Turbine Manufacturers News

The end may be in sight, but the race for bigger cranes is still having an impact on offshore wind project efficiency.The industry has already felt the need for upgrading crane lifting capacity on existing offshore wind installation vessels: NOV is upgrading the cranes on Cadeler’s existing O-class wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs), and a gantry crane extension will soon make Van Oord’s Svanen one of the largest floating heavy-lift installation vessels.It’s a newbuild phenomenon too. NOV has developed a telescoping leg encircling crane for Shimizu’s GustoMSC-designed WTIV Blue Wind.

Japan-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, (MOL)  and Taiwan-based Ta Tong Marine Co. have through their joint venture Ta San Shang Marine Co. Ltd. (TSSM), signed a deal with the Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards for the construction of a new service operation vessel (SOV).As TSSM's second Taiwan-flagged SOV, following Asia's first, the TSS Pioneer, which was delivered in 2022, the vessel is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2025 in Vietnam. The new CSOV, which will be methanol-ready will support offshore wind farms in Taiwan…

Higher shipbuilding costs are contributing to greater overall project costs in the U.S. offshore wind industry, according to maritime and offshore consultancy Intelatus Global Partners.The United States will rely on a large fleet of foreign and domestic vessels as it builds up toward the Biden Administration's target of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. This fleet will consist of both existing and newbuild tonnage, including wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV)…

DNV and its partners on Thursday confirmed the completion of Phase 1 of a joint industry project (JIP) on Bottom Impact and Partially Submerged Conditions, which has resulted in a new framework for optimizing the installation process of offshore wind turbines. "New partners are encouraged to join Phase 2, which will focus on validating models and establishing common best-practice guidelines to the benefit of the entire industry," DNV said."Offshore wind-turbine installation is…

Wind power pioneer Henrik Stiesdal built his first wind turbine in 1978. It was one of Denmark’s first step towards becoming a wind energy powerhouse, with Stiesdal regularly at the helm. He’s now got wider climate initiatives in his sights, including industrializing floating offshore wind. He reflected with OE’s Elaine Maslin.By 2021, a total of 35 GW of offshore wind had been installed across the world. To meet global climate targets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that another 80 GW of it needs to be built per year by 2030.

Offshore wind installation company Cadeler has ordered two new X-class wind turbine installation vessels from China's COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry.The total order amounts to $651 million, so $325.5 million per vessel. According to Cadeler, the new vessels will, upon completion, be the largest in the industry. They will be built in COSCO's shipyard in Qidong, China."Cadeler is delighted to announce that negotiations with COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. have been finalized…

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…

The Biden administration said on Wednesday it would restart permitting for the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, reversing a Trump administration decision that canceled the process late last year.The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said in a statement it would resume environmental review of the Vineyard Wind project as part of the administration's broad plan to speed renewable energy development on federal lands and waters."BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project…

The offshore wind industry has made great strides to become a cost-competitive option for grid and off-grid energy solutions. And today, the industry is growing faster than ever before, both in the well-established European market and in newer ones such as in China, Taiwan, Japan and the U.S.As the industry keeps growing, projects and turbines do too, says Philip Lewis, director of research at World Energy Reports."Offshore wind is becoming more mainstream, and as it does, the average project size is increasing…

Throughout the world, offshore wind is on a growth trajectory. With green energy mandates from states in New England and the mid-Atlantic, the U.S. is joining the fray. Consultants Wood MacKenzie, in its U.S. Offshore Wind Outlook 2020-2029, suggested that as much as 25 gigawatts (GW) of capacity could be deployed in the U.S. by 2030 (though estimates range from 14 GW to as much as 34 GW), accounting for a hefty portion of incremental capacity coming online.Shipyards in New England have already seen the tip of the offshore wind iceberg…

The United States has an opportunity to accelerate offshore wind energy growth, and benefit from 28 new gigawatts of wind power and $1.7 billion in U.S. Treasury revenue by 2022, according to a study released by the energy intelligence group Wood Mackenzie. Apart from the benefits to the Treasury, the offshore wind industry in the U.S. could create 80,000 jobs annually from 2025 to 2035.Commissioned by four energy industry groups, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA)…

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, the global wind turbine manufacturer, has selected ABB’s Power Grids business to deliver its WindSTAR transformers for the Triton Knoll offshore wind project in the UK.ABB’s WindSTAR power transformers are designed to fit inside the wind turbine and can withstand strong vibrations, sudden movements and variable electrical loading, typical of wind power. This lightweight transformer is energy efficient and made with biodegradable and safe ester insulation fluid.MHI Vestas will deliver 90 wind turbines for the wind farm and ABB’s WindSTAR transformers will be installed in each turbine. A joint venture between Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd…

The first-in-the-nation offshore wind training facility will be located at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.In late October, with much fanfare, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Stephen Pike, CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and many others joined officials from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) to launch the first-in-the-nation offshore wind crew transfer training facility. The group of state and college representatives also officially christened a new training vessel. The event underscored the efforts at MMA to both support, but also take full advantage of what stakeholders believe is the advent of offshore wind here in the United States.The training facility…

The offshore wind industry in the United States is growing exponentially, with multiple projects in the development stages off of the Atlantic coast. The total megawatt capacity of U.S. offshore wind farms is anticipated to reach 22,000 by 2030 and 43,000 by 2050. To support this growth, U.S. Department of Energy reports estimate over 40,000 new jobs will be created by 2030.The new jobs anticipated to support the offshore wind industry include a wide range of types, including engineers, trade workers, surveyors, scientists, technicians, managers, and seafarers.

