Wind power in the UK has reached the 6GW threshold. The landmark figure was reached by the Ormonde offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cumbria and with 120 megawatts (MW) operational, which is enough to power more than 67,000 homes.

“There’s a great feeling of pride throughout the industry that we’ve reached a record high of 6 gigawatts, and there’s a further 19.5GW of capacity under construction, consented, or in planning,” said RenewableUK‘s Chief Executive, Maria McCaffery. “The Government’s Renewable Energy Roadmap is calling for 31GW of onshore and offshore wind combined by 2020, and we’re confident that we can deliver this if we continue to get the right level of Government support”.

The news was announced at RenewableUK’s Annual Parliamentary Reception last Wednesday. To give a better idea of what 6GW represents in terms of power, the UK now has enough installed wind power energy to supply over 3.3 million homes.

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WindFlip AS is a Norwegian company that has developed WindFlip, a novel approach to transporting pre-assembled wind turbines to offshore locations.

The approach is described in International Application Publication No. WO 2011/051804, entitled “Partially Submersible Wind Turbine Transport Vessel” (’804 Application).

WindFlip is a specialized barge for transporting assembled offshore wind turbines. The assembled wind turbine (24) is transported on a turbine transport vessel (10) in a nearly horizontal position, as shown below in Figure 1 of the ’804 Application.

Once the vessel (10) reaches its destination, it tilts to a vertical position using seawater. More particularly, twenty-nine air-filled displacement tanks are located in the hull (22) of the vessel (10).

The displacement tanks are sequentially filled with seawater, sinking the stern (16) of the vessel (10) and the base of the turbine (24), until both are at a vertical position, as shown in Figure 4.

Once the turbine (24) and vessel (10) are oriented approximately 90 degrees to the sea surface, the turbine (24) is released and maneuvered to pre-installed anchors. After releasing the turbine (24), the vessel returns to a horizontal position by forcing the seawater out of the displacement tanks with compressed air.

See an animation of the process below.

Traditional offshore wind turbine transportation requires deep ocean depths due to the turbines’ draft. WindFlip allows pre-assembled wind turbines to be transported to offshore locations despite shallow or variable ocean depths.

Eric Lane is a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego and the author of Green Patent Blog. Mr. Lane can be reached at elane@luce.com.

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Principle Power is a Seattle, Washington-based renewable energy technology company that developed WindFloat, an offshore wind power turbine and platform. The platform can be assembled on shore and then towed to a site offshore where it is moored and connected to a power station.

Principle Power recently deployed its first WindFloat system off the coast of Portugal, the first offshore turbine to be located in open Atlantic waters (read more about the first deployment here and here).

The WindFloat technology is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0037264, entitled “Column-stabilized offshore platform with water-entrapment plates and asymmetric mooring system for support of offshore wind turbines” (’264 Application).

The platform comprises columns (102, 103) interconnected with a truss structure composed of main beams (115), bracing beams (116), and cross beams (117). A wind tower (111) is attached to one of the base columns (102, 103).

A wind turbine (125) is attached to the wind tower (111). At the base of the columns are horizontal water-entrapment plates (107). The submerged plates (107) are designed to provide hydrodynamic added-mass and dampening, resulting in reduced platform motion – particularly in heavy seas.

The turbine platform can also include active ballast systems for stabilization. The columns (102,103) can be hollow and and house the active ballast system, which transfers water between tanks within the columns. The active ballast system is designed to keep the mean position of the platform horizontal and to keep the turbine as upright as possible.

According to Principle Power, unlike conventional offshore wind turbines, the stabilization features of the WindFloat allow the platform to withstand the high wind and wave energy found in deeper waters. Wind turbines located far from shore overcome disadvantages of their close-to-shore counterparts because they do not block the shore view and lessen navigational obstructions and potential hazards to water vessel and aircraft while tapping into previously inaccessible wind resources.

Article by David Gibbs, a contributor to Green Patent Blog. David is currently in his third and final year at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. He received his undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of California, Berkeley.

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With the rapid growth of the wind power industry in recent years, and the expected continued expansion to meet EU targets by 2050, the sector is in danger of suffering a skills shortage throughout the various types of employment within the industry.

The EWEA’s wind at work report of 2009 concluded that on average 15.1 jobs for a year are created in the EU for every MW of power installed per year, and 0.4 long term jobs are created per MW of cumulative capacity in operations and maintenance and other activities. The EWEA data from 2007 showed that 108,000 people were employed in the wind industry throughout the EU; 37% of which were employed by wind turbine manufacturers and 22% by component suppliers. The report also estimated that a further 42,000 people were employed indirectly as a result of the wind energy industry; making it responsible for 150,000 jobs in total. That figure is expected to double by 2020, based on estimates of a total of 180GW of installed wind power, and half of those jobs are expected to be based offshore.

