The operations and maintenance (O&M) of wind power plants plays a key role in the development of the wind energy segment and the broader energy transition, by ensuring that wind turbines are able to operate at their full potential during their useful life. In addition, the after-sales service business continues to be an increasingly important source of revenue and employment for the wind industry.
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TenneT, the German transmission system operator, has granted $32 billion in contracts to three consortia for the development of North Sea offshore grid connections. The contracts, which cover the production and installation of 14 offshore grid connection systems, were signed with the consortia of GE/Sembcorp, GE/McDermott, and Siemens Energy/Dragados. This will produce enough offshore power transmission capacity from the German and Dutch North Seas to power 28 large-scale power plants.
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RWE and Northland Power, the owners of Nordseecluster, have chosen Hellenic Cables as the preferred provider for the cluster of four offshore wind farms. Nordseecluster will be erected in two parts, Nordseecluster A and B, with RWE and Northland owning 51 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. Phase One has two wind farms with a combined capacity of 660 MW and is currently applying for permits.
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Ørsted, a Danish energy company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Acciona’s infrastructure division to assess options for large-scale floating wind foundations. The two will look into the mass production of floating platforms with an emphasis on minimising the floating wind levelised cost of electricity and their environmental footprint.
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CrossWind, the developer of the 759 MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm, has announced the installation of the first wind turbine at the project in the Dutch waters of the North Sea. Shell and Eneco’s joint venture, CrossWind, anticipates that the wind farm will begin producing power in the summer of 2023 and will be fully operational by the end of the same year.
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Skyborn Renewables has applied to the Swedish government for permission to build the country’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.9 GW Eystrasalt project in the Bothnian Sea. Reportedly, the project area has been chosen, among other things, because of the good wind conditions and the favorable sea depth, but also the proximity to both Finland and northern Sweden.
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Ocean Breeze Energy, owner and operator of the 400 MW BARD Offshore 1 wind farm, and RWE Supply & Trading have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA). Beginning in April 2023, RWE Supply & Trading will begin marketing the renewable energy produced by the facility through a direct marketing scheme. The contract runs until the end of this decade. The supply will progressively shift to a fixed pricing regime starting in 2026.
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IberBlue Wind, an offshore floating wind farm developer, has announced the development of two projects with 1.96 GW installed capacity off the shores of Spain and Portugal. The two plants, Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula, will be built offshore from Pontevedra and Viana do Castelo. With a combined installed capacity of more than 1.4 GW, Creoula will have 80 turbines with a capacity of 18 MW, compared to 29 turbines at Juan Sebastián Elcano, an offshore facility with a 522 MW capacity.
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Global Energy Group, a services provider for the offshore industry, has begun fabrication of J-tube frames to be used for the 882 MW Moray West offshore wind farm. The work on J-tubes is taking place at its North Fabrication facility with the first steel being cut at the Port of Nigg, Scotland. This fabrication phase is the result of several months of pre-production engineering by the company. The diameter and length of each J-tube frame will be 11 and 37 meters, respectively.
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Vibrant Energy, an Indian renewable energy provider, has received $268.8 million in finance from Power Finance Corporation. Vibrant Energy is a division of Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group (MAM-GIG). The company currently provides companies renewable energy solutions totaling more than 2 GW.
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Red Sea Wind Energy has received a loan of up to $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) ($50 million) and the Green Climate Fund ($50 million) for the building of a 500 MW onshore wind farm in Egypt. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and private commercial banks jointly finance the loan, which is covered by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance.
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Vestas has received a 370 MW wind turbine deal from Xcel Energy for two projects in the US. The turbines will repower two Xcel Energy initiatives, Pleasant Valley and Border Winds. The 213 MW Pleasant Valley project in Minnesota will have 97 V110-2.0 MW wind turbines installed. These turbines will be delivered by Vestas in 2.2 MW operating mode. The 71 V110-2.0 MW wind turbines for the 156 MW Border Winds project, which is being built in North Dakota, will also be shipped in 2.2 MW operating mode.
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Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie, a consortium of EDF Renewables and Maple Power, will build a 1 GW offshore wind facility known as Centre Manche 1 off the coast of Normandy, France. The project company has been announced as the winner of an offshore wind tender launched by the French Ministry of Energy Transition in January 2021. The offshore facility, which will be constructed 32 km off the coast of the Normandy departments of Manche and Calvados, will be able to supply more than 1.5 million people with all of their annual electricity requirements.
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The Government of the Netherlands has announced plans to use offshore wind power to produce significant amounts of offshore hydrogen. The project will be built in the North of the Wadden Islands wind energy sector and will have a capacity for electrolysis of about 500 MW. It is anticipated to start operating in 2031. Reportely, the site also offers the possibility to reuse an existing natural gas pipeline to send hydrogen ashore. The project will be the first to connect to Gasunie’s offshore hydrogen network, details of which will be decided this year, according to the announcement
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Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), a BlackRock Alternatives-managed fund, has acquired a 31.25 per cent stake in Lake Turkana Wind Power, a 310 MW wind project in Kenya. For an undisclosed sum, the stake was bought from Vestas, Finnfund, and the Investment Fund for Developing Countries. According to a regulatory filing published in Kenyan press, the Lake Turkana Wind Power project is located in Kenya’s far north region and is equipped with 365 wind turbines.
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Vestas, a Danish wind turbine manufacturer, has received a 373 MW wind turbine contract from Red Rocket, a South African independent power producer. The company will provide five V162-6.2MW Enventus turbines, 12 V163-4.5MW turbines, and 64 V150-4.5MW wind turbines. The turbines will be installed at the Brandvalley, Rietkloof and Wolf wind parks, which are located in South Africa’s Western and Eastern Capes. Vestas intends to deliver and commission the wind turbines by 2024.
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Ørsted and Eversource Energy have submitted a combined proposal to build the Revolution Wind II offshore wind farm in Rhode Island, US. The proposal for the 884 MW wind project was filed in response to the state’s offshore wind solicitation. If permitted, the Revolution Wind II wind farm will provide enough sustainable energy to power over 500,000 Rhode Island homes
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BrightNight, a US-based provider of renewable energy, has joined forces with ACEN to accelerate the development of 1.2 GW renewable energy portfolio in India. The companies will collaborate to develop hybrid wind-solar projects with energy storage facilities for central and state power utilities. Additionally, these initiatives would provide electricity to industrial and commercial customers.
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China Energy intends to start construction on a $5.1 billion green hydrogen project in Egypt in May 2023. Reportedly, the Chinese investor will send a team from the company to go through the project’s details in April 2023. As previously announced, the project will be developed in two phases and will feature a solar and wind power plant, electrolysers for hydrogen production, ammonia synthesis devices, and accompanying storage and processing facilities.
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Octopus Energy, a UK-based energy retailer, intends to invest $1.07 billion over the following two years in France’s clean energy market. The investment was announced at the 36th Franco-British Summit in Paris, which was led by the UK Prime Minister and French President. The investment will help generate enough clean energy to power 300,000 households.
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