Turbine Technologies News

Bureau Veritas (BV) has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) to Hyundai Heavy Industries for its design and development of “Hi-Float”, a floating offshore wind turbine foundation. The offshore floating wind substructure “Hi-Float” is designed to support a 10MW wind turbine with semi-submersible and mooring technology. According to a press statement issued by BV, at Hi-Float,  a passive ballast system ensures that risk is kept to a minimum during offshore operations. The good…

Offshore wind developersØrsted and Eversource have agreed to charter Dominion Energy's Charybdis, the first Jones Act-compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel in the United States, for the construction of two offshore wind farms in the Northeast.Charybdis is being built in Texas by Keppel AmFels and will first be deployed out of New London harbor to support the construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind offshore wind farms, both of which are being developed jointly by Ørsted and Eversource.

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has secured a $40 million contract to supply an integrated technology solution for the first U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) - the Charybdis.The vessel, being built at Keppel AmFELS shipyard in the U.S., is being constructed for US energy company Dominion Energy. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 and will be among the largest of its kind.The new WTIV will be able to transport and install several sets of next-generation wind turbines and their foundations.

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…

Maritime and offshore classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) will class the first ever Jones Act compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), seen as a key vessel for the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.With several gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to be installed along the U.S. East Coast in the next decade, access to Jones Act compliant WTIVs is of strategic importance to the U.S. offshore wind market. Currently, no such vessel exists.Dominion Energy last year contracted Keppel AmFELS, a wholly-owned U.S.

Shipbuilder Keppel AmFELS has laid the keel for the first ever Jones Act compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) at its shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, marking a key milestone for the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.With several gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to be installed along the U.S. East Coast in the next decade, access to Jones Act compliant WTIVs is of strategic importance to the U.S. offshore wind market. Currently no such vessel exists. Dominion Energy contracted with Keppel AmFELS, a wholly-owned U.S.

The renewable energy major Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has finalized the acquisition of Senvion's European onshore service assets and intellectual property (IP).The German-Spanish manufacturer said in a press release that it has a “robust integration plan” for the assets, which will add 9GW of machines in 13 countries to its service book, bringing the total to 69GW.The addition of the Senvion assets marks an important step in the company’s growth strategy, part of the company’s L3AD2020 strategic program, and strengthens its competitive position in its multibrand portfolio.Siemens Gamesa will now service an even broader range of wind turbine technologies.

The blade for GE’s Haliade-X 12MW offshore wind turbine has arrived at MassCEC’s Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) in Boston, U.S.The 107-meter blade will undergo a series of fatigue tests that involve moving it millions of times over the period of a few months to validate that it can withstand more than 25 years of operation at sea. The testing is part of the process of commercializing GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW turbine -- the most powerful in the industry -- by 2021, strengthening the company’s ability to compete in a market steadily gaining momentum in the U.S. and globally.“This has really been a collaborative effort on the part of the company to be part of solving the challenges associated with the energy transition," said GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr.

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).

SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition working to facilitate and accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, today urged the industry as a whole to redouble its commitment to compliance with, and enforcement of, IMO Marpol VI Regulations. SEA\LNG recognises that the Port State Authorities have a clear obligation under the governing Treaties to ensure even handed and consistent enforcement of the IMO regulations. While enforcement has always been a difficult issue, now is the time for all IMO members to understand the importance of this regulation and ensure that it is implemented and enforced as envisioned.

In the continuing quest to harvest efficient, renewable energy from the power of the world’s tides, an organization called Sustainable Marine Energy’s announced that its PLAT-O tidal energy platform has successfully completed its first field trials. Despite the tremendous power and predictability of the world’s waves and tides, efforts to successfully build and bring to market a device to harness, store and transmit power in an efficient manner have been largely unsuccessful in the commercial sense.

Wood Group GTS and Apex Bethel Energy Center, LLC (“Apex”) have signed a three-year operations & maintenance (O&M) agreement for the Bethel Energy Center. Under the $12 million contract, Wood Group GTS will be responsible for care, custody and control of the facility when it begins commercial operation in 2017. Construction is soon to begin for the plant in East Texas, which will utilize compressed air energy storage (“CAES”) technology. “We needed an O&M partner willing to work with us during the development stage of the project. In Wood Group, we found a highly experienced O&M service provider with an excellent reputation in the industry and is well respected by investors,” said Jack Farley, CEO of Apex.

Tidal energy is a new realm of renewable energy. As technology advances, GL Renewables Certification (GLRC) is contributing its expertise by certifying Alstom’s tidal turbine prototype. Certification of tidal turbines is one of the key development areas for the tidal industry in the future, and represents a major milestone for Alstom on the REDAPT project. GL RC and Tidal Generation Limited (TGL, now rebranded Alstom) have worked closely together to achieve ‘C-Design Assessment’ certification for Alstom’s full-scale 1MW tidal turbine. “The certification was carried out according to our Guideline for the Certification of Ocean Energy Converters,” said Andreas Schroeter, Managing Director GL Renewables Certification.

The merger announced between MAN Diesel SE and MAN Turbo AG to form MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, based in Augsburg, is now complete, the corresponding entry having been made in the register of companies. The process of amalgamating the two former MAN sister companies into one enterprise has thus been achieved. In economic terms, the merger has come into effect retroactively as of 1 January 2010. By combining the complementary product portfolios of the two firms, the merged company will be striving for growth and looking to strengthen its position in the relevant market segments. “The merger now having become effective, the MAN Group will be seeking to pool its expertise in large bore diesel engines and power plants with its strengths in compressor and turbine technologies…