2nd Quarter 2018 www.owjonline.com
Journal
Modular architectures and offshore islands could revolutionise grid connection France faces lost decade as Rameix review homes in on costs
Taiwan makes good on plan to replace nuclear power with wind
“Our proposals show how the offshore wind industry can drive economic growth, attracting billions in investment, whilst generating affordable, clean energy.” Benj Sykes, UK country manager, Ørsted, Offshore Wind Industry Council co-chair, see page 20
contents Regulars
2nd Quarter 2018 volume 7 issue 2
Area reports
Editor: David Foxwell t: +44 1252 717 898 e: david.foxwell@rivieramm.com
3 COMMENT
4 Poland: Polish and international companies have expressed interest in building offshore windfarms 6 France: the French Government is reviewing the cost of early projects 10 Japan: Japan has enacted legislation to identify wind energy zones 14 The Netherlands: the Dutch Government has set ambitious goals for offshore wind 18 Taiwan: Taiwan is to invest heavily in offshore wind energy 20 UK: the offshore wind industry in the UK is hoping for a sector deal
Turbine technology
24 GE Renewable Energy is to spend US$400M developing a massive turbine
Operations & maintenance
Commercial Portfolio Manager: Bill Cochrane t: +44 20 8370 1719 e: bill.cochrane@rivieramm.com Head of Sales – Asia: Kym Tan t: +65 6809 1278 e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com Sales, Australasia: Kaara Barbour t: +61 414 436 808 e: kaara.barbour@rivieramm.com
27 Shipmanager Wilhelmsen Ship Management is bringing skills and expertise acquired in the shipping sector to offshore wind
Assistant Production Manager: James Millership t: +44 20 8370 7010 e: james.millership@rivieramm.com
Corrosion control
Subscriptions: Sally Church t: +44 20 8370 7018 e: sally.church@rivieramm.com
28 Developing new materials could provide massive cost savings for
Grid connection
30 The Netherlands could roll out offshore wind at a greater rate than that envisioned in a recently published roadmap
Foundations
33 An environmentally friendly pile-driving system could be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than conventional technology
Service operation vessels
36 A next-generation service operation vessel is being designed
Project focus
41 Hornsea Project One is a remarkable project in terms of its size and scale
Trenching & cable lay
Chairman: John Labdon Managing Director: Steve Labdon Finance Director: Cathy Labdon Operations Director: Graham Harman Head of Content: Edwin Lampert Executive Editor: Paul Gunton Head of Production: Hamish Dickie Published by: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd Mitre House 66 Abbey Road Enfield EN1 2QN UK www.rivieramm.com
44 Oceaneering’s acquisition of trenching and route-clearance specialist Ecosse Subsea Systems provides it with a way into the offshore wind energy industry
Contractor profile
47 Global Marine Group uses engineering solutions to add value
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Area report: Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Operations and maintenance, Foundations, Service requirements, Turbine technology, Cost reduction, Finance, Diving, Scour protection, Vessel technology, Project focus.
ISSN 2050-6694 (Print) ISSN 2050-6708 (Online) ©2018 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd
Front cover photo: The Helwin Alpha and Beta offshore substations (photo: TenneT)
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Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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COMMENT | 3
FAST-GROWING SUPPLY CHAIN NEEDS TO REMAIN SUSTAINABLE T
David Foxwell, Editor
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here are not many industries that can lay claim to cost reductions of circa 60% in the space of a few years and boast of multibillion-dollar export opportunities, but the UK’s offshore wind industry can. Much of the talk in the industry now is about supply chain opportunities, and rightly so, but you don’t get a cost reduction of 60% without suppliers somewhere coming under pressure, sometimes extreme pressure. Usually this applies most to those in the lower tiers of the chain. Earlier this year the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) launched a full-scale review of the UK supply chain as part of its vision for 2030. The review will be led by independent expert Martin Whitmarsh, former McLaren Group chief executive and Formula One team principal. Mr Whitmarsh will work with supply chain companies to encourage existing suppliers to increase their capability in the offshore wind sector and to introduce the significant business opportunities to new enterprises. “I want the UK’s offshore wind supply chain to be in pole position in this increasingly competitive global market. Increasing supply chain productivity will directly lead to lower costs and enable UK companies to seize new opportunities across the globe,” said Mr Whitmarsh, noting that a key part of the review is looking at how SMEs can join this growing industry, making sure they understand what industry needs and routes into the sector. Improving productivity across the supply chain will have positive knock-on effects throughout the UK, reducing the cost of offshore wind even further, benefiting domestic and industrial consumers, and helping to support other industries as companies across the value chain become more competitive. However, the big prize is in the export market, where the UK has an ambition to grow the export value of offshore wind goods and services five-fold by 2030, by which time half of the revenue for UK suppliers in the sector could come from exports. This is a lucrative opportunity that UK companies obviously want to be involved in. The outcome of the review will be a Supply Chain Development
Plan for the industry, with deliverable opportunities and suggestions on how the UK can increase productivity and value at every stage. It is expected to be completed in Q3 2018. Speaking to Ørsted's Hornsea Project One project manager Duncan Clark recently, he emphasised how transformative offshore wind projects can be for companies and their own suppliers. He highlighted Wilton Engineering on Teeside, which has a significant level of involvement in the transition pieces for Hornsea One, whose own suppliers will also be benefiting from the company’s success. One might be forgiven for thinking that everything is rosy in the supply chain, but cost reduction on the scale that has been achieved is putting a lot of companies under tremendous pressure. That much was evident from several of the presentations at the All-Energy 2018 conference in Glasgow in early May. On the one hand, cost reduction is creating opportunities, but competition has become intense, particularly in the lower tiers of the supply chain. Offshore windfarms contribute significantly to local economic activity and have brought jobs and investment to regions of the UK that have depended on traditional industries. Wind energy has become a ‘smart choice’ for the economy as well as for energy. It’s a British industrial success story and delivers local economic benefits to communities in the form of jobs and incomes. Howver, as OWJ reports in the UK area report in this issue, it is essential that the way the industry continues to grow is sustainable for everyone. “We don’t want to break the bottom of the supply chain,” said one well-known figure in a roundrable discussion at the conference. It is essential to find ways to keep the supply chain sustainable as it goes for growth and ensure that we don’t squeeze the lower tiers of the supply chain too much. The offshore wind energy industry needs to allow companies in the lower tiers to catch up and become more productive, so let’s hope Mr Whitmarsh hears from suppliers about some of the challenges they face, as well as the undoubted opportunities. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
Building offshore windfarms in the Baltic would provide energy security, fuel clean growth and create jobs
Offshore wind rising to challenge king coal in Polish energy market Poland’s energy and electricity markets are undergoing major changes. As costs fall in the offshore wind industry, so it is becoming price-competitive with more carbonintensive forms of energy that have long dominated in the country
T
urning to offshore wind is not without political risk in a country like Poland in which coal has long played such an important role. However, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki now appears to be an advocate of wind power and Poland has emerged as one of several northern east European countries in which offshore wind looks set to play a much larger role in future. Supporting the move towards renewable energy, Poland has taken the first steps to introduce greater flexibility into its energy system but ageing grid infrastructure will require modernisation. Speaking to OWJ in early May, MAKE offshore analyst Søren Lassen and his colleagues see Poland as a prime example of an emerging northern east European offshore wind market where significant potential has been created by the steep fall in the cost of offshore wind energy in recent years. Mr Lassen said that MAKE anticipated that selected emerging offshore wind markets in northern east Europe – of which Poland is an example – will surpass 4 GW of installed capacity by 2027. In an analysis of these markets, Mr Lassen and colleagues said plummeting strike prices have made offshore wind emerge as an attractive substitute across markets in northern east Europe, especially those looking to curb greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security, and avert the risk of a generation deficit.
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
“Low strike prices in established offshore markets in Europe and the growing competition in emerging markets such as Taiwan and the US have increased the attractiveness of the emerging offshore markets in northern east Europe for offshore developers,” MAKE said in a recent research note. Until recently Poland has probably not been among those countries focusing on reducing emissions, its domestic energy market being heavily skewed towards coal, but it is having to import more and more coal from neighbouring countries and the Polish Government has begun to align its energy policy more closely with the European Union and with the latter’s targets for growing use of renewable energy. As the ‘energy climate’ in the country has begun to change so companies active in the offshore wind market in Europe – and at least one Polish company – have signalled their willingness to develop offshore wind, if the policy can be developed that would provide reliable support for renewables. This change in the outlook for renewables is significant given that until recently the Polish onshore wind sector had been adversely affected by legislation. The move away from coal to renewables has implications for employment in the coal sector but Poland also has manufacturers and heavy industry that could benefit significantly from the development of an offshore wind supply chain.