RenewableUK (formerly the BWEA) studies in 2008 showed that 5,000 people were employed in the UK in the wind power industry. With an expected increase to 34GW of installed power by 2020, the employment figure is estimated to rise to 57,000. Among the professions to be singled out as being in danger of a shortage were health and safety specialists.

There are several key factors to consider in the training and development of employees to work on offshore wind farms. There is already clear lack of skilled workers, and in particular health and safety officials; this must be addressed by the wind energy industry, and training requirements should be set out on an industry-wide basis in order to quickly fill the gap. The offshore wind power industry is still a relatively immature industry and data relating to health and safety offshore is limited; simply due to our limited experience of offshore wind farms in deep water. It must be an ongoing and fluid process to develop the safety standards for offshore installations, and therefore the health and safety training for staff. Cooperation needs to continue between the industry’s main players in terms of sharing information about the challenges and incidents they experience in practice. This will allow the necessary standards to be introduced, and in turn training can be developed to create a knowledgeable and skilled workforce for the future.

Article by IQPC is a leading organizer of about 2,000 worldwide conferences, seminars, and related learning programs every year. The company is organizing the Health & Safety in Offshore Wind Conference from 12 – 14 December, 2011 at the Swissôtel Bremen, Germany. Free whitepapers, articles and podcasts on health and safety in offshore wind are available on the website.

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The European Commission’s energy strategy for Europe requires that 20% of all energy consumed within the EU is from renewable sources by 2020. The Commission estimates that 12% of overall energy use should be supplied by offshore wind. Further, the Renewable Directives also require member states to implement sufficient grid capacity to accept wind power; and include a framework to encourage priority access and despatch for wind generated power.

The EU has also tightened legislation on the internal electricity markets, and stipulates that Transmission System Operators (TSO’s) submit bi-annual transmission development plans, under the ‘Third Liberalisation Package’. The proposals are intended to create a single, harmonized electricity market across Europe. The aim is to achieve improved system operation, fair access for renewable generation systems, and greater cooperation between TSO’s; headed by ENTSO (European Network of Transmission Operators).

Long term energy strategy targets will lead towards an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The redevelopment of the European grid infrastructure must take into account the current issues of enabling connection to wind power and distributing electricity sourced from offshore wind to reach immediate targets; whilst keeping one eye on the restructuring of the grid into a system that can provide the capabilities to cope with demand ahead of 2050 and beyond.

The developments and requirements for a new European infrastructure

A complete and continental wide electricity network structure could provide Europe with several benefits in addition to the integration of renewable energy. A fully interconnected grid utilizing smart technology will reduce the cost of the move towards a carbon free society for individual countries. It could vastly improve the security of service for consumers, and ensure efficient use and lower prices by the routing of energy to specific areas of demand. It should also increase competition in the single energy market across Europe.

The development of the European grid network, and the requirements to make a super grid viable are both varied and complex. ENTSO’s Ten Year Network Development Plan proposes infrastructure redevelopment across 34 European countries, and includes initiatives towards up to 500 investment projects totalling 23-28€ billion over the next five years. The networks connecting over 525 million people over the continent will require around 35,000km of new transmission lines, and up to 7,000km worth of upgrades to existing lines. This represents a significant proportion (14%) of the total existing transmission lines, and the TSO’s responsible plan to carry out 44% of this work in the coming five year period, with the remaining 56% to be undertaken in the following five years.

In the context of renewable energy, the connection of wind power to the European grid presents its own specific issues, which must be overcome on a global level to enable full integration. Due to the location of the generation plants, usually remote and far from the areas of high demand and storage, measures must be taken to develop transmission lines to connect wind farms to the grid. Innovation is also required in high voltage long distance transmission and electricity storage technology. By its nature wind power is a highly variable energy source, and networks will need to be able to cope with periods of minimal generation as well as periods of high production. Interconnecting grids between countries must be able to freely allow the physical exchange of electricity, while congestion management and transmission efficiency will take on far greater importance.

Article by IQPC is a leading organizer of about 2,000 worldwide conferences, seminars, and related learning programs every year. The company is organizing the Grid Integration of Offshore Wind Energy Conference from 05 – 07 December, 2011 at the Clarion Hotel Copenhagen, Denmark. Free whitepapers, articles and podcasts on grid integration of offshore wind energy are available on the website.

