[Graeme]

Global offshore wind power to reach 40GW by 2020

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he global offshore wind power market is expected to increase more than fivefold in the next six years, according to a new report.

Capacity could rise from 7.1GW in 2013 to 39.9GW by the end of the decade, analysts at GlobalData predict.

The research and consulting firm expects offshore wind to become one of the largest renewable power market by 2020 “as more countries eye the advantages of this renewable energy technology”.

The UK, Germany and China are predicted to contribute “significantly” towards the expansion.

Swati Singh, GlobalData’s Analyst covering Power said: “Future offshore wind power technology development will ensure a decline in the average cost per megawatt although overall project costs are expected to rise in countries with wind farms planned in deeper water and further from the shore.”

Earlier this month analysts predicted offshore wind capacity in the UK to hit 11GW by 2020.

[Graeme]

Offshore Wind Power Costs To Fall 30-40% In 10 Years

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ispens started off by letting us know that recent decisions in the German Parliament regarding the EEG ended with favorable support for wind energy (supportive feed-in tariffs, to be precise), and these are expected to result in a boom in offshore wind power development and a drop in offshore wind power costs.

Thanks to the boom, wind energy companies claim that they are going to be able to bring costs down dramatically (thanks to economies of scale). Siemens recently stated that a 40% drop in the price of offshore wind is possible within the next 10 years, or 30% at the least. This would be a similar trend as we have already seen with onshore wind power costs.

In response to questions I asked Rispens, he noted that the focus of the offshore wind market in the coming years would be the North Sea and Baltic Sea. He agreed that the UK market would remain the #1 offshore wind power country in the world for a long time, and would continue to grow, but that Germany would see strong growth and would climb to #2.

In particular, the German market will be strong from 2014 through 2016, but after that it depends on policy.

[Graeme]

Renewable energy: Wind power tests the waters

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his May, the US Department of Energy awarded money to three demonstration projects, planned for the coasts of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia. Several state governments are forging ahead with their own ambitions for offshore wind farms, and commercial developers say that they could start planting turbines in the ocean as early as next year.

In theory, the potential is tremendous. Including harder-to-reach deep-water sites, the offshore territory of the United States has the capacity to generate an estimated 4,200 gigawatts of electricity, enough to supply four times the nation’s current needs. But before the field can take off, proponents will have to prove that offshore wind can compete financially against other energy sources, and can clear the thicket of state and federal regulations that govern projects in coastal waters.

“I don’t think we’re looking at easy street here,” says Walt Musial, a long-time offshore-wind researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Louisville, Colorado. “We really need to demonstrate that it can be done.”

Sea test
No project encapsulates the challenges facing offshore wind power better than Cape Wind, being developed by Energy Management of Boston, Massachusetts. The venture aims to take advantage of the strong winds and relatively calm waters of Nantucket Sound near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, some 350 kilometres southwest of Castine.

The plan for Cape Wind consists of 130 turbines, each standing nearly 80 metres tall, over an area of 65 square kilometres. Energy Management says that the completed wind farm will have a capacity of 468 megawatts, able to produce 75% of the electricity for Cape Cod and the nearby islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

[Ulenspiegel]

The situation of offshore wind in Germany can -a little bit sarcasticly- characterize as: "Get the costs down or we will only support onshore wind". Since 2012 there is from a physical POV no need for ofsshore wind, 180 GW onshore would be 45.000 turbines, less than twice the number we already have (with smaller power rating).

Modern slow wind turbines around Hamburg (110 km onshore) have 3500-4000 FLH and cost 60% of offshore turbines with 4400 FLH. The German energiewende lives and dies until 2030 with onshore wind, PV is less important, ofshore wind would only be the icing on the cake.

The politics is to allow a minimum number of added offshore turbines in order to allow the developement of new generations of cheaper turbines and let the Brits pay a higher share.

