6 minute read
Accelerating the
The UK is in pole position to help accelerate off shore low-carbon energy innovation, both at home and overseas – but collaboration is key, writes Lucy Woods off shore energy transition
Accelerating the
The energy sector is in the middle of a mass transition. The race to decarbonise and switch to renewable energy will present many challenges and opportunities throughout the global industry – including opportunities for international collaboration. In the off shore energy sector, the UK is building on its globally recognised expertise to lead the energy transition and meet its net-zero carbon target for 2050. In the US, lessons from Europe’s veteran off shore workforce are being adopted by its nascent off shore wind industry.
UK off shore transition
Last December, to help the UK industry reach the 2050 deadline, the UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) published a fi rst phase report for the UK Continental Shelf Energy Integration project. The project aims to unlock integration opportunities, including how oil and gas infrastructure can be used for carbon capture and storage (CCS), wind and hydrogen facilities, and how oil and gas operators and the supply chain can partner up with renewables.
‘The UK’s infrastructure, subsurface reservoirs and expertise, along with a world-class supply chain, which is already diversifying into renewables, make it well-placed to be a global leader in the energy transition,’ states Andy Samuel, OGA Chief Executive, in the report’s foreword.
Teaming up for opportunities
OGA spokesperson Simon Belgard told Energy Focus that existing oil and gas infrastructure is contributing to the transition with off shore terminals and pipeline networks, which are ‘prized assets for CCS as well as hydrogen and for transporting carbon dioxide off shore.’
The report recommends closer partnerships between off shore oil and gas and renewables for platform electrifi cation and reducing oil and gas off shore installation emissions by using renewable electricity from wind turbines instead of diesel. ‘Old oil platforms can host electric transformers and substations to allow more rapid expansion of wind power,’ says Belgard.
Another off shore transition technology suggested by the report is ‘gas-to-wire’, whereby gas can be converted off shore to electricity, then transported using existing wind energy distribution cables. Also using off shore infrastructure, natural gas can be produced off shore and converted to hydrogen using methane reforming with carbon dioxide, then stored in off shore reservoirs. These ideas present many opportunities for UK oil and gas and renewables entities to team up.
The conversion of distribution infrastructure to bring new energy forms, such as electric cars and hydrogen, to consumers is a signifi cant challenge in the energy transition, says Belgard. To achieve full commerciality, the technology still has to evolve to reduce costs. However, as the UK’s energy supply chain has many highly relevant areas of expertise, including a world-class subsea capability, the UK ‘is well placed to support and benefi t from the energy transition – both in the UK and overseas,’ according to Belgard.
Helping power US wind
This international collaboration in off shore energy transition is most apparent in the nascent US off shore wind energy industry. According to the American Wind Energy Association, wind energy generated 6.5% of the US’s electricity in 2018. However, only one off shore wind farm contributed to this: the 30MW Block Island Wind Farm.
In the the same year, 24.3% of the UK’s electricity came from off shore wind alone. The US industry ‘looks to Europe for experience as the leaders of off shore wind’ says Bruce Carlisle, Director for Off shore Wind at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre. ‘We have a lot of trade missions to the UK, Netherlands and Denmark. This leads to conversations, business to business connections, and learning a lot from these industries.’
Although the US may be decades behind many European countries when it comes to off shore wind deployment, the last couple of years has seen an explosion of investment, procurement and construction. New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts states have co-invested together ‘on a large scale to help reduce the cost and improve effi ciency,’ says Carlisle. The US off shore wind industry, ‘fully acknowledges that we are going zero to 60, from fi rst to fi fth gear,’ he adds.
With a 26GW aggregate pipeline in US for off shore wind, it is hoped that recent high
The US has a total off shore wind pipeline of more than 26GW with 14 off shore wind projects totalling 9.1GW expected to be operational by 2026
investor interest, especially in the northeast of the US, will lower the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) during the next few years. The states of Maryland and North Carolina are specifi cally named as the next big markets to invest in.
‘We are paying close attention to European knowledge and how to reduce the LCOE, and there has been a consistent drop in prices, just like there was in Europe,’ says Carlisle. ‘We expect we will continue to see reductions in LCOE cost, especially over the next 20 years as various large and important sectors, such as transport and heat, look to decarbonise and electrify, requiring GWs of renewable electricity sources such as off shore wind.’
UK expertise in demand
The US off shore wind industry is hoping to shave 10 years off its development by learning from the European experience, says Carlisle. One of its most notable benefi ts is access to the UK supply chain – especially large-scale established wind turbine manufacturers. US entities ‘are building connections between European manufacturers and suppliers, so that it is easy to get companies onboard and for project agreements to be seamless,’ he adds. For the UK to benefi t, Carlisle advises the off shore supply chain to fi nd local US businesses ‘that can be upscaled and retooled and developed to meet the specifi cations to grow business in the US’.
Moving the US market forward
As well as supply chain needs, ‘some off shore wind job occupations do need additional bodies,’ admits Carlisle. The MassCEC 2018 Off shore Wind Workforce Assessment, using examples from Europe, found a skills
Offshore energy integration concepts
Gas-to-Wire
Hydrogen
H2
Electrifi cation
CCS
CO 2
Energy Hubs
gap: water transporters, maritime workers, marine equipment engineers, skilled trade workers and operation and maintenance technicians are needed to meet the demands of the growing US off shore wind industry.
‘The European experience makes it clear that integrated partnerships between industry organisations, trade unions, and community college and vocational school systems will be needed for the creation of an adequate pipeline of workers with the skills, experience, and credentials needed to work in the off shore wind industry,’ the report states.
To fi ll this off shore skills gap, MassCEC is going above and beyond to develop a competitive workforce, including introducing new training schemes at local education institutions such as Bristol Community College and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, working with European partners to deliver expert training.
Carlisle revealed to Energy Focus that there is an initiative in the works to take US workers to Europe and Asia to work on off shore wind projects. ‘It is still in development, so I can’t name it, but it is apprenticeship work that will be continued when the workers are back in the US. It will take time, but once those apprentices are back, they can train others, gain more skills and abilities, and the US off shore wind workforce will grow.’
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