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Poland AREA REPORT | 5
“We have to change and be really responsive to mega-trends and keep power prices at reasonable levels,” Joanna MackowiakPandera, the head of Warsaw-based Forum Energii, which consults with companies and authorities on the wind industry, told Bloomberg. “What we see now in the power sector is that finally we have to meet some targets.” “Offshore wind has the potential to lead to significant job creation in Poland,” Mr Lassen told OWJ, a sentiment backed up by a McKinsey report from 2016. Mr Lassen also highlighted the fact that, although offshore wind has primarily been developed in the North Sea, there is now growing experience of offshore wind in other countries in the Baltic, such as Germany. Poland could take advantage of synergies, technical expertise and the example of policies implemented in these countries as it moves into offshore wind energy. “There is now around 750 MW of offshore wind in the Baltic, experience from which will play into the Polish market as it develops,” he told OWJ. However, as he also noted, developing offshore wind in the Polish Baltic will not be without its challenges: these include grid connection. Above all, he said, the right kind of enabling policy from the Polish Government is essential. Bloomberg New Energy Finance associate Dr Tom Harries agreed that policy – or the lack of a coherent, supportive policy – is what has been holding the Polish market back, but this is changing. BVG Associates director Giles Hundleby agreed that the Polish market was suddenly showing significant potential. He cited a recent agreement between Norwegian energy major Statoil and Polenergia, the largest privately owned energy group in Poland, to collaborate on the construction of offshore windfarms in the Baltic. This had galvanised Polish players such as PKN Orlen to push for the development of offshore wind projects. Mr Hundleby said although the Polish Government has yet to propose an auction process for offshore wind, he anticipated that once policy has been developed industrial players could be in a position to proceed with final investment decisions in the early 2020s, with construction getting under way in the mid-2020s. “First of all, the state needs to define the process,” he said. State-owned Polish transmission system operator PSE said as much as 8 GW of offshore wind capacity could be installed in Poland. PSE president Eryk Kłosowski said 4 GW of offshore wind could be installed in the Polish sector of the Baltic by 2026/27 with up to 8 GW in the longer term. WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said Poland has become a major player in the offshore wind supply chain in recent years with large investments in the manufacturing of turbine foundations and the cranes and jack-up vessels used in installation and maintenance. The Polish wind industry now supports 12,000 jobs. This number would grow significantly with the development of a domestic offshore wind market. Mr Dickson said that, after a period of stagnation in onshore wind, Poland has an opportunity to put itself back on the European wind energy map, help diversify the country’s energy mix and support further growth and job creation in the offshore wind supply chain. “The skills and industrial expertise needed to meet these volumes is in place. It is great that the transmission system operator has confirmed that the Polish electricity grid can support them too. The Baltic offers enormous growth potential for offshore wind and it’s very good to see that Poland is gearing up to play its part in fulfilling that.” Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA) president Janusz Gajowiecki said Polish companies could deliver up to 50% of the components required to build offshore windfarms. The PWEA has identified almost
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80 companies that could deliver the necessary products and services, starting from offshore windfarm design and planning; production and installation of turbine components and connection infrastructure; to offshore windfarm operation and maintenance. Statoil signed its agreement with Polenergia in March 2018. The company initialled an agreement with Polenergia to acquire a 50% interest in two early phase offshore wind development projects in Poland, Bałtyk Środkowy III (BSIII) and Bałtyk Środkowy II (BSII). The projects have a combined capacity of 1.2 GW. Statoil is also entering into a 50/50 joint venture with Polenergia to mature the projects with Statoil managing the development, construction and operational phases. Statoil executive vice president of new energy solutions Irene Rummelhoff highlighted that Polenergia is an experienced energy company with a growing renewable portfolio and in-depth knowledge of the Polish electricity market. She said Statoil has an ambition to grow significantly in the renewable energy industry, investing up to €10Bn (US$12Bn) by 2030. “This acquisition strengthens our presence in the Baltic, providing opportunities for scale and synergies in the long term,” she said. The Bałtyk Środkowy II and III windfarm areas are in the Baltic approximately 27 km and 40 km from the port of Łeba in water depths of 20–40 m. Shortly after Statoil’s announcement, PKN Orlen announced a tender to develop a preliminary technical concept to determine options for implementing an offshore wind project in the Baltic. The company holds a licence for a 1.2 GW windfarm. “Embarking on a windfarm project is in line with our strategic objectives and plans for Poland’s transition to a low-carbon economy. We hope the tender attracts strong interest from domestic firms,” said PKN Orlen executive director Marcin Wasilewski. OWJ
Irene Rummelhoff said Statoil’s deal with Polenergia strengthens its presence in the Baltic
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
6 | AREA REPORT France
France faces lost decade as Rameix review homes in on costs France wanted to be a world leader in offshore wind but its industry has been thrown into turmoil because longdelayed projects are now deemed too expensive
T
he French offshore wind industry faced an anxious few months as of early May 2018 as talks commenced between the developers of Round 1 and 2 offshore windfarms and the government over the level of subsidy they should receive. The decision by the government to renegotiate the tenders followed criticism of the level of subsidies from the French energy regulator, CRE, and could have wide-ranging ramifications for the country’s renewable energy industry. If the negotiations go well and projects remain on track, albeit with a lower level of subsidy, France’s ambition to build a world-leading offshore wind sector and benefit from fast-growing export markets could remain achievable; if the negotiations do not go well, and projects are cancelled, or developers are forced to pull out, the industry faces a ‘lost decade’ and could lose advantages it once held. Until the results of the renegotiation become clear, only the floating wind sector – in which the country is also heavily investing – is immune to the fallout from the government’s about-face. Talks with the developers are being led
The review of subsidies awarded to early projects could affect investor confidence, deal a blow to renewable energy plans and affect manufacturers
by the former president of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), Gérard Rameix, and were expected to start in early May and be completed by July. Should reductions in the level of tariffs awarded to the projects not be agreed, the threat of cancellation hangs over them. The projects in question are Courseullessur-Mer, St-Nazaire and Fécamp, which were awarded to a consortium led by EDF Energies Nouvelles; and St-Brieuc, awarded to Iberdrola and Eole RES. These contracts were awarded in 2012. Other contracts potentially affected are Dieppe-Le Tréport and Les Iles d'Yeu et Noirmoutier, both awarded to a consortium led by Engie in 2014. All the projects were given tariffs of circa €200/MWh (US$240/MWh), including grid connection, which far exceeds current norms given the fast pace of cost reduction in the offshore wind industry and zero-subsidy bids for some, if not all, offshore windfarms. France Energie Eolienne head of industry, offshore, Matthieu Monnier told OWJ that the government is expected to seek “significant reductions” in the tariffs awarded to the projects.
