Excess Electricity News

Singapore-based offshore rig builder Keppel Offshore & Marine has partnered up with Energy Market Authority (EMA) to develop energy solutions in the areas of distributed energy resources, digitalization and emerging low carbon alternatives.As part of the $10 million partnership, EMA and Keppel O&M are launching a grant call for solutions relating to energy storage systems and smart power grids for the offshore and marine environment. "These solutions should seek to reduce overall energy usage and carbon footprint while enhancing overall operational efficiency.

According to a new report from Navigant Research, the global submarine electricity transmission market is expected to grow from $16.8 billion in 2015 to $24.8 billion in 2024. “Over the past several years, two market drivers have emerged as dominant forces shaping this market: connecting offshore wind generation to the mainland and reconfiguring or expanding interconnections between states, countries, and regions,” says James McCray, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “Submarine technologies are helping to address changing electric generation mixes and isolated national grids are also being interconnected for security, balance, and the sale of excess electricity in cross-border exchanges,” James added.

Deep in a Swiss mountain, workers have blasted out a cathedral-sized hole for a power plant that will help keep Europe's lights on, but the profit outlook for the 1.9 billion Swiss franc ($2.1 billion) project has darkened since its construction began in 2008. The Nant de Drance plant, and others like it, is being undermined by cheap renewable solar and wind energy, which up-ends its business model of pumping water uphill at night when power prices are low and releasing it to make electricity when prices peak in the daytime - a process known as pumped storage. These pumped storage plants are designed to balance Europe's power supply grids as they can switch on and off at the flick of a switch, unlike nuclear or coal-fired power plants.

SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden has long been engaged in research aimed at energy efficient vessels by increased use of lightweight shipbuilding materials. A major step forward was a recently completed concept development project where SP Fire Technology conducted life-cycle cost analysis and a comprehensive fire risk assessment for a car ferry in carbon fiber composite. The research project was performed within a Swedish-Danish-Norwegian cooperation MARKIS and received additional funding from SP and the Danish Maritime Fund.