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Two U.S. energy companies attempting to build the nation’s first offshore wind farms reported progress on their plans at an industry conference this week, providing hope for an industry still trying to assert itself in the U.S. energy market.

Speaking at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference, Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind unveiled plans to buy five, six-megawatt turbines built by Siemens for a proposed $205 million wind farm near Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island.

“Believe it or not, the first offshore wind farm will probably happen in little Rhode Island,” CEO William Moore told Reuters. However, Fishermen’s Energy, which hopes to take advantage of a federal subsidy that may expire, announced it is targeting a 2011 ground-breaking for its own six-turbine farm off Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Perhaps the biggest development for the industry, however, is progress on a proposed undersea transmission line that would link future offshore wind farms along the mid-Atlantic coast. Project backers say it has passed a critical federal hurdle and that the regional grid operator, vendors, suppliers and others are coalescing around the project.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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Offshore wind power as an industry is set to undergo intense growth over the next 10-20 years. The EWEA (European Wind Energy Association) has established targets of 40GW of offshore wind power production by the year 2020, and 150GW by 2030. This move towards a European grid represents a 28% annual increase in market growth; it will enable the trade of electricity between states, and cement Europe’s status as technological leaders in the wind power industry.

Meeting the first target of 40GW by 2010 requires the manufacture and installation of around 10,000 wind turbines; and there are several logistical challenges that must be overcome to achieve this aim. Offshore wind power is at an early stage of development, and there remains a necessity to streamline all aspects of the supply chain from component manufacture, to turbine design, to installation processes.
Turbines

The designs of offshore turbines were generally borrowed or adapted from their onshore counterparts; so production of offshore wind turbines had been reliant to an extent on the market growth of the onshore industry. As recently as 2008 this led to supply shortages during periods of high onshore demand. Offshore wind power, however, must be viewed as an entirely different concept to onshore wind power. With the potential for larger turbines, and no limitations on aesthetics or noise levels, manufacturers are developing specifically designed offshore turbines which could increase to up to 10MW in capacity.

Siemens, for example is currently supplying its SWT-3.6-120 turbines for use in the London Array project. The 3.6MW turbine has a 120m rotor, and the three-bladed cantilevered construction will start to produce electricity at wind speeds of 7mph. Supply and installation, however, consists of shipping the turbines from Denmark to the UK, transferring them from barges to installation vessels, before installing the turbine, the hub, and finally the blades.

To establish mass production and cost efficiency of supply and installation, there are several initiatives in development, and various logistical problems to navigate. Design is moving towards the creation of more ‘intelligent’ turbines, with advanced control monitoring and preventative maintenance. While the development of ‘simple’ turbines with fewer moving parts designed to be changed easily, will also significantly reduce costs both in terms of construction and operation and maintenance.

1 Spinner 2 Spinner bracket 3 Blade 4 Pitch bearing 5 Rotor hub 6 Main bearing 7 Main shaft 8 Gearbox 9 Service crane 10 Brake disc 11 Coupling 12 Generator 13 Yaw gear 14 Tower 15 Yaw ring 16 Oil filter 17 Generator fan 18 Canopy
Exploded view of Siemens SWT-3.6-20 nacelle, Source: siemens.com

The concept of a twin blade, downwind turbine is at design stage and could appear on the market in the coming years. Twin blades are much louder than three-bladed turbines so have not been considered appropriate for onshore development. There are no concerns over noise levels offshore, and installation could be a much quicker process as nacelles can be stacked with the rotor pre-mounted, rather than installing one of the blades at sea.

A variable speed, direct drive turbine is another possibility in the near future. Gearboxes are one of the most difficult parts to replace on a turbine, and multi-pole gearless turbines operate at a lower drive train speed which would decrease the amount of stress placed on other components. Gearless turbines are generally much heavier than those with conventional gearboxes, so designs must be produced with lighter components to reduce the weight at the top of the tower before this can become a reality.

Wind turbines are currently manufactured in such a way that any part or component cannot be replaced easily. Due to the difficulty in accessing wind farms far out at sea, and the problems of on-site repairs, it is important that purpose built offshore turbines are designed with operation and maintenance in mind. At the moment O&M is very much site specific, and as the industry learns more from existing wind farms, so the process can be standardized to create a sub-industry purely surrounding O&M. It is reasonable to expect to see swing-off systems being introduced, which will allow a spare nacelle to be fitted whilst one is undergoing a service. Preventative, automated systems that can carry out oil and filter changes without the need for humans are also on the horizon. Other initiatives such as multi-coated blades and modular drive trains will help to reduce the amount of maintenance required, and therefore reduce the amount of downtime for each turbine.