Combined, the tenders awarded contracts for 2.9 GW of capacity, but only the projects in the first 1.9 GW tender have secured all the necessary permits, and not a single project from these first two tenders has reached financial close. Some of the companies involved have indicated a willingness to work with the government where possible, and in April Engie chief executive Isabelle Kocher said she believed there was “room for manoeuvre.” However, as Mr Monnier explained, unlike other countries where new, larger turbines could be proposed that could reduce the cost of the projects should the subsidies be cut, the French system would prevent this unless the permitting process and environmental assessments were restarted, significantly delaying already laterunning projects. Mr Monnier said concerns have also been expressed about the industrial implications of halting projects, significant investment having been made in facilities to build turbines and blades for French projects. Responding to the plan to renegotiate the subsidies awarded to the projects, the Syndicat des énergies renouvelables (SER, the French renewable energy association), French Maritime Cluster (CMF), which represents maritime industries, and the naval industrial federation GICAN called on the government to avoid “destroying” the offshore wind sector in the country. In a statement issued when the French Government tabled a draft amendment in the senate that would have retroactively revoked support for the projects, the SER said the government’s proposal was “disastrous” and “an unprecedented signal” for all forms of renewable energy. The SER said it was also a “challenge to the government’s previous commitments in this area.” The amendment submitted in March proposed the renegotiation or possible cancellation of the tender awards. In response, the SER said having an ‘energy mix’ capable of meeting the objectives of the energy transition process would require the mobilisation of new capital and it was therefore essential to maintain a
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France AREA REPORT | 7
GE Renewable Energy built a plant at St Nazaire to manufacture turbines for French projects that have yet to reach FID
climate of trust for investors. “Investment security is an essential prerequisite for the implementation of the energy transition in our country,” said the SER. It went on to say the companies in the SER would “rebel” against any decision to retroactively terminate projects duly given contracts after a call for tenders. “The proposal submitted by the government covers renewable energy production facilities at sea and may tomorrow affect all renewable sectors,” said the SER. “If this provision were adopted, it would set a precedent and challenge all investments already made and the jobs associated with them.” The SER said that, in its view, the projects targeted by the amendment presented by the government were “fundamental for the realisation of the French marine energy sector” and involve French and international investment that would generate jobs and industrial activity in France. SER president Jean-Louis Ball said renegotiating the tenders would destroy investors’ confidence in the French market. “We call on the government to withdraw its proposal to ensure that France remains a country where the decision to invest cannot be challenged overnight,” he said. The amendment was, in fact, defeated, but the government is pressing ahead with renegotiation nevertheless. MAKE offshore analyst Søren Lassen told OWJ it was unclear how the renegotiation process might work out. “There are so many variables to consider,” he said. Upcoming tenders for Round 3 and 4 could also influence the process, he suggested. Under Round 3, a tender process
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is under way for a 400-750 MW offshore windfarm off Dunkerque. Should bids for that project come in at very much lower levels than those for Rounds 1 and 2, the pressure to reduce subsidies for the projects awarded in the earlier rounds – or cancel some of them – could be irresistible. He concurred with Mr Monnier that although new, larger turbines are now available that could reduce the cost of the projects, they cannot be used without triggering a completely new approval process, which would set the already longdelayed projects back even further. “A lot will depend on how much leeway there is in the renegotiation process,” he said. Ironically, the decision to renegotiate the tenders came only a matter of weeks after the French Government announced details of measures to simplify the offshore wind project approval process to reduce development times. Speaking at the end of last year, France’s energy and environment minister, Nicholas Hulot, reiterated his belief that marine renewable energy – which he described as “a real asset for our country” – could not continue to play a fundamental role in national energy strategy unless the rate at which projects were developed was speeded up. “The objectives of energy transition cannot be met if projects take 10-15 years to develop after a call for tenders,” he said. As highlighted by OWJ in January 2018, years have elapsed since France announced the winners of its first and second commercial-scale offshore wind tenders, but only one project has secured all of the necessary permits and not a single project from these first two tenders has reached
financial close. Courseulles-sur-Mer is said to be close to FID but in the current climate that decision will almost certainly be delayed. This slow progress in bringing offshore wind online is blamed on the country’s glacially slow development process. So slow is the approval process that Bloomberg New Energy Finance told OWJ it does not expect to see any conventional projects commissioned before 2021, a date that now seems optimistic. The cumbersome nature of the development and permitting process was acknowledged by president Emmanuel Macron’s administration late last year and steps have been taken to reduce development times to less than seven years from more than 10 currently. The government has also acted to streamline the appeal process for offshore wind projects and cut the length of court cases when appeals are heard. As criticism of the level of subsidies awarded in Round 1 and 2 grew, in midJanuary, a 10-point plan was set out by the French Government with the aim of doubling wind power capacity by 2023. Its aim was to simplify administrative procedures and accelerate the development of wind power projects, the goal being to speed up deployment of wind power capacity and thus achieve the high end of France's onshore wind 2023 target, 26 GW. Unfortunately, the review of the 2012 and 2014 tenders and the level of support they received could undermine confidence in the sector and adversely affect jobs and industrial commitments, as industry bodies such as Mr Monnier and colleagues at France Energie Eolienne
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
8 | AREA REPORT France
have been quick to point out. As it noted, above all, the industry needs forward visibility and stability – regulatory and economic – especially where longterm investments are concerned. It is that very visibility that has led to a significant reduction in the cost of offshore wind energy. In the past, uncertainty has been the enemy of investment and has led to cost increases. Ironically, one of the reasons that the French Government espoused for supporting offshore wind in the first place was the chance to create a powerful new industrial sector with a significant commitment to production in France and to job creation. It is clear that renegotiating – or pulling the plug on – projects could cause untold harm to a sector in which French companies and the French Government have invested heavily and in which large-scale export opportunities are fast opening. As projects for bottom-fixed offshore windfarms are reviewed by the French Government, the prospects for what was once seen as the next ‘wave’ of offshore wind in French waters – floating offshore wind – seem much more positive and floaters could, potentially, enter service before the early bottom-fixed projects. As Mr Monnier explained, a pathway to commercial deployment of floating offshore wind energy has been established
via contracts for four pilot projects, each of 24 MW. €330M in financial support and a feed-in tariff for 20 years will see the projects commissioned by 2020-2021. Three of the pilot projects are to be installed in the Mediterranean and one offshore Brittany. France’s first floating windfarm will be Floatgen, a European project that makes use of much French technology. The Floatgen demonstrator left the quayside at St Nazaire on 30 April 2018. It uses a concrete floating foundation developed by Ideol and a 2 MW Vestas turbine. Preparations are already being made for the first commercial tender for a floating offshore windfarm in French waters after prime minister Édouard Philippe and Mr Hulot announced the launch of preliminary technical investigations for sites for the floating wind facilities. Public consultations to define new zones for offshore wind – bottom-fixed and floating – are ongoing as is identification of zones for the first tender for a floating facility. Mr Monnier explained this first commercial-scale floating wind project would benefit from the introduction of a new, simplified framework that will see the authorities in France adopt an ‘envelope’ approach and an envelope permit of the type now widely used elsewhere in Europe. This will enable developers to analyse
the environmental impact of a project in a manner that will reduce or eliminate the need for subsequent environmental and technical reviews, without sacrificing appropriate environmental safeguards. This approach would take place after preliminary investigations of proposed sites, including factors such as wind speed and geotechnical conditions. Grid connection and operational risk associated with it would be assumed by the French transmission system operator, RTE. The primary advantage of the envelope approach is that it provides flexibility in design options where details of a whole project are not available when an application is submitted, while ensuring the impact of a development is fully assessed during an environmental impact assessment. This means that should the need – or opportunity – arise to take advantage of new technology, such as new-generation larger turbines, they can be accommodated without requiring another environmental assessment to take place. Unfortunately for the developers involved in Rounds 1 and 2, the envelope approach was not used, and they cannot respond to a reduction in the subsidy they receive by using new, larger turbines or other technical innovations without starting all over again with the approvals process. OWJ
Blade builder LM Wind Power announced plans to build a new manufacturing facility in France
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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10 | AREA RUNNING REPORT HEAD Japan sub
Legislation paves way for Japan to identify offshore wind development zones Japan took an important step on its journey to adoption of renewable energy earlier this year when legislation was introduced that will identify wind energy development zones and some of the issues developers need to address ABOVE: The new legislation will enable the Japanese Government to identify appropriate areas for offshore wind zones
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
R
ecent events in Japan, most importantly the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and the high cost of importing gas for domestic use, mean that Japan’s historic focus on nuclear energy and on imports to meet domestic energy demand has shifted to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. The closure of nuclear plants has accelerated the need to identify alternatives. Onshore wind is one such alternative but it faces geographical constraints and social issues, so its contribution to the renewables mix is expected to be constrained and to peak shortly after 2030. Offshore wind is not affected by these issues and is therefore expected to be a major benefactor of these trends and new policies that set out ambitious targets for offshore wind energy in the country. A major milestone on Japan’s roadmap
