Offshore Wind

25 July 2011 New Bill to support offshore wind energy in the US

This week’s Wind Energy Update news brief includes the following companies and organisations:

NRG Bluewater Wind; The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council; Associated British Ports, Siemens; GeoSea, DEME Group, HGO Infra Sea Solutions, Beluga Hochtief Offshore, Beluga; J. J. Sietas, Siemens Marine Solutions, Van Oord Group, Siemens Norway and Interschalt maritime systems; Dong Energy, TC Gunfleet Sands OFTO; NKT Cables, Dong Energy, ScottishPower Renewables, Iberdrola Renovables.

New Bill to support offshore wind energy in the US

Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) have introduced legislation to provide financial incentives for investment in offshore wind energy. Specifically, the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act provides the offshore wind industry with enhanced stability by extending investment tax credits for the first 3,000 MW of offshore wind facilities placed into service.

Sen. Carper said that guaranteeing these tax incentives for the first 3,000 MW will spur the industry to get these projects up and running. He added that such support will allow companies like NRG Bluewater Wind to invest and build such facilities.

Once awarded a tax credit, companies have five years to install the offshore wind facility. Companies cannot receive other production or investment tax credits in addition to the offshore wind investment tax credit.

The bill defines offshore facilities as any facility located in the inland navigable waters of the US, including the Great Lakes, or in the coastal waters of the United States, including the territorial seas of the US, the exclusive economic zone of US, and the outer Continental Shelf of the US.

A number of proposed offshore wind projects are moving through the development process – including projects in Delaware, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. Projects have also been discussed off the shores of Massachusetts, Maine and the Great Lakes states.

Rhode Island plan for offshore energy development approved

Washington, DC -based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US has approved Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP).

This new plan improves state review processes and policies to facilitate the development of offshore projects. Ocean SAMP will serve as a federally recognised coastal management and regulatory tool. Using the best available science, the Ocean SAMP will provide a balanced approach to the development and protection of Rhode Island's ocean-based resources.

This plan takes into account all ocean uses for enhancing commercial, recreational and environmental goals, according to NOAA.

The Ocean SAMP area spans approximately 1,467 square miles over portions of Block Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean. It was developed over the course of two years by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.

According to NOAA, Rhode Island has become the first state to have incorporated a comprehensive ocean special area management plan in its coastal zone management programme. This approval means that enforceable policies in the Ocean SAMP for protecting existing activities such as fishing, important habitats and archaeological resources, and identifying areas suitable for energy projects, may be applied to federal actions in federal waters.

Vince Cable visits Green Port development site

Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills in the UK recently visited the proposed development site for Green Port Hull.

Cable visited Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Hull, in particular Alexandra Dock, to assess the proposed Green Port Hull site, which is expected to be a major new facility to manufacture offshore wind turbines. ABP highlighted that Cable’s visit is timely in light of the Government’s recent release of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) White Paper. Matt Jukes, ABP Port Director Hull and Goole, said it is encouraging to see Government support for the offshore wind industry in action with this important visit.

Siemens plans to build an £80 million wind turbine factory in Hull’s Alexandra Dock . The company will employ 700 people.

GeoSea to partner with Hochtief

GeoSea, a subsidiary of Belgian dredging and engineering group DEME, and German construction company Hochtief have named their joint venture as HGO Infra Sea Solutions.

GeoSea acquired 50% shares in Beluga Hochtief Offshore last month. The shares were sold to Hochtief Solutions by heavy-lift shipping company Beluga. The share acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant merger regulation authorities. Both partners have a 50% shareholding.
HGO Infra develops, constructs, manages and charters special-purpose vessels used to build and maintain offshore wind farms and oil and gas facilities. GeoSea is DEME’s specialist subsidiary in the area of worldwide installation services for offshore structures with its own jack-up platforms.

HGO Infra is currently constructing the “Innovation I”, described as the most sophisticated heavy-duty jack-up lifting vessel on the offshore market. This vessel with a payload of 8,000 tons and a crane capable of 1,500 tons will operate in water depths of up to 50 metres starting in mid-2012. The Innovation I will be used for the first time at the Global Tech I offshore wind farm. It has already been chartered long-term, including by Areva. DEME Group mentioned that it will be the equipment of choice for the installation of turbines of 5 to 10 MW.

German shipyard to build an installation vessel

J. J. Sietas KG of Hamburg is the first German shipyard to build an installation vessel for the erection of offshore wind farms.

Siemens Marine Solutions will supply the appropriate diesel-electric propulsion and automation system as well as the medium voltage system for power generation and distribution. The special vessel is due to be handed over to Van Oord, a Dutch water engineering company, in September 2012. It will be used by the Van Oord Group for its offshore projects in the North and the Baltic Sea.

The special vessel with a carrying capacity of up to 6,500 tons (dead weight tonnage) is designed for transporting and installing offshore wind power plants. With a length of 139 metres and a width of 38 metres, the ship will be able to work in waters up to 45 metres deep.

The order for the electrical equipment was awarded to a project consortium comprising Siemens AG, Siemens Norway and Interschalt maritime systems.

The scope of supply from Siemens includes the main generators and the distribution transformers for the ship’s medium-voltage distribution, the switchgear and the power management system. Siship Imac, the Siemens ship automation system, will be installed to handle the monitoring, alarm and control functions of the on-board electrical systems. The company will also be responsible for the project management, engineering and commissioning of the complete diesel-electric propulsion system.

Terms in place for divestment of Gunfleet Sands’ transmission assets

Denmark’s Dong Energy has shared that the terms regarding the divestment of the transmission assets relating to Gunfleet Sands I and II have now been agreed between Dong Energy and the purchaser TC Gunfleet Sands OFTO (Transmission Capital Partners) at the sum of £49.5 million.
The financial closure of the transaction has been completed and the assets have been transferred to TC Gunfleet Sands OFTO.

The divestment is a result of The UK government’s decision that offshore wind farms are to divest their offshore transmission assets to new offshore transmission owners (OFTO) via a competitive tender run by Ofgem. Upon transfer of the transmission assets, Dong Energy will enter into a five-year O&M agreement.

NKT Cables signs $114m contract

Danish industrial group NKT Cables has signed a $114m contract with Danish energy group Dong Energy and ScottishPower Renewables, a unit of Iberdrola Renovables. NKT is to supply on- and offshore high voltage cables, including delivery and installation of accessories, for the 389MW West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea.

The West of Duddon Sands project will be located 14km southwest of the Barrow-in-Furness coastline in the Irish Sea.

The contract involves manufacturing and delivery of 82 km 155 kV export cables integrated with 48 core optical fibers and 22 km 155 kV land cables, together with delivery and installation of 155 kV accessories for both the on- and offshore part of the wind farm. The cables are to be produced in Cologne, Germany, during 2012 and 2013, and installation is planned for 2013.