Foundations
The substructure of a turbine is one of the largest single cost factors of the overall project, and reducing the cost of construction, transportation and installation of these foundations will have a big impact on supply chain optimization. Again, much of the technology has been adapted from onshore foundations with monopoles being the most common substructure in use on offshore wind farms today. The design of specific offshore foundations, with reduced manufacturing costs is essential to ease this link in the supply chain.
Crucially, wind speed and therefore potential power production, increase greatly in deeper water. Several different concepts are being tested to enable the installation of 10MW or larger turbines on wind farms at depths of 60 meters or more.

One such design is the Sway concept produced by the Norwegian company of the same name. The floating tower can be installed in depths of up to 400 meters, taking advantage of higher wind speeds. The tower is filled with ballast, and the center of gravity is much lower than the towers center of buoyancy thus giving it stability. It is a unique concept as the blades face downwind, and the entire turbine can rotate to suit the direction of the wind; this optimizes the amount of power generated from the wind, while at the same time reducing the stress on components. Sway claim that reduced manufacturing costs, a long life span, and the ability to support large turbines make this a viable and economic option.

Onshore Construction
The manufacture and assembly of turbines at quayside is a big driver in cost reduction. Large sites will be needed to produce as much as possible close to the harbor and reduce transportation costs. Equally, the design of turbines and foundations as a single entity is being considered, rather than viewing them as separate processes.

Sourcing the necessary materials to produce wind turbines could also prove to be an issue when it comes to the supply chain. Norwegian foundation manufacturer, Seatower has designed a gravity base foundation which can be deployed at 50 meters in depth, and can be floated to site pre-commissioned, without the use of cranes for installation. This could prove to be far more economical, but in an interview with WindEnergyUpdate, CEO Petter Karal warned, “We are planning for building up to 200 foundations per year for one of the bigger Round 3 projects, which is equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of steel and 45,000 tonnes of concrete. This is a huge amount in terms of world supply. The question is whether this can be freed up from other sources.”

Ports and Harbours
To enable onshore construction and the development of the offshore wind energy industry, suitable ports and harbors must be purpose built, or current harbors must be renovated. According to a presentation by Chris Ehlers, MBA, MD renewable divisions, Siemens PLC, the following requirements would be needed to facilitate pre-assembly onshore:

• Storage areas of approximately 60,000 to 250,000 square meters.
• A dedicated, private road between storage areas and quayside.
• A quay length of between 150 and 250 meters.
• A quay load-bearing capacity of 3-6 tonnes per square meter.
• A seabed of sufficient bearing capacity.
• A minimum draft of 6 meters.
• Warehouse facilities of between 1000 and 1,500 square meters.
• Access for small vessels such as barges.
• Access for heavy and oversized trucks.
• License and approvals for helicopter transfers.
• Availability for the whole project installation.

The port of Bremerhaven in Germany is an example of the redevelopment of an area with the specific needs of the wind energy industry in mind. When its previous industries of shipping, shipbuilding and commercial fishery suffered an economic downturn in the 1990’s, the local authorities looked to the wind power industry as an alternative. As an industrial area it now houses two offshore wind turbine manufacturers in REpower and Multibrid, Blade manufacturer PowerBlades, which makes blades for Repowers 5MW and 6MW turbines, and Weserwind Offshore Construction, which designs and manufactures heavy steel offshore foundation structures.

The coming together of design, manufacture, storage, pre-assembly and installation from one purpose designed site will have a significant impact on the cost factors that currently hinder supply chain management. An integrated approach to the wind energy industry allows a site such as Bremerhaven to test and carry out research and development in near offshore conditions, it allows for manufacture on-site, and reduces transportation time and cost. It allows manufacturing companies to work closely together, and offers the potential for foundations and turbines to be taken directly to site from production plant by installation vessels working from the same harbor.

Several technologies and industries must co-operate to facilitate the cost reduction of the supply chain of the offshore wind energy industry as a whole. While many sectors of the industry are still in their infancy, there is an emphasis on design to drive down cost; as well as a focus on learning from the experiences of current wind farms to further smooth the processes of supply chain management. The pursuit of renewable energy from offshore wind is unabated, however, and the next ten to twenty years will see a dramatic improvement in the economic viability of offshore wind power.

