Renewable Energy Production News

Shipbuilder VARD has received 4,95 million Norwegian crowns (currently around $2,66 million) from the Norwegian Research Council to research the possibility of digitalized heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These systems will contribute to obtain zero-emissons for Service Operation Vessels at offshore wind farms."The urgent demand for renewable energy production has resulted in many offshore wind projects. To build and operate offshore wind parks in a sustainable way…

When compared to other major river navigation routes around the world, the St. Lawrence River is a favored waterway.It flows from the mouth of Lake Ontario, at an altitude of 250 meters. From its source to the Gulf, the river travels 1,197 kilometers, and is fed by several tributaries including the Ottawa, Richelieu, Saint-François and Saguenay rivers.But the effects of climate change are being felt. The marine industry is adapting. It is currently embarking on a shift towards…

Denmark-based BMS Heavy Cranes has ordered a 3,000mt Ringer Crane, with an option for a second unit from the Dutch crane maker Huisman.According to Huisman, the crane setup has been optimized for operations in the wind industry. With the capability to lift components of 1,200mt at heights of up to 225m, and heavy structures of 3000mt at a reduced height, the crane will ready BMS for installation of the next generation of wind turbines on and offshore and on floating foundations, Huisman said."The crane is also well suited to operations in other industries.

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.

In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare coined the phrase “salad days” to mean a youthful time filled with unbridled enthusiasm and idealism. Indeed, youth, much like salad, is often raw, flavorful and most of all… green. Therefore, it is fitting to think of our present time as the salad days of offshore energy in the United States. Let’s dig in.Executive Order appetizersOn January 27, President Biden took early steps to implement his campaign promise to transition the United States away from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy…

The U.S. is going to need a fleet of Jones Act-compliant vessels to support its budding offshore wind industry. The good news is that several of these vessels are currently operating or on order. Even better, there are plenty more in the pipeline.In 2016, Rhode Island-based Atlantic Wind Transfers (AWT) put into service the U.S.’ first-ever vessel purpose-built for offshore wind services. The 21-meter crew transfer vessel (CTV) Atlantic Pioneer was constructed by Blount Boats to serve America’s first commercial offshore wind project…

Denmark has reached a deal on the construction of the first of its kind wind energy hub in the North Sea that promises to produce yet unseen amounts of green electricity, in what has been described as the largest construction project in Danish history.The energy hub - an artificial island - will serve as an offshore power plant gathering and distributing green electricity from hundreds of wind turbines surrounding the island directly to consumers in countries surrounding the North Sea.

Despite being the second-largest global market for onshore wind, the United States is today a very minor player in comparison to the European and East Asian offshore wind markets, however, this is about to change.Philip Lewis, Director of Research, World Energy Reports said in an interview with Maritime Reporter TV, that 2021 is expected to be a "step-change" for the U.S. Offshore wind industry.But first, where are we today? Per Lewis, the U.S. currently has only two operational projects for a total of 42MW of installed capacity versus a global offshore installed base of 34…

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a new raft of executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies, as he pursues green policies he billed as a boon for job creation.The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president's climate change and environmental agenda and reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to maximize U.S. oil, gas, and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews."In my view…

President Joe Biden was set on Wednesday to sign executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies as he pursues green policies in stark contrast to those of his predecessor Donald Trump.The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president's climate change and environmental agenda and mark a reversal from Trump, a Republican businessman-turned-politician who sought to maximize U.S. oil…

Northeast Technical Services Co., Inc. (NETSCo) and Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc. (LR) are working to design and develop a Jones Act compliant wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) capable of serving the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind sector.The current pipeline of state procurement targets along the U.S. East Coast calls for 12 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity installed by 2030 and 29.1 gigawatts total installed by 2035, but the Jones Act WTIVs needed to build these wind farms do not exist.The Jones Act…

The U.S. Senate on Friday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021, a massive $741 billion defense bill setting policy for the Pentagon. Importantly for the U.S. offshore and maritime industries, the bill includes an amendment ensuring full enforcement of the Jones Act and other federal laws in offshore wind development.The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 84-13 and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature following overwhelming 335-78 veto-proof House passage on December 8.