towards adoption of offshore wind on a commercial scale occurred in early March 2018 when a new bill for the use of Japanese waters for offshore wind projects was approved by the Japanese Cabinet and submitted to the Japanese Diet. The long-awaited bill to facilitate offshore wind development in Japan was expected to pass the Diet as early as May 2018, with the new legislation potentially taking effect four months after its promulgation. As partners at law firm Baker McKenzie* explained, although the legislation, with the title ‘Bill on promotion of use of territorial waters for offshore renewable energy generation facilities,’ had been anticipated for some time, details were not available to the public until the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) released the
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Japan sub RUNNING AREA REPORT HEAD | 11
draft provisions of the new bill on 9 March 2018. It appears to be generally in line with previously reported details and the predictions in our previous update. Baker McKenzie’s experts said the general scheme for offshore wind development introduced under the bill provides for the Japanese Government to identify appropriate areas in Japan for offshore wind development. It will do this by working with relevant local prefectural governments and newly established bodies in each prospective development area known as councils. Each council will include relevant stakeholders including national ministries, local government bodies, fisheries groups and academic experts. The key role of each council is to identify issues of local and national concern for offshore wind development in the development area for which it is responsible. Following completion of this process, developers must then lodge competitive bids for use of the relevant offshore zone, with the bids setting out the proposed project details, including the bid price for electricity supply from the project. Once bids have been submitted, the government will review them and select
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bid winners based on both the proposed price and the project development plan. The bid winner will not be assessed on price alone, but on both price and how well the overall development plan meets the development criteria. The bid winner (or winners) will then have the right to occupy and use the specified general waters area for an offshore wind project for a maximum of 30 years. This means that, while the new bill will grant a longer occupancy period than the current prefectural rules, developers are required to compete on both price and the suitability of their development plans to secure the rights to specific offshore areas. Baker McKenzie’s experts explained that the main purpose of the bill is to establish procedures for Japanese general waters to be used on a long-term basis for offshore wind power generation. The key steps in such procedures are as follows: The cabinet draws up a basic policy to promote the use of Japan's territorial waters for offshore renewable energy generation facilities, the prime minister prepares a draft of such policy and Cabinet approves the policy. METI and MLIT designate certain areas as ‘promotion zones’ after discussing with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
(MAFF) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and considering the views of the governor of the prefecture and the relevant council, draw up tender guidelines. Each developer conducts local investigations to identify relevant development issues based on the tender guidelines and submits an occupancy plan that outlines operation and construction details, measures to address environmental and other concerns and the bid price to supply electricity from the project to the utility to METI and MLIT. METI and MLIT choose a developer with the most suitable occupancy plan in terms of supply price and other factors, and grant an approval for the project to the successful developer. The chosen developer applies to receive a feed-in tariff (FIT) approval in accordance with the approved occupancy plan and METI grants approval under FIT law. The chosen developer applies for a right to occupy the promotion zones in accordance with the approved occupancy plan and MLIT grants such a right to occupy, up to a maximum of 30 years including the construction and decommissioning periods. Once the developer receives the FIT
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
12 | AREA REPORT Japan
approval, it will be considered to be in the same position as a bid winner under the FIT law. This means that the FIT price (based on the developer's bid price) and FIT period will be governed in accordance with the FIT Law. Assuming that the FIT period for offshore wind power is the same as under the current rules, the PPA period for offshore projects will be set at 20 years. This means that there may be a period after the PPA has expired in which the developer will continue to sell electricity into the market under a new PPA or on a merchant basis. The new bill also sets out the procedure for how promotion zones are designated. One of the key features of the procedure is the strong preference by the national government for using councils to set the framework for tenders for offshore areas. Each council will be a body consisting of the members from METI, MLIT, MAFF, the relevant prefectural governor, relevant local town mayors, and other groups or individuals such as local fishery groups and academic experts. The bill sets out various additional requirements in relation to such councils including, for example, that: • Prefectural governors are entitled to request METI and MLIT to establish a
council, and if such request is made, METI and MLIT must follow the request. • Prior to designating promotion zones, METI and MLIT must first consult with the council. • If discussion is settled – that is, if a consensus is reached – for certain items at the council, then the members of the council are required to respect the outcome of such discussion. Each council is therefore likely to have strong influence over designation of promotion zones and the requirements for offshore wind development in their specific zone. METI’s documents released with the bill indicate that the Japanese government intends to designate five promotion zones by FY2030. However, the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party’s Renewable Energy Promotion Member of Houses Meeting confirmed on 22 February 2018 that this is not the maximum number of zones. Currently there is no limitation on how much capacity will be included in these zones. The Japan Wind Power Association has requested a commitment from the Japanese government to develop 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030. However, the Japanese Government has been silent so far on such commitments. The actual Japanese target capacity for offshore
Offshore wind is expected to play a leading role in Japan’s transition from reliance on nuclear power and imported gas to meet energy demand
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
wind is therefore not clear. Baker McKenzie’s partners highlighted the fact that although the bill has set out the key concepts for the procedures to designate promotion zones and select developers, it does not answer several important questions relating to the operation of offshore projects. Some of the key issues with the new bill are as follows, they explained: • The new bill does not state whether the cost of transmission lines will be borne by the national government or the utility. • There is a possibility that the MLIT rules or the tender guidelines will set an occupancy period of less than 30 years. • It is possible that the complete removal of the turbine and its foundations by the developer (extraction of the foundation pile rather than cutting it off at seabed level) will be included as one of the conditions when granting approval. • It is possible that fishing vessels will not be restricted from operating in areas between the turbines. • The criteria for assignment of project approvals to be approved by METI and MLIT are unclear. Baker McKenzie noted that the way METI and MLIT handle these issues – particularly relating to occupancy periods and fishery vessels – will be important in terms of facilitating project development and operation and ensuring that offshore projects obtain adequate project finance. Therefore, participants in the offshore wind power industry may wish to consider lobbying METI and MLIT to establish rules or tender guidelines or to adopt actual practices similar to European countries that would avoid or mitigate the above risks. Overall, said Baker McKenzie, the new bill has revealed the key concepts of how Japan will develop offshore wind project in general waters. “We believe the new bill is a substantial first step to pave the way for offshore wind projects in Japan," said the company. "However, further details will need to be drawn up in the METI and MLIT rules and regulations or be adopted in actual practice in order for the industry to have a clearer view of the path towards development of significant-scale offshore wind projects.” OWJ *This article is based on information provided by Baker McKenzie’s partners Naoaki Eguchi, Toshio Sasaki, Masahiro Tanabe, Takehito Sekiguchi and Ean Mac Pherson
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14 | AREA REPORT Netherlands
Dutch roadmap will reduce gas and see offshore wind provide 40% of power A debate about energy, climate issues and future energy policy in the Netherlands could see offshore windfarms rolled out at a greater rate than that envisioned in a recently published offshore wind roadmap
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Apart from providing clean energy, building offshore windfarms will create opportunities for Dutch exports
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
s recently highlighted by OWJ, the Dutch Government has unveiled an Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap setting out plans for the further development of offshore wind energy, including an additional 7 GW between 2023 and 2030. Considering the windfarms that have already been built and those that will be built between 2019 and 2023 under the current tender scheme, the government aims to achieve an aggregate installed Dutch offshore wind capacity of approximately 11.5 GW by 2030. The roadmap specifies which windfarm zones will be released for development in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, when this will occur, the projected generation capacity of these zones and when they will enter operation. Windfarms to be developed in the coming years will be in three windfarm zones: Holland Coast (West), North of the Wadden Sea Islands, and IJmuiden Far Offshore (IJmuiden Ver). Like the current roadmap for the period up to 2023, the new roadmap will provide guidelines for the further development of offshore wind energy for the period up to 2030. Under the National Energy Agreement concluded in 2013, five offshore windfarms with a total capacity of 3.5 GW will be built in the Dutch sector of the North Sea until 2023, in addition to existing windfarms, which have a total capacity of 1 GW. The government plans to open tenders for the newly announced windfarms in 2021 and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate estimates that building them will create 10,000 jobs. The plan set out in the roadmap is ambitious, but still more impressive targets for offshore wind could be set in the context of ongoing debate about energy policy, now that the Dutch Government has set out plans for a national climate agreement and an integrated national energy and climate plan. Debate about the plan follows a February 2018 letter from the country’s minister of economic affairs and climate policy setting out the government’s objectives for the climate agreement. Importantly for renewable energy and for offshore wind, this includes an overall goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 49% compared with 1990 levels
