European Wind Energy Association News

Offshore wind and the shipping sector can reinforce each other to reach the Green Deal targets, says WindEurope.The European Wind Energy Association said that wind energy currently makes up 15% of Europe’s energy mix. The majority of this is onshore. Offshore wind is just 2% at the moment. But it’s growing rapidly thanks to decreasing costs and improving technology."So offshore wind will be a major player in the future. But collaboration with the shipping sector will be key to delivering this," it said.Offshore wind is already an important part of the European shipping industry. It uses boats such as jack-up ships and roll-on roll-off vessels to install and operate wind farms and cables…

Dr Andrew Garrad, who retired from DNV GL on 23 December 2016, has been awarded a CBE – Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List. The CBE rewards contributions to the arts and sciences as well as work with charitable and welfare organisations. In 1984, Andrew co-founded Garrad Hassan (GH) in Bristol. It grew to become the world’s largest renewable energy consultancy, employing 1,000 people in 29 countries. He became President of GL Garrad Hassan after Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and Garrad Hassan merged in 2009. He ran the new company until 2012, when he became Chairman. After the merger of DNV and GL, Andrew became a member of the DNV GL – Energy Supervisory Board on the invitation of former Group President and CEO, Henrik Madsen.

Dr. Andrew Garrad, the co-founder of Garrad Hassan, has announced he will retire from DNV GL on December 23, 2016. Following the merger between DNV and GL Garrad Hassan two years ago, Andrew ceased to play an active operational role in the company, but remained associated with DNV GL, as advisor, as Chairman of Bristol’s year as European Green Capital (which DNV GL sponsored) and as President of the European Wind Energy Association 2013-2014. He co-founded Garrad Hassan in 1984 and became President of GL Garrad Hassan after Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and Garrad Hassan merged in 2009. He ran the new company until 2012, when he became Chairman.

The International Energy Agency states that 2.5% of global electricity demand is today provided by wind power—and that figure is set to grow by 42% through to 2021. In Europe alone, according to the 2016 report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), 754 new offshore turbines in 15 wind farms were grid-connected from 1 January to 31 December 2015, representing a connected capacity increase of 108% over 2014. By 2020, EWEA expects 192 GW of wind turbines to be installed, representing an investment of between €UR90 billion and €UR124 billion. The leading markets are Germany, France, the UK, Poland and Italy, and by 2020 354,000 people—up from 253,000 today—will be employed in the sector.

New capacity more than doubled in 2015 due backlog; existing projects to bring more expansion in coming years. Growth in new offshore wind capacity in Europe is to slow this year after more than doubling in 2015, an industry report said on Tuesday. "New capacity additions will be lower in 2016 than 2015 though should then rebound, and we can expect to have (an installed total) over 20 GW (20,000 MW) offshore wind by 2020," said the chief executive officer of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), Giles Dickson. The report for 2015 showed that new capacity linked to onshore grids totalled 3,019 megawatts (MW) last year after 1,483 MW in 2014. This was mostly due to a strong backlog of network connections in Germany in that particular year, EWEA said.

New capacity edges down 5 pct from record 2013; industry body forecasts stable growth over 2015/6. Europe's offshore wind capacity kept up a steady rate of growth in 2014 and should expand at a similar pace on average over the coming two years, an industry report said on Friday. New capacity connected to the grid totalled 1,483 megawatts (MW), edging down from 1,567 MW in 2013 when a record number of turbines and wind farms were installed, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said. Total installed wind capacity now stands at around 8,045 MW, enough to cover 1 percent of Europe's electricity needs, it said. "It is not surprising that we see a levelling off of installations in 2014 following a record year in 2013," EWEA Deputy Chief Executive Justin Wilkes said in a statement.

The offshore wind industry needs between EUR90 and EUR123 billion by 2020 to meet its 40 GW target
, and equity and debt providers are willing to invest, but they fear regulatory instability considers the the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). What's blocking the needed investment is the uncertainty caused by changing regulatory frameworks, not least in the two largest markets, the UK and Germany, an independent survey of the financial community shows. By undermining investment stability…

Europe adds 1,045 MW of offshore wind in the first half of 2013, but there are challenges ahead according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). 277 new offshore wind turbines, totalling 1,045 megawatts (MW), were fully grid connected in Europe during the first six months of 2013. This is double compared to the same period in 2012 when 523.2 MW were installed. In addition, 268 foundations were installed and 254 turbines erected, all during the first 181 days of the year.

