The Carbon Trust News

Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. has unveiled a methanol-fueled RAptor 2400 crew transfer vessel (CTV), bringing the offshore wind industry closer to eliminating carbon emissions from the supply chain.As a marine fuel, methanol provides emissions benefits that are similar to natural gas when it comes to reducing CO2, NOx, SOx and particulates, but without the need for cryogenic or pressurized fuel tanks. This reduces capital cost, saves space and allows more fuel to be carried.

UK-focused offshore wind vessel operator North Star Renewables said Tuesday it would order the world’s first hybrid daughter craft vessels to support the offshore wind market.The company, established earlier this year as an offshore wind-focused business of the ERRV-firm North Star, has $375 million worth of contracts in hand to deliver three service operation vessels (SOVs) to be used on what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the UK North Sea.

The floating offshore wind industry, currently at its beginnings, is set for massive growth in the years to come, which has now led the classification society DNV GL to released the first integrated rule set for floating offshore wind structures."The rules provide both new entrants and experienced stakeholders a set of well-tested rules and standardized processes for these new structures," the company said.According to forecasts in the Carbon Trust’s new Floating Wind Joint Industry Projects report…

The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) launched a competition to accelerate the development of technologies with the potential to reduce vessel emissions and fuel consumption.Up to $127,000 in funding will be awarded to the winning technologies, from a total funding pot of $381,000, to support technology development or demonstration.The OWA Low Emission Vessels competition will focus on innovations for Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). Designs submitted to the competition will be assessed for overall cost…

Virginia officials have established a well-planned, extensive strategy to build out an offshore wind industry, including wind towers for electricity generation and the supply chain to support that extensive infrastructure and operations. The State’s big picture is ambitious: developing 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2028.As currently envisioned, VA’s offshore wind development will likely start this year with two 8-megawatt wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. This is a Dominion Energy pilot undertaken in partnership with the Danish wind company Orsted.

The Carbon Trust's Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA)  issued a Request for Information (RFI)  on the potential to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in offshore vessels. OWA plans to start a new industry competition next month.The RFI is the first stage in the competition that will have an estimated funding envelope of circa GBP 400,000.The results from the RFI will help gauge the current interest and development levels, and assist efforts to tailor the competition to best suit industry needs.The initial focus will be on systems, subsystems and technology that support the operation of Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV), however the industry’s…

The Carbon Trust and Fistuca, in conjunction with industry partners announced the successful completion of the offshore trial of the Fistuca BLUE 25M hammer as part of the Offshore Wind Accelerator BLUE PILOT project.The industry partners include E.ON, EDPR,  EnBW, Equinor, Ørsted, Shell, Sif, SSE, Van Oord, and Vattenfall. The offshore test was carried out on August 13, 2018, using Van Oord’s offshore heavy lift installation vessel, Svanen, off the coast of the Netherlands.The BLUE Hammer is an innovative, new hammer utilizing a large water tank to provide a more energetic, but quieter blow for offshore installation. It is designed to reduce underwater noise levels by up to 20 dB (SEL), and is predicted to reduce the fatigue damage during installation on the pile by up to 90 percent.

As the global fleet of offshore renewables fleet increases, ways to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency and safety of operations and maintenance work, using robotics and autonomous systems, will also grow. Elaine Maslin reports.Robotics and autonomous systems are moving into many areas of modern day life. It’s becoming harder to avoid them, from our phones to automotive systems and now offshore energy renewable projects.Both are seen as tools to do otherwise dull, dirty or dangerous work…

Automotive manufacturers including Tesla and BMW are redefining the energy possibilities for land transport. Hybrid systems are now commercially available and operating successfully in fleets around the world. Tenders for hybrid vessels are coming out with increasing frequency as historic and high profile European maritime cities including London, Paris and Amsterdam aim to reduce emissions. NEXT GENERATION Marine Power & Propulsion conference is being held in Southampton, U.K. on  April 18 and 19, 2018. All sectors are invited to participate in this unique event.

A new battery storage solution for offshore wind energy will be piloted in the world’s first floating wind farm, the Hywind pilot park off the coast of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Batwind will be developed in co-operation with Scottish universities and suppliers, under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Edinburgh on 18 March between Statoil, the Scottish Government, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Scottish Enterprise. Battery storage has the potential to mitigate intermittency and optimise output. This can improve efficiency and lower costs for offshore wind. The pilot in Scotland will provide a technological and commercial foundation for the implementation of Batwind in full-scale offshore wind farms…

Europe’s commercial marine and workboat exhibition held in a working port, Seawork International, has released its plans for demonstrations, launches and conferences. Organizers say Voith will announce a new marine propulsion system that produces more thrust, reduces noise and vibration, while cutting operating costs. The Smart Surfaces’ Duplex fouling from Tudor Streamline Surfaces will debut at Seawork, which is expected to attract considerable interest from commercial boat operators having been initially developed by the U.S.