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Netherlands AREA REPORT | 15
By minimising risk and providing roadmaps for future development, the Dutch Government has provided opportunities for industry
by 2030. The letter also contained guiding principles for achieving the CO2 reduction goal and focused among other areas on specific objectives for five sectors including industry, which has a relatively large CO2 reduction target compared with some others. In an exclusive interview in early May, Netherlands Wind Energy Association director Berend Potjer told OWJ that the main aim of the roadmap was to provide long-term stability in the offshore wind energy market to encourage investment. “A previous roadmap successfully achieved this,” Mr Potjer explained. “Now the government wants to renew and extend this successful policy.” As highlighted above, the new roadmap’s predecessor stipulated that five offshore windfarms should be completed by 2023, increasing Dutch offshore wind capacity to some 4.5 GW. The new roadmap calls for more offshore windfarms generating 7 GW to be realised between 2024 and 2030 but, as Mr Potjer explained, in the lead up to the overarching climate and energy agreement, industry bodies have been asked for input and for their views about future energy policy. Within the context of this debate, Mr Potjer said, it is possible that targets for offshore energy could rise above those only recently set out in the roadmap. “We believe that more ambitious targets are possible if certain issues such as grid connection are addressed by the government,” he told OWJ. “The minister asked us and others to make proposals that could help the Netherlands reach the 49% CO2 reduction target. It is our view that, rather than building out 1 GW a year until 2030, 2 GW a year is feasible given the right kind of support and the right kind of policy. “One important issue that obviously would need to be addressed in order to make this possible is grid connection. The electrification of society is another,” he said. As he also explained, there is a related energy issue the
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government in the Netherlands is wrangling with: the use of gas from gas fields in Groningen. In March, the Dutch Government said it would phase out gas production from the Groningen field – once Europe’s largest – by 2030, because of the effects on infrastructure of small but damaging earthquakes caused by the extraction of gas from underground reserves. The gas reserves in the province of Groningen have been exploited since the 1960s but as extraction has gone on, subduction has occurred, leading to the earthquakes. “This has led to some damage to infrastructure, hence the government’s decision,” Mr Potjer said. “Extraction and its effects are one issue but playing into this is the debate about climate and energy and the desire to reduce CO2 emissions,” he said. “It will be possible for industry that uses it to find other sources of gas. The government wants industry to stop using Groningen. This will need the gas industry to restructure itself somewhat, but the question that is being asked is if the government wants to reduce CO2 emissions in the long-term, why not look for alternatives to gas now?” As Mr Potjer also explained, organisations making submissions to the government about the climate and energy plan were also asked to provide input about costs and, with zero-subsidy bids becoming more common in northwest Europe – including the recent zero-subsidy deal for the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore windfarms – offshore and onshore wind have both been identified as ‘cost negative’. The tender to develop the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore windfarms – two 350 MW windfarms to be built by 2022 that will be the world’s first to be built without public subsidy – was won by Swedish energy company Vattenfall, a bid made possible partly as a result of the Dutch Government’s willingness to take on and manage a share of the project
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
16 | AREA REPORT Netherlands
The Dutch offshore wind roadmap could include construction of islands at sea as an alternative to offshore high-voltage direct current platforms
risk, in this instance assuming responsibility for grid connection. As WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said when the result of the tender was announced, the Dutch Government has successfully minimised risk linked to offshore wind by providing clear visibility about future market volumes via the use of roadmaps. It has also committed to bring in a carbon floor price at national level which will help the business case for offshore wind. Apart from playing an important role in framing future climate and energy policy in the country, the Dutch Government believes implementation of the new roadmap will provide a significant boost for Dutch business and the economy. It stated that this could amount to €15-€20Bn (US$18-24Bn) in investment and the creation of the 10,000 jobs mentioned above. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency hopes to increase the Netherland’s market share in offshore wind energy (currently said to be 25% of the European market) and secure exports to Asia and the US. At the same time, it said, affordable sustainable energy will provide Dutch industries with a competitive advantage which will have a knock-on effect for related industries. The Dutch Government also wants non-electrical energy consumption to become much more sustainable. This will require a transition to sustainable electricity for use in industry, heating and mobility. It will also lead to the manufacture of ‘green molecules’ such as hydrogen that have been discussed in the climate agreement negotiations. Echoing Mr Potjer’s comments about what the NWEA sees as the long-term potential of offshore wind, the enterprise agency noted earlier this year when the roadmap was unveiled, that the government could designate new windfarm zones over and above those already designated when it sets out its vision for climate and energy later this year. According to law firm CMS partner Cecilia van de Weijden, apart from grid connection, one other issue that could affect the roll-out of new offshore windfarms is wildlife protection, primarily of seabirds, an issue that came close to blocking development of a quartet of high-profile offshore windfarms in Scotland. It is anticipated that the windfarms will use new-generation offshore wind turbines with capacity of at least 10 MW.
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
She explained that according to the roadmap, the envisaged 1.4 GW in the Hollandse Kust (West) area may be tendered in a single round, possibly in 2021, to facilitate further cost reduction. The offshore grid that connects windfarms in this area to the onshore grid may follow the same route as the connection from the Hollandse Kust (Noord) park. Combining the offshore grids offers several potential advantages, such as reducing the timescale for the licensing process, reducing harmful environmental effects from construction of the grid and making efficient use of offshore and onshore space. A 0.7 GW windfarm in the Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden wind energy area will be located close to the Gemini offshore windfarm, she explained, noting that designation of this particular area for offshore wind responds to the ambitions of the province of Groningen to play a role in future sustainable energy scenarios. However, the offshore grid that will connect these windfarms will cross the Wadden Sea, which has been designated as a particularly sensitive sea area. “The third wind energy area, IJmuiden Ver, is by far the largest, but the southern part of this area will not be used for the development of windfarms given its potential designation as a Natura-2000 site,” she said. “At the moment, no decision has been made on the capacity to be specified in individual tenders in relation to this wind energy area. “According to the roadmap, the government is considering two tenders of 2 GW each (in 2023 and 2025) or four tenders of 1 GW each (between 2023 and 2026). In deciding on the optimal capacity per tender, factors to be considered include optimal capacity of the offshore grid, an expressed desire by certain parties for very large tenders, and the optimal windfarm capacity of 1 GW to 1.5 GW, as advocated by the wind energy sector.” As highlighted previously by OWJ, the roadmap also considers construction of a small island out at sea as an alternative to a large offshore high-voltage direct current platform, and a decision about the offshore grid design is expected later this year. The roadmap also confirmed the Dutch Government’s desire to realise non-subsidised, zero-subsidy offshore windfarms as soon as possible and for this purpose a bill to amend the Offshore Wind Energy Act will be submitted to parliament shortly. OWJ
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18 | AREA REPORT Taiwan
Taiwan makes good on plan to
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ate April 2018 saw the authorities in Taiwan announce the results of the first large-scale auction for offshore wind in the country, a process that will eventually see around 3.8 GW of capacity being built there. This demonstrates the Taiwanese Government’s determination to follow through and execute plans announced earlier for the sector. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has proposed to end the country’s dependence on nuclear power by 2025 while sourcing 20% of Taiwan’s electricity from renewable sources – that is, five times the level in 2015. That plan depends heavily on offshore wind, for which the Taiwan Strait is seen as particularly well suited. Data provided by law firm Jones Day showed that in 2016, electricity generated from renewable energy accounted for 4.8% of the aggregate produced electricity and 9.4% of the aggregate installed capacity in Taiwan, so the government’s strategy is certainly an ambitious one.
Taiwan’s Government is making good on longstanding plans to close nuclear power plants and invest heavily in offshore wind energy In due course the Taiwanese Government would like to have an energy mix of 50% natural gas, 30% coal and 20% renewable energy. Companies that were successful in the auction include Ørsted, wpd, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Northland Power, Yushan Energy, China Steel Corporation and Taipower. After awarding 3.8 GW of capacity on 30 April 2018, the Taiwanese authorities will award a further 2 GW via a competitive tender later this year.
One of the big winners from the process, Ørsted, secured the right to connect 900 MW offshore wind capacity to Taiwan’s power grid with the Changhua 1 project, which has a capacity of 605 MW, and Changhua 2, with a capacity of 295 MW, and a grid connection in 2021 for both projects. This means Ørsted will be delivering the first large-scale commercial offshore wind projects in the Changhua region and connect 900 MW into Changhua’s available grid capacity of 1 GW in 2021. Ørsted Wind Power executive vice president and chief executive wind power, Martin Neubert described the awards as “a breakthrough moment for offshore wind in the Asia Pacific region.” wpd was awarded 1 GW of grid connection capacity for the Yunlin and Guanyin offshore wind projects. The Yunlin project, which will be built 8 km off the coast of Yunlin County, will be the first project and will be commissioned in 2020/2021. It will have a capacity of 650-700 MW.