The offshore wind industry in the United States is growing exponentially, with multiple projects in the development stages off of the Atlantic coast. The total megawatt capacity of U.S. offshore wind farms is anticipated to reach 22,000 by 2030 and 43,000 by 2050. To support this growth, U.S. Department of Energy reports estimate over 40,000 new jobs will be created by 2030.The new jobs anticipated to support the offshore wind industry include a wide range of types, including engineers, trade workers, surveyors, scientists, technicians, managers, and seafarers.

Bernhard Schulte Offshore GmbH (BSO) and MidOcean Wind (MOW) have entered into a joint venture to build and operate support vessels for the US offshore wind industry as well as explore opportunities in other sectors of U.S. merchant shipping.Signed during the AWEA Offshore WINDPOWER 2019 Conference in Boston, the Connecticut-based joint venture signals a new chapter of cooperation between BSO and MOW, which began in late 2018 when the parties partnered in WINDEA Offshore US to provide a single point of contact for offshore wind customers in the US.Volckert van Reesema…

Research and development (R&D) expenses among the world's top ten wind turbine manufacturers are expected to exceed $2.6 billion by 2023.The  R&D expenses more than doubled in the last four years, reaching $1.8m in 2018, as demand grows for ever-bigger on- and offshore models, according to the latest research from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.The analyst said that over 90 new onshore and offshore turbines are expected to be launched within the next five years by the top 10 leading manufacturers."Turbine OEMs have accelerated R&D investments in next-generation turbine platforms, battling against new unit sales margin compression and the market’s need to further reduce wind energy’s Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE).

The global quality assurance and risk management company DNV GL released an in-depth study, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which examines the challenges associated with manufacturing and deploying next-generation, increasingly larger land-based wind turbines.In the past decade, the U.S. wind energy industry has achieved significant improvements in energy production and cost efficiency, driven in part by increased turbine, blade, and tower size.However, the industry is quickly approaching a logistical cost and capability ceiling as turbine components become too large for existing infrastructure and transportation to accommodate.Currently the largest blades deployed in the U.S.

The offshore wind power industry continues to grow at a steady pace - over 69 GW of new offshore wind capacity is expected to be installed between 2018 and 2027, exceeding 100 GW of operating capacity by 2030.According to a new report from Navigant Research, offshore wind will play an increasing role in the broader global energy transition to a more diverse and flexible energy economy.Though less offshore wind is installed annually compared to onshore wind, it remains an abundant clean energy solution for many coastal load centers where a greater proportion of population and energy demand is located.“Offshore wind will play an increasing role in the broader global energy transition to a more diverse and flexible energy economy…

ABS granted Approval in Principal (AIP) to Neptun Ship Design for its Wind Turbine Transport Vessel design, the first to support transporting parts for turbines greater than 9 Mega Watts (MW).The 178m long Blue Azurit design allows wind turbine manufacturers to produce full length welded towers ready for installation. The energy-efficient vessel is designed to pick up components direct from the supplier’s berth, transport parts to an offshore harbor, or feed them to the installation vessel.In granting this AIP…

Ingeteam, a leading supplier of electrical conversion equipment, has announced that it received DNV GL’s certification for its IngeconWind stator-equipped 2MW DFIG converter. With this latest achievement, Ingeteam completes the range of its products covered under DNV GL certification, such as the medium voltage full power converters and the statorless DFIG converters; and demonstrates its ability to consistently meet DNV GL’s quality and safety requirements across multiple drive-train topologies.

Allard Castelein, the CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, and Camilo Santana, Governor of the Brazilian state of Ceará, signed an investment agreement regarding the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s participation in the development of the port of Pecém.The agreement sets out how the Port of Rotterdam Authority will be investing some EUR 75 million in Pecém’s port-industrial complex, constituting a 30% share in this enterprise.In addition, the Port of Rotterdam Authority will gain a joint say in strategic and investment decisions as well as representation in the Brazilian port’s Executive Board, Supervisory Board and management.The partners…

One of the leading wind turbine manufacturers globally Goldwind and DNV GL, the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development of digital tools to support the certification of wind turbines.As the wind sector matures and many governments look to reduce or eliminate subsidies, the wind turbine market is increasingly competitive. International tendering is becoming the norm, with contracts often awarded to the supplier who can best configure their turbines to suit the specific site conditions in a short timeframe – including the…