[ROCKMAN]

“No project encapsulates the challenges facing offshore wind power better than Cape Wind”. Not even close to the truth:

“The Galveston offshore wind platform will be the first system operational in offshore waters of the United States. This system will confirm actual power production and also provide a means of providing potable water as a byproduct.”.

Lots of details: http://www.treia.org/assets/2011/Events ... urbine.pdf

[Graeme]

Investors warming up to German offshore wind plants

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')ermany's offshore wind parks, once seen as only for brave investors because of high costs and operational risks, are attracting fresh money after laws were passed to ensure ambitious renewables targets are met.

British investment firm Laidlaw Capital bought its second German offshore wind park project two weeks ago, following a landmark German offshore wind acquisition by Canadian energy group Northland Power.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has made offshore wind a priority in the country's "Energiewende", which moves Germany towards alternative energy sources after a decision to phase out nuclear power by 2022.

Germany needs at least 20 billion euros ($26 billion) to achieve its aim of expanding offshore wind capacity to more than 10 times its present capacity by 2020. Attracting new investors is crucial to help power producers to shoulder the cost.

As part of the country's new renewable law, investors can now look forward to guaranteed feed-in tariffs of 19.4 euro cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) over a period of eight years for offshore, better returns than for solar and onshore wind power.

[Ulenspiegel]

@Greame

The Reuters article is partially wrong, the issue with offshore wind in Germany was and until 2020 is not money in the first place but technological bottlenecks: transmission lines are provided by the Dutch Tenet at a very low rate and some of the DC components (Siemens, AAB?) make more trouble than expected, we have actually much more turbines running than turbines that are actually connected to the grid. Therefore, the reduction of offshore wind capacity from the original 10 GW to 7 GW for 2020 had simple technical reasons.

With more money and a very optimistic construction rate of 1.5 GW per year after 2020, we would have around 20 GW offshore wind in 2030 at best, providing 80 TWh electricity, ~13 % of the demand.

OTOH, in each of the next 15 years a net value of around 2.5 GW onshore capacity will very likely be added and most of the old capacity will be replaced with modern one at the same time. I expect around 70-75 GW onshore wind in 2030, with an avarage of only 2500 FLH we would get at least 170 TWh electricity, with 3000 FLH around 220 TWh, this would be 35% of the demand.

In 2030 around 55-65% of the electricity demand will very likely be provided by REs in Germany, of these are ~30-35% onshore wind, ~10-15% offshore wind and ~10-15% PV, ~5% biomass.

[Graeme]

Ulenspiegel, Great to have your commentary. Here's more on the costs reduction for off-shore wind:

Use The FORCE: Cost Of Offshore Wind Energy Really Could Drop 40%

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e must have been asleep at the wheel when two industry powerhouses merged last year to form something called DNV GL, but we finally snapped out of it this morning when we saw this headline come across the wires: “DNV GL Pledges to Help Reduce Offshore Wind Costs by 25%.”

Actually, 25% is chump change compared to the sweet spot of 40%, which DNV GL reckons is feasible if other industry trends align with the growing offshore wind energy sector. That dovetails precisely with what CleanTechnica heard about the falling cost of offshore wind energy at the WindEnergy Hamburg 2014 trade fair last week, which came in at around 30–40%.

So, what is DNV GL and why is it so confident that the cost of offshore wind energy is set to fall off the cliff?


With an eye firmly on the emerging markets in North American and Asia as well as northern Europe, the manifesto consists of 14 specific actions, which DNV GL breaks into three sections. Two of them, “doing it right” and “doing it better” were developed in recognition that the offshore wind sector is already a mature industry with an existing platform of legacy technology and standards that will be here to stay for the foreseeable future.

[Graeme]

Offshore Wind Turbines Could Tame Hurricanes

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')ould an armada of giant windmills reduce damage from the next big hurricane?

A study by scientists at Stanford University and the University of Delaware suggests that U.S. coastal cities could be spared by installing tens of thousands of gigantic wind turbines offshore in arrays up to 20 miles long. The scientists say the turbines, as high as a football field is long, would suck much of the energy out of storms and pay for themselves with the clean electrical power they produce.