The Guanyin project, which will be built 2 km off the coast of Taoyuan County, will be the second project, will be commissioned in 2021 and provide approximately 350 MW of capacity. Northland Power confirmed the Taiwanese Bureau of Energy had allocated 300 MW to the Hai Long 2 offshore windfarm. “This is a significant step forward for the project, as it allocates capacity for Hai Long 2 to connect to Taiwan’s grid in 2024 and advances the project’s ability to execute a 20-year power contract under Taiwan’s FIT regime,” said Northland. Northland and its partner Yushan Energy Pte own 60% and 40% of Hai Long 2, respectively. Hai Long 2 received an environmental permit in early 2018 and advanced development work is ongoing. Project economics and financing details will be finalised as development progresses; selection of the turbine supplier and negotiation of construction contracts is underway. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has been
Seajacks is set to install turbines for the second phase of the Formosa 1 project offshore Taiwan
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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Taiwan AREA REPORT | 19
replace nuclear power with wind allocated 600 MW for the Changfang and Xidao projects 13-15 km off the coast of Changhua County, and 300 MW for Site 29 (also Changhua), which it will develop with partners China Steel Corporation and DGA. With a combined volume of 900 MW, CIP will also play a major role in building the offshore wind industry in Taiwan. Speaking at the time the deals were announced, law firm Hogan Lovells partners Alex Wong and Joseph Kim said the Taiwanese development meant that sponsors can now start developing projects in the country. They noted the Taiwanese deals would also encourage developers considering nearby regional markets, such as Japan and South Korea, and lessons learned to date in the Taiwanese market would be invaluable when going into those markets. “Some of the developers were granted less capacity than they sought,” said Mr Wong, “and some projects were not awarded any capacity at all. Now that the results have been published, developers will be working hard to get projects commissioned on time. We also expect that some of the applicants for this process will apply for additional capacity during the auction process later this year.” In May 2017, two turbines (Formosa 1, Phase 1) with an aggregate capacity of 8 MW were commissioned and are currently operational. Three demonstration offshore windfarms are also under development with an aggregate capacity of approximately 360 MW. In April 2018, Ørsted also confirmed it had taken a final investment decision for the
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second phase of the Formosa 1 offshore windfarm in Taiwan’s northwestern coast. The second phase will add 20 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 120 MW to Formosa 1’s 8 MW capacity. Formosa 1 will be the first commercial-scale offshore windfarm in Taiwan. Formosa 1 is a joint venture between Ørsted (35%), Taiwanese developer Swancor Renewable (15%), and Macquarie Capital (50%). The joint venture, established in January 2017, is expected to make a final investment decision about Formosa 1 phase 2 in May 2018. Ørsted general manager for the Asia Pacific region Matthias Bausenwein said he anticipates that the next phase of the project will be installed in 2019. A contract has been signed with Siemens Gamesa for 20 6 MW turbines and a full-service agreement for 15 years. Formosa 1 has also signed a contract with the Taiwanese company Fortune Electric for an upgrade of the Formosa 1 onshore substation. The contracts are subject to the joint venture’s final investment decision and financial close. The permitting process is on schedule, and Formosa 1 signed a power purchase agreement with Taipower in December 2017. The project will utilise nonrecourse project finance to fund a large proportion of the capital costs. The project financing loans will come from a consortium of international and Taiwanese banks. This hands-on experience enables the financial community to prepare for future investments in large-scale offshore wind projects in Taiwan. In addition to its engagement in Formosa 1, Ørsted is currently developing four offshore wind sites in the Greater Changhua region. The four Greater Changhua projects, located 35
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen is committed to using offshore wind to replace nuclear power (photo: Australian Institute of International Affairs)
to 60 km off the coast, have a maximum capacity of 2.4 GW and received environmental impact assessment approval in February 2018. The projects are due to be built from 2021 to 2025, subject to further permits and final investment decision. Seajacks has secured a contract from Siemens Gamesa to install the turbines on phase 2 of Formosa 1, this being the first time the Great Yarmouth-based company has won a renewables contract outside Europe. The vessel Seajacks Zaratan will site all 20 SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines in the Taiwan Strait, with the jack-up vessel due to begin work in Q2 2019. April 2018 also saw Jan De Nul Group and Hitachi Ltd awarded a contract to manufacture and install 21 turbines and customised foundations for the Changhua offshore windfarm on behalf of Taiwan Power Company.
Taiwan Power Company plans to construct the windfarm off the coast of Fangyuan in Changhua County in central western Taiwan, in an area sometimes subject to extreme weather conditions. The contract includes design, manufacturing and installation of the foundations and 5.2 MW turbines for the offshore windfarm and maintenance for five years. The contract has a value of around US$800M. Jan De Nul will be responsible for foundation design, fabrication and installation, wind turbine installation, supply and installation of cables offshore and onshore as well as for upgrading the electrical substation. Hitachi will oversee manufacturing, assembly, operation and maintenance and other work related to the turbines. Seabed survey and geotechnical investigations will start in May 2018. Manufacturing of the foundations and wind turbines will take place in 2019 to deliver them in early 2020. Test operation of the equipment is to start mid-2020 and completion is scheduled for December 2020. The Changhua windfarm will be constructed in a region known to be subject to typhoons. As a result, the consortium submitted a proposal using Hitachi’s proprietary downwind turbine. The downwind configuration will reduce wind loading in adverse conditions. The foundations for the turbines will be enhanced to enable them to withstand meteorological conditions in the area and the potential effects of earthquakes. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
20 | AREA REPORT UK
Sector deal could help UK carve out massive export opportunity A sector deal for offshore wind can create investment, jobs, clean growth and export opportunities
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he UK’s Industrial Strategy set out sector deals as a new concept. Under this approach, instead of the government researching and prioritising which industries to support, sectors have been asked to come together and set out their ambition to win, on their own terms. The concept builds on a successful one used in the automotive and aerospace industries. Sector deals are being negotiated for more than 60 different industries in the UK. Not every industry will get a deal, or get the deal it believes it deserves, but for the offshore wind industry a sector deal is coming at just the right time, industry leaders told OWJ. This is because the industry is at a point where it has shrugged off the idea that it is niche and has instead become mainstream. Concerns about cost and the level of subsidies required to build offshore
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
The offshore wind industry in the UK has submitted initial proposals to the government for a sector deal. But what is a sector deal, and what will it do for the industry if it gets one? To answer these questions, OWJ heard from several industry leaders
windfarms have now receded far into the rear-view mirror. In the words of Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) head of renewables supply chain Allan Taylor, speaking at the 2018 AllEnergy conference in Glasgow in early May, the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, of which sector deals are a key part, “has come just at the right time for offshore wind.” Offshore wind, said Mr Taylor, sits at the heart of the government’s Clean Growth strategy, and can play a key role in developing infrastructure, creating jobs and boosting exports. The offshore wind sector’s engagement with the government and negotiation of a sector deal is being led by Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Professor Dame Julia King, who is the UK’s Low Carbon Business ambassador and vice chair of the
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UK AREA REPORT | 21
Committee on Climate Change. Speaking at the time that she was appointed, Baroness Brown said, “The challenge for the offshore wind industry and government is to ensure that we capitalise on our world-leading position in a highly competitive global market and deliver on the huge potential for jobs, new infrastructure, exports and economic growth. This will also allow us to continue to achieve significant cost reductions, helping energy consumers. “With an ambitious sector deal we can take the next transformative steps together, enabling the offshore wind industry to help government to achieve its clean growth ambitions in a way that boosts productivity and growth throughout the UK.” Speaking exclusively to OWJ, UK country manager for Ørsted and Offshore Wind Industry Council co-chair Benj Sykes said the industry is working together as a sector to partner with the UK Government and deliver an ambitious vision for the future of offshore wind. “This deal comes at the right time for the offshore wind sector; we have grown rapidly and reduced costs much faster than anticipated,” he said. “The sector is now at a critical turning point and must seize this opportunity to reach its full potential with a transformative deal. Our proposals show how the innovative offshore wind industry can drive economic growth throughout the UK, attracting billions in investment, driving growth in coastal communities which
need new opportunities, whilst generating affordable and clean energy.” Mr Sykes explained that the sector is offering to make several new commitments from the industry to support the objectives of the government’s Industrial Strategy; prioritising innovation, creating new business opportunities, generating high-quality jobs, helping communities to prosper and upgrading UK infrastructure. If the offshore wind industry gets a sector deal, and the right kind of deal, the rewards could be immense. The right kind of deal could propel the roll-out of new offshore wind capacity in the UK, create billions of pounds of export opportunities and create thousands of jobs. In the right circumstances there could be a near tripling of employment in the industry in the next decade or so. Government has long focused on UK content for domestic windfarms – and this remains an issue and a challenge – but the right kind of sector deal could see the industry focusing not so much on UK content for UK windfarms, but on capturing as large a slice as possible of what is becoming a global market. One scenario developed by the industry could see the UK with an offshore wind industry directly employing 27,000 people in 2030, with 30 GW of offshore wind capacity and £2.6Bn (US$3.5Bn) in exports. By 2050 these figures could rise to 39,000 people directly employed, 50 GW of offshore wind capacity and £5.1Bn in exports.