The European Commission launches a call for renewabke energy project funding under NER300. The wind categories have remained the same as for the first call, and include offshore wind farms with very large turbines, floating offshore turbines and onshore wind turbines for complex terrains and cold climates. NER300 is the EU's funding programme for innovative demonstration projects for renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS). However while no CCS projects qualified for funding as part of the first call in 2011, renewables projects got EUR 1.2 billion - with six wind energy projects granted EUR 273 million total. "In the first call the wind industry proved how innovative it was…

GL Renewables Certification (GL RC) has certified Deutsche WindGuard Offshore GmbH's Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) courses. Helicopter transport is an important way for technical personnel to reach offshore wind farm installations, but before getting on board, a certified training course must be passed. GL RC certifies training providers to its standards, which set out the fundamental prerequisites for efficient training, such as proper organization of the training course, careful documentation and high-quality teaching equipment and materials.

Dubai: 2013 marks the start of a period of rapid growth in the windfarm construction vessel market and it coincides with new operational demands that require careful consideration, particularly in the design of jack-up systems. DNV highlights the need for owners and yards to consider both class and flag state requirements when evaluating limited operation designs. At least 20 new windfarm installation vessels will be required by 2020 only to meet Europe’s anticipated growth in offshore wind capacity which the European Wind Energy Association expects to reach 40GW.

Renaissance Services subsidiary, Topaz Engineering, a UAE-based full service ship building, ship repair and engineering services company announced it has completed the delivery of two wind farm support vessels (WFSV) to ASP Work Boats Ltd, part of the global ASP Ship Management Group. David Borcoski, Group MD and CEO of ASP Ship Management Group said: “Topaz Engineering has done an excellent job in completing the construction of our wind farm support vessels and delivering them within the time-frame requested.

Keppel said it will acquire a substantial stake in OWEC Tower, an industry leading designer of jacket foundation. KV Ventus B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Ltd. (Keppel) has today entered into a share purchase and subscription agreement and shareholders' agreement to acquire a 49.9% stake in offshore wind turbine foundation designer OWEC Tower (AS) for about NOK 61 million. OWEC Tower, headquartered in Norway, is a leader in the design and engineering of offshore wind turbine foundations. The company has developed a proprietary jacket foundation design known as OWEC Quattropod, which is currently the only proven jacket design in the market.

It will acquire a substantial stake in OWEC Tower, an industry leading designer of jacket foundation. KV Ventus B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Ltd. (Keppel) has today entered into a share purchase and subscription agreement and shareholders' agreement to acquire a 49.9% stake in offshore wind turbine foundation designer OWEC Tower (AS) for about NOK 61 million. OWEC Tower, headquartered in Norway, is a leader in the design and engineering of offshore wind turbine foundations. The company has developed a proprietary jacket foundation design known as OWEC Quattropod, which is currently the only proven jacket design in the market.

Damen Shipyards and SeaZip Offshore Service will sign a contract at the EWEA conference. SeaZip has ordered two Fast Crew Suppliers of the 2610-type. The first ever FCS 2610 was delivered early 2011 and offers reduced peak accelerations of up to 75%, reduced added resistance in waves of up to 60% and has already transferred maintenance crew to turbines in wave heights of 1.9 m. Jan Reier Arends, one of Seazip’s Managing Directors, will sign the contract with Roel van Eijle, Sales Manager Benelux, on the first day of the 2011 Offshore conference of the European Wind Energy Association.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has published offshore wind energy statistics for the first half year of 2011, showing a comfortable 4.5% increase in installations of offshore capacity compared to the first half of 2010. 101 new offshore wind turbines, with a total capacity of 348 Megawatt (MW), were connected to the power grids in the UK, Germany and Norway during the first six months of 2011. In Europe, eleven offshore wind farms worth some 8.5 billion Euros and with a total capacity of 2,844 MW are currently under construction in European waters.

The Carbon Trust is today launching a global competition to find world-leading solutions to the problem of transferring engineers and equipment safely from boats to wind turbines as far as 300km offshore in 3 metre wave heights. The project aims to improve the economics of offshore wind by boosting revenues by as much as £3bn at a crucial time for the next generation of Round 3 offshore wind farms. The need for better access solutions is driven by the location of the next generation of wind farms to be built over the decade. Today’s wind farms are typically less than 20km from shore in relatively benign sea conditions, but in future…

According to a July 20 report from www.europolitics.com, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) claims 2010 will be a record year in terms of installations. To date, 118 new offshore wind turbines have been fully connected to the grid since the beginning of 2010. (Source: www.europolitics.com)

The Community of European Shipyards’ Association (CESA) and the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) are calling on the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the building of new ships to serve the expanding offshore wind energy market over the coming years. CESA and EWEA urge the European Commission to develop programs and funding mechanisms, and for the European Investment Bank to take the necessary measures to support the risk related to the necessary significant investments, to ensure that a sufficient number of installation vessels are available to the offshore wind industry. They also argue that the offshore wind power industry should be identified as a key industry in the EU’s 2020 strategy for smart, green growth.