James Fisher Marine Services Ltd. and ExtremeOcean Innovation Inc. James Fisher Marine Services Ltd (JFMS), part of James Fisher and Sons plc – a marine services provider in the U.K., today announced the signing of an exclusive market entry agreement with Canadian company ExtremeOcean Innovation Inc. (EOI), the designers of the TranSPAR craft. The arrangement will last for 12 months, with the option of a further 12-month extension. ExtremeOcean Innovation Inc. is a marine technology company focused on developing marine solutions for the offshore market.

Strainstall’s Vessel Motion Monitoring System (VMMS) has been successfully installed on a vessel running trials for the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) program, a joint industry program aiming to reduce the cost of offshore wind by 10% for UK Round 3 sites. The OWA trial focuses on turbine access systems, proving and de-risking design concepts. VMMS is supporting the Carbon Trust during prototype testing phases to quantify vessel conditions during personnel transfers.

Xodus Group, Cathie Associates and UTEC Geomarine have formed an industry leading consortium to deliver a study which will aim to reduce the costs of generating electricity from offshore wind farms in U.K. waters. The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), which brings together nine offshore wind developers (DONG Energy, E.ON, Mainstream Renewable Power, RWE Innogy, ScottishPower Renewables, SSE Renewables, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall) in a joint industry project, is working towards reducing the cost of offshore wind by at least 10% by 2015. Technology challenges are identified and prioritized by the OWA members based on the likely savings and the potential for the OWA to influence the outcomes.

Offshore wind developer Forewind’s second of two planned meteorological masts was erected at Dogger Bank during the weekend using the innovative suction installed Bucket Foundation and a “human free” technique for the steel tower placement. The latest mast to be installed – Dogger Bank Met Mast West - will provide essential wind, wave and other weather information, as well as marine traffic data for the Dogger Bank offshore wind energy development. It is located approximately 150 kilometres from the U.K. coast. Installed by Fred.

The Dogger Bank offshore wind zone is proving to be a site for innovation as a new and safer installation technique has been used to lift Forewind’s initial meteorological mast tower on top of the innovative suction-installed bucket foundation. The use of the Bucket Foundation was also a UK industry first when placed on site in February. Fred. Olsen United implemented the concept of moving the riggers, who previously had to be near the lattice towers during installation, and instead introducing guide cones, therefore eliminating the risk of a swinging or falling load causing an accident.

Houlder & BMT Nigel Gee announce that their jointly developed Turbine Access System (TAS) has successfully completed offshore trials. The TAS was fitted to Turbine Transfers’ 24m Cemlyn Bay for a four week trials period at RWE’s Rhyl Flats offshore windfarm off the coast of Wales. The TAS is a lightweight motion compensated gangway that provides substantially improved access to offshore wind turbines for maintenance personnel. It considerably increases the level of safety and operability, both of which are prime goals for offshore wind farm operators and developers.

The offshore wind industry is experiencing a dynamic growth and with this new order Fjellstrand says it has answered the industry’s challenge of making fuel-efficient vessels which provide stable, safe and effective access to the wind farms. With support from the Carbon Trust, Fjellstrand  addressed these market requirements and developed a new concept, the “WindServer”, for the transportation of technicians and components to the offshore wind farms. The new WindServer trimaran SWATH design introduces a new level in sea-keeping performance and transport efficiency.

A boat with suspension, a giant robotic arm and a vessel resembling a seahorse are just three of the innovative concepts shortlisted by the Carbon Trust as part of a competition to solve the problem of transferring engineers and equipment safely on to wind turbines as far as 300km offshore in wave heights up to around three meters. The project aims to improve the economics of offshore wind by keeping turbines generating electricity in the harshest sea conditions to increase revenues by as much as £3bn for the next generation of the UK’s offshore wind farms.

International diving equipment technology company Divex are delighted to announce they have been selected by the Carbon Trust for support within the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme for their Launch and Recovery technology. The Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) is a project launched between the Carbon Trust and eight of the leading international offshore wind farm developers to help meet the European Union’s 15% renewable energy target for the UK. The aim of the OWA is to drive down the cost of offshore wind by focusing on four research areas: Foundations…

Houlder and BMT Nigel Gee have announced they have been awarded a contract from The Carbon Trust as one of the selected participants in the Offshore Wind Accelerator Access (OWA-A) Competition. The competition, backed by the Trust and eight leading wind farm developers, challenged industry to think beyond traditional approaches, to enable access to the turbine structures for engineering personnel and equipment in further offshore windfarms that are being developed. The Houlder…

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…

Wave energy developer Orecon, based in the South West of England, has hit stormy waters. CEO David Crisp said “I thought that after years of struggling for funding we had weathered the worst that the financial markets could throw at us. I was wrong. Earlier this year our venture capital funders withdrew their support, ironically since then we have won through to the final round of the £22m MRPF grant scheme (worth up to £6m), Carbon Trust Ventures have given their support to match fund third party investors and our UK and US patents have been granted.