Benj Sykes: “it’s all about driving productivity in industry as a whole in the UK, and for the offshore wind industry in particular there are a number of goals”
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Some industry observers expressed concern earlier this year when offshore wind was not among an initial tranche of sector deals announced by the government, but Mr Sykes told OWJ that the process is still at a relatively early stage. “We spent several months developing ideas,” he explained, “and have submitted ideas to government and are awaiting feedback.” It is possible, he said, that there might be an announcement by the parliamentary recess in the UK in July, but that is not set in stone. Asked what a sector deal is and what the offshore wind industry might get from it, Mr Sykes said, “It’s all about driving productivity in industry as a whole in the UK and for the offshore wind industry in particular there are a number of goals.” Among those goals are gaining the largest possible share of the fast-growing export market and developing the UK market to the fullest possible extent, reinforcing and enhancing the supply chain in the UK, focusing on innovation and technology development, and creating jobs, particularly in parts of the country such as coastal areas that have been in decline for several years. In addition to transforming coastal communities through the creation of ‘clusters’ of excellence, training, skills and ‘upskilling’ is another part of the sector deal puzzle. So too is diversity. All of these sit within another, overarching goal, of infrastructure development in the UK and
The offshore wind sector’s engagement with the government will be led by Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Professor Dame Julia King
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
22 | AREA REPORT UK
the government’s clean growth policy. To help the offshore wind industry do the above, what it most wants from a sector deal is policy that will enable it to develop and do so quickly. What the industry is therefore asking for is the greatest possible level of visibility about the likely level of offshore wind construction in the coming years. Ideally, Mr Sykes and his colleagues want the government to commit to dates for the next three auctions for offshore wind capacity in the UK. That would give the industry a ‘runway’ for investment that would put it in pole position to take advantage of export opportunities. The UK already leads the world in the development of offshore wind – not least because of the large cost reduction that the industry has achieved. But that reduction has placed large strains on the supply chain, industry leaders told OWJ. Competition is intense, particularly in the lower tiers of the supply chain. It is essential that the way the industry continues to grow is sustainable for everyone in the supply chain, Mr Sykes said. Another issue that a sector deal could help to address is maintaining a balance between collaboration and competition. Much cost reduction has come about because of collaboration but the auction process for offshore wind has dramatically enhanced competition. “What we would really like to see is a sector deal with a structure that will enable collaboration to continue and to flourish,” Mr Sykes said. Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
chief executive Andrew Jamieson agreed with Mr Sykes. “Competition in the marketplace is becoming a very big issue,” he said. “Competition is healthy, but we will also continue to need to collaborate on common issues. Doing so, and how we do so, will be critical. We have to decide in which areas we need to collaborate and create an environment that can facilitate collaboration, vertically and horizontally within the supply chain.” Iberdrola Renewables Offshore managing director Jonathan Cole agreed. “The landscape has changed a great deal in the last 24 months,” he said. “We have gone from collaboration to intense competition. The sector deal can provide a framework that can help ensure that there are still avenues for collaboration for the greater good, in terms of what is best for UK Plc.” Low prices brought about because of the impressive cost reduction in the industry can cause problems for some supply chain companies that already find it difficult to compete on cost with companies outside the UK, OWJ’s industry experts agreed. So, it is essential to find ways to keep the supply chain sustainable as it goes for growth. “We’ve seen cost reduction in the order of 60% in the last few years,” said Mr Cole. “We have to ensure that we don’t squeeze the bottom of the supply chain too much. We need to allow companies in the lower tiers to catch up.” The Crown Estate director, energy, minerals and infrastructure, Huub den Rooijen, said the industry also needs to put the dash
Huub den Rooijen: “sector deal can help put dash for development in a wider perspective”
for development into a wide perspective in which the development of offshore windfarms in the North Sea and other areas goes ahead at a fast pace, but in a sustainable manner that considers other users of ocean resources and the environment. “Offshore wind is already a success story,” he said. “It can be an absolutely huge success story in the long run, but we need to take into account the needs of other sectors, and the sector deal can help provide an environment that can help us do that.”
Friends of floaters want a deal of their own An industry group focusing on the fast-growing floating offshore wind market says the UK needs to set ambitious targets for floaters and believes the sector deserves its own sector deal with the government. The Friends of Floating Offshore Wind, a representative group of companies with an interest in developing the floating offshore wind market, have released a position paper, The Future’s Floating, requesting discussions on a sector deal with the UK Government based on socio-economic impact calculations. The companies have called for a commitment to target 1 GW of floating offshore wind in development and realisation by 2025 and 5 GW by 2030. The group has also requested discussions around a sector deal that offers support for the technology, either separately or as part of the wider offshore wind sector deal, to determine how the route to this market can be facilitated at the least cost for tax and bill payers. Friends of Floating Offshore Wind chairman, Chris McConville said, “Our position paper makes a compelling case for supporting floating offshore wind with a route to market in the UK. The technology ticks all the boxes of the Industrial Strategy and aligns
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
with the vision for a transformed economy. Not making use of this opportunity would mean leaving the benefits of this promising industry to other nations, a mistake we can’t afford to make again.” “Floating offshore wind is on the pathway to become commercially competitive with other forms of electricity generation and has the potential to further reduce the generation cost of offshore wind, particularly in deep water and challenging seabed sites,” said the body. “This creates a new market with the associated supply chain, employment and export opportunities from which first movers and those with experience in related fields such as offshore oil and gas or maritime will benefit most. “Calculations of the local gross value added (GVA) underpin that the GVA returns justify the investment in supporting pilot and particularly precommercial arrays, where the GVA exceeds the cost of support. The support of these projects would also offer local employment and the development of local supply chains for export markets, especially in deprived areas or where the transition and diversification from offshore oil and gas is needed the most.” OWJ
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24 | TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
MASSIVE TURBINE WILL HAVE MAJOR IMPACT ON THE BOTTOM LINE GE Renewable Energy is to spend US$400M developing a massive turbine that will reduce the cost of energy from offshore wind significantly
The Haliade-X will enable developers to build windfarms with fewer turbines and less cabling whilst reducing construction, maintenance and other costs
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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ffshore wind turbines have been growing incrementally for several years, but a new turbine being developed by GE Renewable Energy is an order of magnitude larger than its competitors and will reduce costs and drive up profits significantly. The company released details of the turbine, the Haliade-X – which will be a 12 MW unit – at the end of February and said it is already in talks with developers in Europe and the US about using the massive turbine. For the time being the largest offshore wind turbine will continue to be MHI Vestas Offshore Wind’s V164-9.5 MW, but the GE turbine will be significantly more powerful than that particular unit. Siemens Gamesa’s SG 8.0-167 DD, the next most powerful, has a rotor diameter of 167 m with B82 blades nearly 82 m in length, allowing an 18% larger swept area and up to 20% higher annual energy production than its predecessor SWT-7.0-154. With GE’s unexpected February announcement of the Haliade-X, ever-larger turbines look set to play a growing role reducing the cost of energy from offshore wind. Using a much larger turbine such as the Haliade-X will enable developers to build windfarms with fewer turbines, less cabling, reduce construction, maintenance and other costs and recoup their investment more quickly. In turn, that will help the company’s customers when they are bidding to build offshore windfarms at the lowest possible cost per kilowatt-hour. Although it will be developed by GE at its facilities in France, the massive turbine from the US conglomerate will mean the company is especially well placed for future projects in the US. Block Island, the first offshore windfarm in the US, also uses turbines from GE. Should there one day be sufficient volume in the US market, it is possible GE might want to build a manufacturing facility for the Haliade X in the US. The company estimates it will have a nacelle for demonstration in 2019 and will start shipping Haliade-X turbines by 2021, a timescale that could fit well with projects in the US and elsewhere. How will MHI Vestas and Siemens respond? At the time of writing, neither company had responded to GE’s announcement, but both undoubtedly have their own development programmes under way. Respond they must, but so too must the offshore wind supply chain, where larger vessels and cranes – or new installation techniques – will be required. A 12 MW turbine will also make offshore windfarms much larger in terms of generating capacity than existing windfarms, which will require a new approach to financing and de-risking them. The 12 MW turbine that GE is developing will have a rotor
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GE’s 12 MW turbine will have a rotor diameter of 220 m, 107 m blades designed by LM Wind Power and a capacity factor of 63%
diameter of 220 m, 107 m blades designed by LM Wind Power, and what the company called “digital capabilities.” GE said the Haliade-X 12 MW will have a capacity factor of 63% and noted that the combination of a larger rotor, longer blades and higher capacity factor will make the Haliade-X less sensitive to wind speed variations, increasing predictability and the ability to generate power at low wind speeds. Although the Haliade-X 12 MW turbine will be well suited to high-to-medium wind speeds, its larger capacity will enable it to produce more energy than other turbines even at low wind speeds, increasing profits and significantly lowering the levelised cost of energy The 12 MW turbine will be able to generate 67 GWh annually, a 45% greater annual energy production than the most powerful machines on the market, and twice as much as GE’s existing offshore turbine, the Haliade 150-6MW. Putting its capability into context, the Haliade-X 12 MW will be able to generate enough clean power to supply 16,000 European households in wind conditions on a typical North Sea site. However, the Haliade-X 12 MW doesn’t just set a new benchmark for the size of offshore wind turbines at sea. It will also enhance the bottom line and profitability for customers. GE said the new turbine will provide significant manufacturing cost savings to complement cost savings achieved by reducing windfarm installation time using the new turbine. Servicing and repair costs will also be lower thanks to “simplified process and intelligent components.” The new turbine will not only help developers reduce capital expenditure: with fewer turbines and foundations to install, in addition to reduced cycle times and simplified operation, the Haliade-X 12 MW should also generate significant project cost savings over the lifetime of a windfarm. GE believes these could amount to an average of US$26M per turbine per 100 MW when compared with Haliade 150-6MW. The company is to test the Haliade-X offshore wind turbine at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s facilities in the UK, bringing potential supply chain benefits in the process. Under the terms of a five-year research and development programme, the company will test next-generation technology for the Haliade-X and the turbine will undergo testing and demonstration programmes at the facility that will accurately replicate real-world operational conditions. In what is undoubtedly a coup for the UK offshore wind industry,