Article by IQPC is a leading organizer of about 2,000 worldwide conferences, seminars, and related learning programs every year. The company is organizing the Wind Turbine Supply Chain Management Conference from 29 – 31 August, 2011 at the Mövenpick Hotel, Germany. Free whitepapers, articles and podcasts on wind supply chain management are available on the website.

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The vast majority of new offshore wind turbines built in European waters this year have been installed in the UK, according to the European Wind Energy Association.

Of 108 new turbines installed off the European coast during the first half of 2011, 101 were built in the UK.

But so far only about two-thirds of the new turbines have been connected to the electricity grid, according to the industry group’s report.

As of June 30, there were 1,247 fully connected turbines in European waters, scattered across nine countries. EWEA Executive Director Christian Kjaer said offshore projects represent “the largest construction undertakings going on in Europe,” but warned that the sector will continue to rely on increased large-scale investment.

Although just one turbine was constructed in Norway during the first half of the year, it was a prototype floating model that, if successful, could extend the offshore wind industry into deeper waters, and open up new areas of exploitation, industry experts say.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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New rule approved by Obama administration could speed up offshore wind projects by up to a year.

Identifying that it needs to speed up the regulatory process for permitting offshore wind farms, the U.S. Department of Interior announced last November that it would be streamlining the approval process for offshore wind and unveiled an offshore wind energy strategy that would do so in February.

As part of that strategy, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich have finalized a proposed rule to speed up “the noncompetitive leasing process for commercial renewable energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.” The change could speed some projects up as much as 6 months to a year.

The change concerns a “redundancy” in the system and doesn’t change the administration’s ability to review, analyze, or monitor projects. Currently, if the BOEMRE starts a commercial leasing and only gets a response indicating interest from one entity, the BOEMRE has to issue another Federal Register notice request for interest. Deeming this unnecessary, if only one entity expresses interest initially, that entity can be awarded the lease without everyone going through the whole process again. Simple, practical change.

Hopefully, this will help the U.S. to quickly develop some offshore wind projects and catch up to other world leaders.

In Europe, which is currently the clear leader in offshore wind power, installed offshore wind power capacity grew from 4 MW in 2000 to 883 MW in 2010. Approximately 1,000 MW to 1,500 MW worth of offshore wind are expected to be added in 2011; wind farms totaling 4,000 MW are under development; and wind farms with a total capacity of 19,000 MW have been approved.

China had 103.5 MW of installed offshore wind power capacity at the end of 2010 but it’s got big plans and is projected to have 30,000 MW worth of offshore wind by 2020.

Now, that brings us to the U.S., which has tremendous offshore wind resources — offshore wind farms along the Atlantic coast could reportedly power up to one third of the nation — but doesn’t have a single offshore wind farm up yet. What will probably be the nation’s first offshore wind farm, Cape Wind, was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior in April 2010 after a decade-long permitting battle.

Cape Wind officials say completion of the wind farm will take about two years after construction begins in late 2011.

Article by Zachary Shahan, appearing courtesy ecopolitology.

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Think of it as the Autobahn of wind power.

Critics of renewable energy often point out that the best place for wind farms is often the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, the middle of nowhere is so-called because no one chooses to live there. And even more unfortunately, its the places where people live that are most in need of energy produced by wind farms.

Transmission and connectivity, it seems, are key road blocks to clean energy adaptation.

To retain their position as leaders in the clean energy race, Germany, a nation that produces more wind power than in any other European country, is planning an energy superhighway. The wind power corridor will run the length of the country from north to south, and will serve to connect Germany’s growing wind energy supply with high energy demand regions.

“Germany’s ambitious energy plans call for the extensive expansion of wind energy, especially the offshore segment. Plans to revolutionize the country’s energy grid and provide attractive loans for offshore parks clear the way for further investments in the sector. For manufacturers, suppliers and researchers, it is an excellent time to invest in Germany,” stated Anne Brautigam, wind energy expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.

Germany is banking heavily on offshore wind for its future energy supply, and over half of Europe’s approved offshore projects are planned for Germany’s coastlines. With the goal of 25 GW of electricity from offshore installations by 2030, wind could eventually replace 20 European nuclear power stations.

This year Germany’s KfW Banking Group is expected to initiate a special program for offshore wind, making EUR 5 billion credit available for the construction of Germany’s first ten offshore parks.

Germany’s first wind farm in the Baltic Sea went online on May 2. The 48.3 megawatt (MW) park – Baltic 1 – will generate up to 185 gigawatt hours of electricity annually – enough to power 50,000 homes. It joins North Sea wind farm alpha ventus (60 MW), which began operating last year.

Article by Beth Buczynski, appearing courtesy Crisp Green.

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