 200 MW of wind turbines

Siemens Gamesa will supply 40 SG 5.0-145 onshore turbines for six wind farms in Spain for developer Repsol.

ONYX Insight wins funding to boost blade sensing technology

Bruce Hall, CEO, ONYX Insight, said: “The funding from OWGP provides us with a welcome grant to accelerate the development of advanced sensing for the blades."

Mr Chris Ong, CEO of Seatrium, said, “We are glad to partner with a world class research centre like TCOMS to advance our capabilities in the area of offshore renewables, new energy and cleaner solutions for the offshore, marine and energy industries."

Fortum not happy with Putin

The company has formally notified that it objects the unlawful seizure of its Russian subsidiary by the Russian president.

Wind and solar power will secure our energy supply in the future. The potential is huge - but now we need to act quickly and drive forward the expansion. US figures show what is possible.

Q1 2023 Financial Highlights

Long-term drivers continue to fuel growth Improved results and strong cash generation thanks to a wide portfolio of businesses and geographies

Statkraft and its offshore partners Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have welcomed today’s provisional results from Ireland’s first offshore wind auction in which they secured 500 MW. The partnership participated in the Irish government’s ORESS-1 (the first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme) to win 500 MW to develop the landmark North Irish Sea Array (NISA) offshore wind project off the east coast.

Green portfolio grows by 7 gigawatts year-on-year thanks to acquisitions and commissioning of new wind and solar plants, 4.9 gigawatts of which were added in the first quarter of 2023 alone Strong results in the first quarter of 2023: Adjusted EBITDA increases to €2.8 billion and adjusted net income to €1.7 billion thanks to higher earnings in green core business Currently more than 70 projects totalling 6.8 gigawatts under construction in 12 countries Outlook and dividend target of €1.00 per share for fiscal 2023 confirmed

Demag presents new DVR rope hoist

Demag presents a new rope hoist series boasting very compact dimensions and a wide range of options.

Studying bird behavior at Eneco Luchterduinen offshore wind farm

Gulls avoid wind turbines more often than thought.

Invenergy finishes construction of wind farm in New York

Invenergy has announced the completion of the 103.9-megawatt Number Three Wind Energy Center, marking the first Clean Path NY renewable generation asset to reach operation.

“Energy storage is often the forgotten treasure. In the current electricity market reform we have a great opportunity to unlock the potential of energy storage in Europe’s energy system!” said MEP Emma Wiesner.

Now there will be a period of scrutiny, before EirGrid can formally confirm the auction results. If Dublin Array’s success is formally confirmed on 14 June, RWE’s next steps will be to submit an application for consent, while also completing the final stages of detailed design and procurement.

Oil and gas operations need to cut their emissions

The new IEA report – Emissions from Oil and Gas Operations in Net Zero Transitions – aims to inform in the run-up to the COP28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai in November.

“The best way out of the current energy crisis is to accelerate the development of renewable energy and the Government is helping to do just that by setting out a clear auction timetable," said Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland.

RWE celebrates groundbreaking ceremony for Thor offshore wind farm

RWE has started construction of the onshore substation for its Danish offshore wind farm Thor.

Balmoral has brought a new and globally patented product to market which aims to reduce scour phenomena around fixed wind turbines that cause seabed erosion and a reduction in foundation strength and stiffness.

Is a green hydrogen transport chain from Morocco to Europe possible?

CWP Global and Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies explore the possibilities for a green hydrogen transport chain from Morocco to Europe in feasibility study.

ACCIONA signs PPA for five wind farms in Thailand

ACCIONA Energía has been awarded, together with its participated company The Blue Circle, a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for five wind projects totaling 436MW in Thailand.

Amazon is trying to switch its energy-intensive operations entirely to the use of renewable energy by 2025. Last year, the retail giant's hunger for electricity was equivalent to as much energy as all of Ecuador needs for its power supply. But there are limits.

Italy is making progress

Italy prepares to pursue more ambitious EU climate goals and reduce reliance on Russian energy supplies.

Full-scale, on-site physical testing of offshore wind energy technologies is logistically difficult, expensive, and time-consuming for early evaluation of design concepts. To simulate real-life situations, WETO funded facilities at three universities to test offshore wind energy components in a laboratory setting.

"To expand our developments into deeper waters and areas where the seabed is made up of rock or mud, we need to make the transition from small-scale floating wind projects and one-off designs to commercial-scale developments,” says Ane Mette Lysbech-Kleis, Head of Development at Vattenfall Offshore.

Concerns have been raised that the installation of the monopiles of the Danish Vesterhav North wind farm could cause a small pod of dolphins to leave the area. The dolphins have, however, neither left the area nor changed behaviour.

Cerulean Winds has revealed plans to build the North Sea Renewables Grid (NSRG), an offshore integrated green power and transmission system, powered by floating wind, that oil and gas platforms will plug into for clean power.