The idea is that if you take away enough wind speed and reduce the height of the waves, you will break the feedback loop that makes hurricanes more powerful. Computer models in the study show that the giant turbines—with blades more than 400 feet across, and hubs nearly 330 feet above the water—would cut the wind's force by about half.

During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to cite an example from the study, having 78,000 turbines off the coast of New Orleans would have reduced the storm surge that swamped the city by as much as 71% and cut wind speeds by as much as 57%.

[Graeme]

India To Build First Offshore Wind Farm

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Indian Government has announced that it has signed an agreement to build the country’s first offshore wind power project off the coast of Gujarat. The 100 MW project will act as a demonstration for possible further expansion of offshore wind capacity in India.

The Memorandum of Understanding to set up a Joint Venture Company for the purpose of undertaking this offshore wind project was signed on Wednesday by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, National Institute of Wind Energy, and a consortium of partners.

Shri Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, was on hand to witness the signing, and described it as a great opportunity in the development of renewable energy resources in the country.


The Indian Government will provide subsidy for surveys and studies, as well as obtaining clearances involved for the implementation of the project.

According to the press release published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, this demonstration project “will certainly provide enough learning to move into this sector by taking up similar viable projects in [the] future.”

[Graeme]

Mass. offshore wind auction 'in 2014'

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he US Interior Department intends to hold competitive lease auctions for additional offshore wind zones off the Massachusetts coast by the end of 2014, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has confirmed.
“This year,” Jewell emphasised, when pressed on the timing on Tuesday at the AWEA Offshore conference underway in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

No exact date has yet been set for the Massachusetts lease, says Darryl Francois, chief of the engineering and compliance branch within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) office of renewable-energy programs.

The auction is expected to cover 742,000 acres (300,000 hectares) of space set at least 12 miles (19km) off the coast of Massachusetts, with the area likely to be leased out across multiple zones. It will be the largest area the US has yet made available to offshore wind developers in a single go.

The BOEM is likely to hold an auction for another 344,000 acres off the coast of New Jersey in the “early part of 2015”, Francois adds.

[Graeme]

Four offshore wind farms approved despite 'deadly' impact on seabirds

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')our huge offshore wind farms consisting of hundreds of turbines will be built of the east coast of Scotland after SNP ministers granted planning permission in the face of warnings about their “deadly” impact on seabirds.

The developments in the Forth and Tay regions will be theoretically capable of producing up to 2.284 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough for 1.4 million homes.

The Scottish Government said consent has been granted subject to strict conditions to minimise the impact on birds and the environment.

But RSPB Scotland said the proximity of seabird colonies meant it “inevitable” that birds would be killed by the turbines and warned the wind farms would be “amongst the most deadly for birds anywhere in the world.”

[Graeme]

Offshore Wind Power Can Save U.S. Billions On Electricity, Recent DOE Study Finds

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ffshore wind power isn’t usually associated with lower-cost energy, at least not in the public imagination. But it turns out that installing 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power off America’s coasts can cut the cost of electricity in the U.S. by an astounding $7.68 billion a year. That’s right: $7.68 billion annually. (If utilities and grid operators pass those savings onto consumers, that’s about $100 a year per family of four.) As the American Wind Energy Association’s Offshore WindPower 2014 conference begins today in Atlantic City, that’s just some of the good news to report about pollution-free, offshore wind power. This news is out in a recent U.S. Department of Energy study that proves offshore wind power’s potential in the U.S. is far more than theoretical: The National Offshore Wind Energy Grid Interconnection Study.

The study itself was designed to assess technical capacity and the possibility that offshore wind power can become a major component of the U.S. energy system—“to identify and help address the market barriers to the large-scale introduction of offshore wind energy into the U.S. energy portfolio,” its authors say. Just as other experts have noted, that potential is simply waiting to be realized, with about a dozen U.S. projects in some stage of development. The right state and federal policies can help move these projects off of their drawing boards and into the water, the study authors say, and with that, help create a promising clean-energy future for all of us.

