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Considerable CO2 emission reductions
Over the next three years, Solstad Ofshore will be investing more than USD 34 million in battery hybrid conversion projects, for which Innovation Norway granted USD 10 million.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOLSTAD OFFSHORE.
Atotal of eleven vessels are planned to be upgraded. The vessels will undergo battery hybrid conversions and will be able to connect to shore power in ports and harbours. “This major grant from Innovation Norway allows us to step-up up our green technology investment program. The list of vessels includes some of our largest construction vessels that will contribute to considerable CO2 emission reductions after conversion”, Tor Inge Dale, Chief Sustainability Ofcer at Solstad Ofshore, says. “After completion of the program,” Mr Dale adds, “Solstad will have a total of 21 battery hybrid vessels in its feet. Since 2017, the current hybrid vessels have been conversions from a standard diesel electric design. All but one of those are PSVs operating in Norway.” The planned upgrade of the additional eleven vessels will lead to an annual reduction of 12,000t CO2 emissions and is an important measure to reach the company’s target of 50% emission reductions by 2030 and ultimately zero emission by latest 2050. The conversion, mainly of PSVs and installation vessels, will be taken care of by a combination of shipyards for the yard work, and integrators.
Solstad Green Operations
The conversion project fts well in the Solstad Green Operations (SGO) campaign that was introduced by the company in 2009 to reduce fuel consumption and thereby emissions to air. “An average of 20% annual fuel reduction is estimated to result from this work since baseline in 2008”, Mr Dale explains. “If a vessel manages to save a minimum of 500l (0.5m3) of fuel per day, this is recorded as a ‘SGO’ in our records. A total of
Since 2017, the current hybrid vessels have been conversions from a standard diesel electric design. All but one of those are PSVs operating in Norway.
The vessels will undergo battery hybrid conversions and will be able to connect to shore power in ports and harbours. The conversion project fts well in the Solstad Green Operations (SGO) campaign.
36,420 SGO’s were registered in 2021 alone, resulting in an estimated 11,240t of fuel saved (equal to 36,035t of CO2). All our vessels have a KPI to achieve 25 SGO’s each month. It is estimated that the theoretical maximum potential with SGO is around 20%, hence it is not realistic to expect or plan for further reductions in energy consumption from SGO’s alone. It is, however, important to have daily focus on this onboard every vessel to prevent an increase in energy consumption and emissions over time.” Mr Dale continues, “In 2022, we aim to launch the SGO 3.0 campaign. The main change with this version is a simplifed registering system for vessel’s crew. The new SGO arrangement will be a better indicator on the level of fuel usage awareness on each vessel.”
Innovation Norway
In 2021, Innovation Norway introduced a condemnation scheme to support removing older vessels from the market and at the same time fund upgrades of existing vessels with green technology. The scheme contributes to increased investments in the Norwegian feet and reduces the emissions in line with the action plan set by the Norwegian Government. Within this scheme, Solstad announced recycling seven vessels in October 2021, to be performed at specialised yards in Norway in accordance with the strictest national and international regulations. “Innovation Norway is pleased to see that this funding arrangement can assist on speeding up both the needed work to recycle older ofshore vessels as well as provide considerable contributions to fund important decarbonisation projects in this segment”, Sigbjørn John Huun, Special Advisor at Innovation Norway, states.