Construction start for world's largest monopile facility

China plans to build XXXL monopiles in the future.

BLIX Consultancy to conduct site characterization for Doordewind Wind Farm Zone

The tender called for a team of experts, including a lead expert to optimize the interface between RVO, specialist experts, and future contractors.

This new product, commercially known as IS STORAGE 3Power HV, is specifically intended for energy storage plants developed with batteries up to a maximum voltage of 1500 V DC.

DNV: Electricity gains traction in transport sector

Electricity’s share in transport will grow from 1% today to 23% in 2050, according to DNV’s latest 'Transport in Transition' report.

Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition, and Cat Creek Energy (CCE), a renewable energy Independent Power Producer, today announced a long-term Structured Renewable Energy Credit (REC) Purchase Agreement.

Borealis introduces new class of engineering polymer

Stelora: a new class of sustainable engineering polymer offering increased strength, durability and a step change in heat-resistance capability is entering the market.

GE names Rahul Ghai new Chief Financial Officer

Rahul Ghai will become Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of GE effective September 1, 2023, succeeding Carolina Dybeck Happe.

Central and Eastern Europe increase political support for wind energy

All the countries in the region still have work to do on the simplification of permitting, notably to implement the new EU rule on this.

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) praised a Massachusetts federal judge for her ruling yesterday that resoundingly upheld key federal approvals for the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm currently under construction off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

Ireland completes first offshore wind auction

The auction attracted major interest from wind energy developers, leading to a healthy oversubscription.

Floating wind is rapidly coming of age

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “Floating wind is advancing at a rapid pace. The demo projects have worked. Now is the time to scale-up to large projects."

Hurdles are delaying 60 GW of U.S. clean energy

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released its comprehensive Clean Power Annual Market Report for 2022 and its Clean Power Quarterly Market Report for Q1 2023.

Statkraft and ALPLA sign 10-year PPA

The green electricity is generated in six solar parks and one wind farm from Statkraft's renewable energy portfolio.

Net operating revenues rose to NOK 24.5 billion from NOK 22.1 billion in Q1 2022, while underlying EBIT increased to NOK 18.5 billion (NOK 18.0 billion), Statkraft’s second strongest quarter ever.

AkzoNobel successfully issues €500 million bond

AkzoNobel has announced the launch of a €500 million bond with ten-year maturity and coupon of 4.0%.

On behalf of the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), Fugro will carry out geophysical surveys of two offshore wind farm areas in the German exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Sea.

Netherlands to meet its offshore wind targets in 2023

By the end of the year, the Netherlands will have 4.7 GW of offshore wind farm capacity operating in the Dutch North Sea.

Renewable energy producer Pattern Energy announced it has entered an agreement for the sale of its directly owned Japanese assets and 100% of its interest in its affiliate in Japan, Green Power Investment Corp. (GPI), to NTT Anode Energy and JERA. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BOEM completes environmental analysis for proposed Ocean Wind 1

Ocean Wind LLC proposes to construct up to 98 wind turbines and up to three offshore substations within its lease area.

Bernardo Bandeira, Global eCommerce Leader shared, “Our new platform makes it even easier and quicker to order the parts that you need— a one stop shop that build on our world class on-time delivery capabilities”

GE Vernova will assemble critical components for 6.1-158 onshore wind turbine in Schenectady, including the machine head, hub and drive train to help meet demand in the US.

UK Government urged to get behind green jobs

In a new briefing, the Climate Change Committee finds that the majority of UK workers will see no major impacts from the energy transition.

TGS and KONGSBERG have today announced a strategic collaboration to jointly develop integrated data and digital solutions for the offshore wind industry.

Heerema to install converter platforms for TenneT

The fourteen 2GW converter stations will be installed in the Dutch and German parts of the North Sea.

100 percent renewable energy in Europe isn't possible? It is - and Iceland shows how it can be done. The sparsely populated island just below the Arctic Circle gets its energy entirely from hydropower and geothermal energy. But now voices are growing louder calling for the use of another energy source: wind power.

Neoen and Prokon start construction of two wind farms in Finland

Both projects are underpinned by 10-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Equinix, a world leader in digital infrastructure provision and services.

ACP: "We're excited about the continued progress"

ACP comments on New Jersey's Ocean Wind 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement.

The combined entity brings together world-class data insight and automation to help wind farm owners and operators to optimally invest in, maintain, and manage their assets for sustainable returns.

GORIO is one of the projects selected and supported by CEF Energy under the call for preparatory studies for cross-border renewable energy (CB RES) projects launched in 2021.

Windar Renovables to manufacture East Anglia 3 transition pieces

The manufacture of the 95 pieces will require more than 2,000,000 working hours during 23 months, creating 400 jobs.

Siemens Gamesa and Grupo Daniel Alonso sell stakes in Windar

The acquisition of Windar by Bridgepoint will foster the growth of the company.