By the time this article is published, voting will have concluded in the 2020 United States presidential election. Based on the possibility of legal challenges to the election, however, it may be some time before we know who will be occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2021. Additional uncertainty may linger with regard to control of the Senate. However, beyond the general spectacle of American politics, an important question remains: What does this election mean for the U.S.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 2019, which enforces Jones Act requirements for all offshore renewable energy production. However, the bill's current language has the potential to create a loophole that would leave the U.S. Jones Act fleet on the sidelines. The Jones Act and its applicability to the offshore wind sector has long been debated by politicians, activists, and industry professionals. The act requires components transported between points in the United States to be moved by U.S. built, owned, flagged and crewed vessels.

The Estonian government's decision to initiate the construction permit procedure for the Gulf of Riga offshore wind farm allows Eesti Energia to continue its research and search for partners for the construction of an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga.Eesti Energia, the state-owned international energy company that operates in Baltic countries, said that the Gulf of Riga offshore wind farm has the potential to become the first joint Estonian-Latvian renewable energy production project, as the Latvian-developed wind farm development area is only 10 km away from the Gulf of Riga."There is no experience of building an offshore wind farm in Estonia, so it is logical that an offshore wind farm of this size will be made in cooperation with several companies.

Increased integration between offshore wind and other marine renewables and offshore oil and gas production can help deliver the UK’s net zero target through technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), said a study.According to a new report from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), titled ‘UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) Energy Integration: Interim Findings’, innovative partnering between oil and gas, renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture can accelerate energy transition.The report discusses the first phase of the UKCS Energy Integration project which is led by the OGA, working with BEIS, The Crown Estate and Ofgem, considering options to help feed into a new strategic vision of the UKCS as an integrated energy basin.

By Sverre Alvik, Energy transition program director, DNV GLIt is not too good to be true, it is the economic reality that lies ahead of us. The energy transition facing us in the coming decades is an affordable one. In fact, the future energy system is not only affordable, it is cheaper than the energy system we have today. And this creates an opportunity to invest more to achieve the future we want.Let me be more precise: in just one generation, humanity will be spending a much lower share of its GDP on energy than it does today. The main reason is not energy prices, but energy efficiency. Whether you believe in the phenomenon of peak energy…

A global network of maritime technology cooperation centers has completed an impressive array of pilot projects over the past three years, helping to drive forward the changes which are required to reduce GHG emissions from shipping.Five regional Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres (MTCCs) have been established under the Global Maritime Technology Cooperation Centers (GMN) Project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialized agency with a remit to develop and adopt standards for safer, greener and more sustainable shipping.Between them, the MTCCs count 97 participating countries and have been working with 1…

Wave-generated power could be considered the Rodney Dangerfield of offshore renewable energy sources; it gets no respect. There have been a number of high-profile, expensive failures that have conspired to give the sector a poor reputation despite a number of engineering advances. A new entrant is SurfWEC offering a patented “surf-making” Wave Energy Converter which has been in development since 2007. Its developers promise it will stand out from the field and perform where others have failed. How?

The European Commission has cleared a French extension project for the Mediterranean port of Port-La-Nouvelle.The project involves the construction of dikes and a platform for the handling of heavy parcels, jointly financed by the Occitanie region, the department of Aude and the agglomeration of Greater Narbonne.The Commission has concluded that the financing of the dikes, amounting to approximately EUR158 million, does not constitute state aid because this infrastructure will not only benefit the economic activities of the port but will protect the entire coastline against hazards climate and tides. As for the wharf, it will initially…

The GMN global network of maritime technology cooperation centers has completed numerous pilot projects over the past three years, helping to drive forward the changes which are required to reduce GHG emissions from shipping. A global network of maritime technology cooperation centers has completed an impressive array of pilot projects over the past three years, helping to drive forward the changes which are required to reduce GHG emissions from shipping.Five regional Maritime…

The greening of America’s energy signature will not come without the usual discussions, regulatory oversight – and opposition from a raft of special interests.Amidst an atmosphere of possible resurgence in the domestic offshore oil energy, maritime stakeholders are also reminded that there is more than one kind of energy available for development off the four collective coasts of the United States. That process is underway in the Great Lakes; it has already happened off of New England.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today named Abigail Ross Hopper as the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which manages the development of our nation’s conventional and renewable energy and marine mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. Hopper currently serves as the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration and will assume her new position on January 5, 2015, as the second director in BOEM's history. Hopper will take the helm from Acting Director Dr. Walter Cruickshank, who has been serving since former Director Tommy Beaudreau became Chief of Staff to Secretary Jewell in May 2014. “Abigail Hopper’s knowledge of the energy sector…