To begin with, there isn’t just 54 gigawatts of cost-effective, accessible wind power potential within 50 miles of U.S. coastlines. There’s more than 134 gigawatts of potential at 209 sites, the NOWEGIS authors conclude. The Atlantic coast, all on its own, has enormous wind resources. And there is substantial potential in the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and the Pacific, too. In scouting these areas, the authors were sure to exclude important habitats and marine sanctuaries. (NRDC continues to work with both the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and with offshore wind power developers to ensure that one environmental good—pollution-free wind power—doesn’t come at the expense of another—important ocean wildlife and habitat protections.)

More good news from the study: Thanks to the popularity of offshore wind power in both Europe and Asia, the technology is evolving fast, meaning its becoming more powerful and less expensive simultaneously.

[Graeme]

Here’s The Real Reason Why The Offshore Wind Energy Industry Has The Happies

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he mood was upbeat at last week’s offshore wind industry conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 7 and 8. The massive, long-awaited Cape Wind and Block Island offshore wind energy projects are kicking into high gear from the private sector, the Interior Department is steaming full speed ahead with the leasing process for additional Atlantic coast sites, and earlier this year the Energy Department announced federal funding for two more Atlantic coast projects that will serve as R&D platforms for cutting edge, cost-reducing offshore wind energy technologies.

Attendees would have been downright ecstatic, albeit in a schadenfreudy kind of way, if the conference had stretched out for just one more day. That’s because on October 9, Energy Secretary Moniz sat down with the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle and tore the curtain off the 800-pound gorilla in the US domestic energy resources room.

The US Offshore Wind Energy Industry Gets Happy

Atlantic City is perhaps better known for its casinos but it happens to be an early adopter of onshore wind energy, so all the more reason to stage an industrywide conference there.

The 2014 American Wind Energy Association Offshore WINDPOWER Conference attracted 600 attendees and bragging rights to keynote speaker Sally Jewell, US Secretary of the Interior.

Secretary Jewell summed up the mood:

I am encouraged by the collaborative spirit and the thoughtful planning that has been the hallmark of our approach to ensure that development is realized in the right way and in the right places. Offshore wind is an exciting new frontier that will help keep America competitive and expand domestic energy production, all without increasing carbon pollution.

As obliquely referenced by Jewell, development of Atlantic coast wind resources is being coordinated by the ten-state Atlantic Coast Wind Consortium, spearheaded by Interior.

[Graeme]

Bringing offshore wind energy on shore to power industry, homes and businesses

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')eeding the world's energy appetite may take innovative approaches in the future. A book by Nilanjan Ray Chaudhuri, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Dakota State University, Fargo, is the first text of its kind to examine methods to bring offshore wind energy on shore to power industry, homes and businesses.

"Multi-terminal Direct Current Grids: Modeling, Analysis, and Control," is published by the Wiley-IEEE Press.

The research by Chaudhuri and his co-authors proposes a new type of power grid technology that enables reliable transfer of power from remote offshore locations. This research enables reliable interconnection of offshore wind energy to onshore grids using direct current power transmission. "The book examines offshore energy integration through multi-terminal direct current grid and reveals the mystery of alternate current and direct current system interactions," said Chaudhuri.
To bring this huge energy from offshore locations to onshore, standard power system technology does not work.

"A multi-terminal DC (MTDC) grid interconnecting multiple alternating current systems and offshore energy sources (e.g. wind farms) across the nations and continents would allow effective sharing of intermittent renewable resources and open market operation for secure and cost-effective supply of electricity," said Chaudhuri. He points out that no operational experiences currently exist with such DC grids.

[Graeme]

Offshore Wind Gathering Power With U.K. Investors

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')reanne Gellatly, offshore wind associate director at Carbon Trust, talks with Francine Lacqua about the growing value of offshore wind generation and the boost it offers to the U.K. economy. She speaks on “The Pulse.”