EDP and Principle Power began their collaboration in 2009 to develop what became the first floating wind farm off the European coast. Transfer of EDP shares to Ocean Winds solidifies the companies’ ambition of being a global leader in the offshore wind market.

Prysmian selected as preferred bidder for EGL1 HVDC cable connection in UK

The EGL 1 connection requires 400 km of submarine cables for a capacity of 2 GW

Small wind turbine installed in Lower Saxony, Germany

The Antaris 12 kW has been installed on a 10.50 m tubular mast.

Vestas receives 37 MW EnVentus order from undisclosed customer in Turkey

Vestas will supply and install six V162-6.2 MW wind turbines and has also received a 10-year Active Output Management 4000 service agreement.

Prysmian launches Ecoslim™, the fibre-optic system with up to 90% recycled plastic and record reduced diameter

The innovative solution allows major savings in the use of raw materials and reduced CAPEX.

Equinor stops Trollvind project

Equinor will postpone a further development of the Trollvind offshore wind initiative indefinitely as the project faces major hurdles.

DTEK opens Ukrainian wind farm despite ongoing war

Phase I of the Tyligulska Wind Power Plant (WPP), which lies just 60 miles (100 km) from the frontline in the Southern region of Mykolaiv, is already generating green power.

Statkraft unveils vision of growth for German market

Statkraft wants to be instrumental in increasing the share of renewable energy in Germany by 2030 and supporting the market ramp-up of green hydrogen.

Ingka Investments acquires 49% stake in three planned offshore wind projects

The three wind power projects are located near Halla, Laine and Trysky in the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea.

"Europe has set ambitious targets for green hydrogen. As a result, that is where the greatest momentum will unfold by 2030," says Uwe Weichenhain, Partner at Roland Berger.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Myrsky Energia are pushing Finland's energy transition

The companies have announced a partnership to develop over 1.8 GW onshore wind projects in Finland

Offshore Wind: Speeding up man-overboard rescue time

A new rescue system has dramatically increased the chances of pulling anyone who has fallen overboard from a ship safely out of the water in under a minute.

Investment in clean energy technologies is significantly outpacing spending on fossil fuels as affordability and security concerns triggered by the global energy crisis strengthen the momentum behind more sustainable options, according to a new IEA report.

RWE takes over ownership of planned Nordseecluster

RWE takes over Northland Power's shares of the planned 1.6-GW Nordseecluster in Germany.

Offshore wind joint development partners Ørsted and Eversource have marked the 'sail away' of the first American-built offshore wind substation, which departed a Texas fabrication facility.

Starting July 2023, Centrica will offtake power production from a recently commissioned onshore wind farm developed by PNE AG, providing Fraport AG with approximately 63 GWh of renewable electricity annually.

The association thanks both party representatives for prioritizing national interests over partisan politics and acting to secure a compromise on the debt ceiling that protects the U.S. and global economy.

Ørsted and Meta sign CPPA for Lisheen III wind farm

Ørsted has today announced the opening of a new Irish wind farm, as part of a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement with Meta.??

The lease area, identified as Lease Area OCS-A 500 (Lease 500), contains approximately 187,000 acres of uncontracted seabed for offshore wind energy and has a potential capacity of up to 4 GW.

Updating developers on floating wind opportunities in the Celtic Sea

The Crown Estate has updated developers on plans for Celtic Sea floating wind.

TÜV SÜD successfully completes second FGW TG 10 round robin test and gains DAkkS accreditation

WTG site yields and site quality

Mainstream consortium applies for 2.5 GW Gippsland offshore wind development

The area in the Bass Strait off Gippsland, Victoria, was the first offshore wind zone to be declared by the Australian Government.

ABO Wind's business development boosted in Q1

The growth of renewable energies is being driven by legislative changes that are increasingly taking effect.

Corio Generation and Hyperion Renewables have signed an agreement to tap into offshore wind opportunities in Portugal ahead of the country's first offshore wind auction.

ARENA will help develop a $2 billion revenue support program to scale up green hydrogen production. Hydrogen Headstart aims to position Australia as an early mover and global leader in this field.

Golden Ocean and Nabrawind select Envision turbine to carry China's tallest Nabralift Tower

Chinese turbine manufacturer Envision is confirmed as supplier for the Nabralift HH190 that Golden Ocean will install in China in 2024.

Sibanye-Stillwater announces PPA and financial close for wind energy project

Multinational mining and metals processing group Sibanye-Stillwater said that their clean energy will be generated by the Castle Wind Farm.

BOEM gives green light to offshore wind leasing in the Gulf of Mexico

A key milestone towards the potential first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico has been reached.

According to the agreement, NKT will provide supply of up to 210 km of offshore and onshore export cables as well as installation of offshore export cables required for the projects Galene and Triton.

While some wind turbine manufacturers still have problems at present, the industry as a whole is unimpressed. New figures show that new orders have reached a record high - the energy transition continues to gain momentum.