SolarDuck’s Post

Although the Utsira Nord project has been delayed to 2025, our strategic partner, Vattenfall, has in late March 2024 participated in two Dutch offshore wind tenders for IJmuiden Ver.🍃 This Dutch offshore wind area consists of two sites, each with a 2 GW capacity. The competition of site Alpha focus on biodiversity criteria, while Beta is focused on system integration.🙂 Such competition criteria are innovative examples of running offshore wind competitions. Vattenfall is also confident to meet the environment and biodiversity standards set for Alpha as well as the system integration criteria set with Beta. With entering the bids, Vattenfall wants to further increase its contribution to the renewable transition of the Dutch energy system and deliver on its goal to work for fossil freedom. Electricity production of both sites combined equals the energy consumption of about 4 million Dutch households, see For more info on the competition in Norwegian, see behind pay wall: https://lnkd.in/dixDn3Ww For more info from Vattenfall's webpages, see: https://lnkd.in/dsZWykub #offshorewind #competitions #fossilfreedom

⚡ Good news for the dutch #energytransition! An additional 4GW of #offshorewind will be build, which represents 14% of total electricity consumption. These developments are part of the roadmap to have 21GW of offshore wind by ~2030, which will represent 75% of consumption. Therefore, we need to make sure windfarms are operating with respect for nature and to efficiently integrate electricity in the dutch energy system, to manage the intermittent profile of #renewables and avoid #gridcongestion. 2GW will be build by SSE Renewables, Pensioenfonds ABP and APG who will invest in measures to protect birds, reduce the disturbance of marine mammals and include artificial reefs to increase biodiversity. Great to see the second ecological windfarm in the world was tendered in NL, next to Ecowende Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners won the right to build the other 2GW. The consortium will demonstrate how to integrate the electricity into the energy system, by investing in a large scale electrolyzer in the Port of Rotterdam, together with a 50MW offshore solar farm, to complement the wind profile. Congratulations to all parties involved who worked hard on these bids! I'm happy to see the industry evolving and that NL is taking a leading role in the build out of Offshore Wind. Netherlands Enterprise Agency Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Rob Jetten More information can be found here:

Whats happening to drive innovation forward in Floating Offshore Wind? I have posted about stakeholders looking to push forward action in FOW in recent weeks; ✅ Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult - supply chain review - inter-array cable systems ✅ The new FLOW Innovation Centre #flowic in Aberdeen ✅ EMEC: European Marine Energy Centre - white paper call for a National FLOW Test Facility Why all this activity? Well we have a target to hit - 5GW installed FOW in the UK by 2030, and thats part of the bigger target of 50GW of offshore-wind. There are some huge challenges to get the UK, Europe and the ROW match-fit for this, including but not limited to; ▶️ Supply chain ▶️ Port infrastructure ▶️ Standardised modular platforms ▶️ Installation, cable and mooring systems ▶️ O&M planning We've said before that collaboration is key to rapidly drive innovation. Norway has picked up the challenge, with a target of 30GW installed offshore wind by 2040, and is now taking steps to enable that. The Norwegian NOW project aims to bring some big-ticket industry players together to deliver 4 challenges to accelerate this process. With the likes of Vattenfall, Seagust, Equinor, Deep Wind Offshore and EDF and others, they will be pushing innovation forward on; ⏩ Optimising Efficiency - Annual Energy Production via design and O&M ⏩ Sustainability - reuse of sub-structures, new materials, design, recycling ⏩ Installation - drilling techniques in hard rock locations, new designs and materials ⏩ Environmental Impact - noise, biodiversity, microplastics Across a 4 year programme the European Commission will support with €6m. Great to see other countries really getting into the detailed innovation in FOW. Let's hope that the wider EU and UK can share some of these key learnings and developments. Similarly, let's hope the new Gov. gets behind UK FOW and answers the calls made by our ecosystem stakeholders to support our own innovation activities and infrastructure. Do you think the new Gov. has the appetite and strategic investment to get behind the FOW UK sector? Will they recognise the opportunity to regenerate and grow the economy through new net zero sector policy and industry growth. What else do we need in the UK? #floatingoffshorewind #renewableenergy #flowinnovation Image Credit; Principle Power, Kincardine floating wind farm

First Floating OSS Expected by 2030, But There Are Still Some Challenges, Semco Maritime Says Semco Maritime is expecting the first floating offshore substation to happen by 2030. However, there are still some challenges to overcome before this becomes a reality, according to Jacob Øbo Sørensen, Senior Vice President for Renewables at the Danish company. Semco Maritime, together with ISC Consulting Engineers, Aalborg University, Energy Cluster Denmark, and Inocean, secured funding earlier this year to further develop a floating offshore substation (FOSS) concept. Before we get the first unit, multiple challenges must be addressed, which can be split between a technological perspective and a financial perspective, depending on the location, Sørensen told offshoreWIND.biz. First, there are no official standards for floating offshore substations, which means that the design will have to be based on existing standards for vessels, fixed-bottom OSSs, FPSOs, and floating turbines. Next, there is a need to develop dynamic cables for higher voltage levels, and it is also essential that harbours are ready to support this technology. It would also be recommended that governments set out a price support mechanism for floating wind since new technology is more expensive, and people will compare it to fixed bottom. At the end of the day, it is important that people do not see floating wind as a competitor to fixed bottom – both technologies are offshore wind and a necessity to reach renewable energy targets, Sørensen stated. “In Semco Maritime, we are busy developing and maturing our design proposal for a floating substation. Thanks to the received governmental funding in Denmark, we can speed up our design progress and focus on more challenging topics such as the transport and installation philosophy and the interfaces between floater and topside and how they impact the electrical design,” Sørensen said. In terms of benefits, it is already familiar that 80 per cent of the global offshore wind potential is located in deep water, and the floating wind is, therefore, a necessity as it unlocks many new markets around the world that, due to deep waters, could not install offshore wind before. Considering sustainability, it seems that floating wind does not impact biodiversity, Sørensen said, adding that the newest study from Equinor presented how biodiversity stayed the same at the Hywind Scotland floating wind project. #floating #offshorewind https://lnkd.in/d2ADpwZ3

Ever heard of floating wind farms? They could be the answer to renewable energy needs for the South West. Offering the possibility to tap into deeper waters, these farms could reshape our renewable future. But, like every innovation, they come with their challenges. Join us in dissecting this evolving tech. #RenewableEnergy #NetZero #WindFarms #CleanEnergy

📢 We are thrilled to announce the successful deployment of floating LiDAR buoy at the Stromar Floating Offshore Wind Farm´s site off the Coast of Caithness in #Scotland. This high-tech buoy, equipped with remote sensing devices, will gather crucial data on, among others, wind speed, ocean currents, and tide over the next year, contributing to shape the final design of our Stromar Wind project. Nick Ritchie, Stromar Project Development Director, highlighted the contribution of this achievement: "This installation marks an important stage in the journey for Stromar and supports our ambition to bring a clean, green future to Scotland." With the potential to generate 1GW of #renewableenergy, Stromar Wind aims to power up to 1 million homes and position Scotland as a leader in #floatingwind energy. We're also committed to developing the local supply chain, creating jobs, and investing in the Scottish supply chain to enable a just transition to renewable energy. 🚀 Read full news 👉🏼 https://lnkd.in/dxGmpgUT