[Graeme]

1.2 Gigawatt North Sea Offshore Wind Farm Receives Green Light

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he UK Government has granted approval for the development of Hornsea Project One, a 1.2 GW offshore wind farm to be located in the North Sea which will be the first in a possible 4 GW offshore wind farm zone.

The announcement came Wednesday from the office of the Secretary of State, and when the Hornsea project begins operation in 2020, it is expected to generate enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 800,000 UK homes.

The project is being developed by a consortium called SMartWind — made up of Mainstream Renewable Power, Siemens Financial Services, and DONG Energy.

“With around 2,500 local green jobs on the horizon, this is another great boost for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire,” said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey. “Making the most of Britain’s home grown energy is crucial to creating job and business opportunities in the UK, getting the best deal for consumers and reducing our reliance on foreign imports. Wind power is vital to this plan, with £14.5bn invested since 2010 into an industry which supports 35,400 jobs.”

The Hornsea Project One is located in the Hornsea Zone, an area dedicated to the development of offshore wind energy that could eventually total 4 GW.

[Graeme]

Energy: ‘Bucket’ could be foundation for lower off-shore wind costs

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') full-scale trial of the “Suction Bucket Jacket” foundation, being conducted at the Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm, 23 miles off the north west coat of Germany, is the culmination of work to overcome one of the key challenges that will be faced by offshore wind farms of the future.

As projects are built further from shore, in deeper water, they will need to be installed without exceeding strict regulatory requirements on underwater noise.

The innovative suction bucket design, developed by DONG to tackle this challenge consists of three legs welded together in a jacket structure, standing on three giant suction buckets which anchor the foundation to the seabed.

The lightweight structure can be installed offshore in a single operation, reducing the time of the installation and so helping to reduce the costs of electricity from offshore wind. DONG Energy’s target is to drive down cost of electricity by 35% to 40% for offshore wind farm projects sanctioned in 2020.

[Newfie]

Has anyone here done or looked at the total life cycle cost of off shore wind? Total, cradle to grave, including removal or reuse of the stump foundation?


P.S.
trying to answer my own question....below is what looks to be a pretty good study. They are coming up with about 150 euro/MW. damned if I know how that compares to other sources. Any info on that?

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 8114000469

[Graeme]

Here’s how we can make offshore wind mainstream

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ffshore wind is essential to the future electricity supply of Europe and Japan; there is no other way to reach the necessary emissions reductions.
Before it can become a mainstream energy source, however, two big challenges must be overcome: cost and grid integration. Of these, cost is the more pressing issue.

Offshore wind’s levelised cost of electricity (LCoE) remains much higher than that of onshore wind, and for deep-water offshore it is higher than the levelised cost of fossil fuels, even when emission costs are taken into account.

The selection of electricity sources should be based on their true costs. While LCoE is the classic yardstick, it provides only part of the picture. A better estimate is provided by what I call society’s cost of electricity (SCoE). This is calculated as the sum of LCoE, plus four additional costs and several other supplementary factors.

The additional costs cover CO2, hidden subsidies, grid reinforcement and intermittency. The first two are relevant to fossil fuels and nuclear; the last two apply only to renewables.

The supplementary factors are social costs (such as health and environmental factors, or the decline in property prices near power stations), economic advantages (job creation, and additional growth and consumption) and the geopolitical impact (the stability of renewables against future fuel price increases).

If we consider SCoE instead of LCoE, in 2020 offshore wind will have a cost level very close to that of onshore wind, beating fossil fuels, nuclear and other renewables. So it should become an obvious first choice for any country with a decent amount of accessible seafloor.

The problem is that the argument for taking the SCoE view is complex. Explaining the effects of different extra costs does not have the same simple, popular appeal as when opponents to renewables argue (incorrectly) that increases in household electricity prices are the result of the growth of renewables and the associated direct and visible subsidies.