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testing will take place at ORE Catapult’s 15 MW power train test facility in Blyth, Northumberland. Research and development activity there will include cooling technologies, converters, loading conditions across mechanical and electrical components, grid testing and design validation. The collaboration will drive technology improvements that will also help to develop the UK supply chain and increase access to demonstration opportunities for innovative small businesses. GE president and chief executive for offshore wind, John Lavelle, said of the decision to test the new turbine in the UK, “This is an important agreement because it will enable us to prove Haliade-X in a faster way by putting it under controlled and extreme conditions. Traditional testing methods rely on local wind conditions and therefore have limited repeatability for testing. By using ORE Catapult’s facilities and expertise, we will be in a better position to adapt our technology in a shortened time, reduce unplanned maintenance, increase availability and power output, while introducing new features to meet customers’ demands.” In addition to the R&D activities, the agreement also includes a £6M (US$8.5M) combined investment with Innovate UK and the European Regional Development Fund to install the world’s largest and most powerful grid emulation system at the Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth. Supplied by GE Power, Grid Emulation, in conjunction with the Catapult’s power train test facilities, will enable the partners, UK companies and researchers to better assess the interaction between the next generation of large-scale wind turbines and the electrical distribution network in the most challenging environments. ORE Catapult engineers will deliver independent performance, functionality, endurance and accelerated life testing of components, sub-assemblies, sub-systems and full systems including the generator and converter, recreating extreme conditions in a controlled environment. The test stand will improve understanding of turbine performance, identifying manufacturing and design issues in a relatively short time period compared to field tests. Ultimately, it will reduce time to market, improve reliability and mitigate the associated costs and risks of deployment. ORE Catapult’s testing capability replicates the effects of the wind and includes dynamic torque, axial and radial force and bending moment application to emulate operational conditions. Unbalanced rotor, brake emulations, condition monitoring and control system validation tests can also be conducted. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE | 27
TenneT’s offshore and onshore platforms will be maintained using reliabilitycentred maintenance, drones and 3D modelling
Framework agreement heralds application of tried and tested approach to new sector Shipmanager Wilhelmsen Ship Management is bringing its skills and expertise acquired in the shipping sector to the offshore wind industry
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ilhelmsen Ship Management is a long-established and wellknown player in the market for third-party ship management services. It provides shipowners with a range of services, including technical management, crew management, risk management and systems, vessel accounting and procurement services. Now, working in collaboration with NSG Wind – a subsidiary of NorSea Group, in which it became a majority shareholder in September 2017 – it is moving into the offshore wind energy sector. Wilhelmsen is not a total newcomer to the offshore wind market. In late 2014, ABB entrusted it with the marine management of what was then the world’s largest offshore wind platform, DolWin Beta. Here the company’s involvement was primarily in the installation and commissioning phase. Now, however, with NSG Wind, it has moved into managing in-service platforms too, applying the same skills and expertise there as it has long done in the shipping industry, as Haakon Lenz, vice president, EU & Americas, and Carl Schou, president of ship management at Wilhelmsen, explained in an exclusive interview with OWJ. Mr Lenz was instrumental in securing Wilhelmsen Ship Management’s first major foray into the offshore wind segment and is the company’s subject matter expert for offshore wind. Speaking to OWJ in March, Mr Lenz and Mr Schou described
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a deal recently struck by NSG Wind and Wilhelmsen Ship Management that will see the companies provide technical maintenance for transmission system operator TenneT’s offshore and onshore transformer stations and AC electricity transmission systems until 2022. Wilhelmsen Ship Management and NSG Wind have seen the offshore wind market become one of the leading sources of renewable energy. Mr Schou believes that by combining their expertise, the companies can provide asset owners in the offshore wind industry with a service of the type that Wilhelmsen has long provided in the shipping industry. Well known in the offshore oil and gas industry as a provider of supply bases and logistics solutions, NorSea Group has been expanding into renewable energy. Collaboration between NSG Wind and Wilhelmsen Ship Management has been ongoing since NSG Wind was established in 2016, and NSG Wind is expanding its office and manpower in Hamburg to increase proximity to clients and gain a foothold in the German market. Under the new contract with TenneT, NSG Wind will provide its network and project management experience and Wilhelmsen Ship Management will be responsible for technical maintenance on components in the grid connection system, including secondary and auxiliary systems and procurement.
As Mr Lenz and Mr Schou explained, the offshore and onshore transformer stations will be maintained in accordance with a reliability-centred maintenance philosophy. Wilhelmsen will also carry out several digital initiatives as part of the project. Among them are structural inspections using drones and developing a 3D model of the transformer stations to increase diagnostic accuracy. Using drones to make digital records of its assets will enhance the efficiency with which TenneT can monitor – and maintain – its offshore platforms, Mr Lenz explained, an approach that other offshore operators are also understood to be examining, with the need for operational efficiencies and costsavings uppermost in mind. Mr Schou and Mr Lenz noted that, as offshore windfarms are built farther from shore, so the need for cost-effective maintenance strategies is growing. The approach that NSG Wind and Wilhelmsen Ship Management are pioneering in the frame agreement with TenneT will help to optimise maintenance regimes for far-offshore windfarms. As the number of far-offshore windfarms grows, they believe, so demand for the kind of services they are providing to TenneT will increase. “We bring a long history of providing shipowners with cost-efficient ways to manage their assets,” Mr Schou concluded. “Now we are utilising the same model in offshore wind to provide efficiency gains and help to reduce costs.” OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
Above- and below-water structures in the offshore wind industry are subject to corrosion and repairs can be costly
Research highlights potentially huge cost savings from new approaches to corrosion Tackling corrosion and developing new materials for use in the offshore wind and marine renewable sectors could provide massive cost savings for developers and create supply chain opportunities, according to two new reports
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ommissioned by the North Sea Solutions for Innovation in Corrosion for Energy (NeSSIE) project, the reports investigated the economic potential of anti-corrosion solutions and the development of new materials in the offshore renewables market. The aim of the NeSSIE project is to tap into the existing knowledge of anti-corrosion technology and novel material solutions in the supply chain in the maritime sector to develop demonstration projects for offshore renewables in the North Sea. The corrosion solutions, when developed and commercialised, will provide global growth and job creation opportunities in remote regions in the EU. Among the most important objectives is to develop three offshore renewables demonstration projects relating to corrosion issues by drawing on existing maritime supply chain expertise, accelerate the deployment and cost reduction of wave, tidal and offshore wind devices and support the demonstration project developed to access public and private investment. The reports are NeSSIE Report 2.1: State
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
of the Art Study on Materials and Solutions against Corrosion in Offshore Structures, and NeSSIE Report 2.2: Assessment of Economic Opportunity. Four key supply chains were identified and examined in the reports: protective layers including environmentally benign paints, sprays and coatings; cathodic protection; new materials and their associated fabrication, manufacturing and assembly processes; and corrosion monitoring, assessment and repair services. To calculate the economic worth of anti-corrosion solutions to developers and vendors, several assumptions taken from the oil and gas, maritime and offshore renewables sectors were made. Capex, opex and performance impacts of applying corrosion solutions were calculated separately for new materials and their associated processes, and direct corrosion solutions such as cathodic protection or coating systems. The calculations covered the UK and wider EU, and utilised projected capacity taken from various renewables roadmaps. The scenarios investigated ranged from the reduction of offshore renewables project capex to increased capex with the application of novel anti-corrosion solutions, yet in all cases considered the reduction of opex and contribution towards maintaining device performance. Corrosion is an important concern for offshore energy developers. All marine structures face corrosion problems impacting on the operations and maintenance (O&M) costs along the global lifecycle. In the case of offshore windfarms, overall O&M costs are typically around 15-30% of total lifecycle costs, and corrosion plays a significant role in these costs. The reports found that based on offshore renewable deployment estimations, anti-corrosion solutions and new materials could see potential developers saving over €16Bn (US$19Bn) for wave and tidal energy projects in the EU by 2050 and potentially over €68Bn for offshore wind projects. For the anti-corrosion supply chain, the wave and tidal energy markets could lead to over €25Bn of projects in the wider EU by 2050 and over €57Bn for offshore wind projects.
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CORROSION CONTROL | 29
Scottish Enterprise team leader for energy and clean technology Jan Reid said the early work conducted by the NeSSIE project was really encouraging. “We can see there is a tremendous economic prize for the EU offshore supply chain in tackling this challenge and supporting the EU to decarbonise the energy sector,” she said. “The key to unlocking this opportunity is developing investable demonstration projects that will prove the technological solutions.” NeSSIE project manager Stefano Valentini, who led the study, said, “It is clear from this early work that there are a wide range of technical solutions that can be deployed to great effect in the offshore renewables sector. The EU supply chain is at the forefront of subsea excellence and we are confident this will bring forth excellent solutions that will see the cost of energy coming down in offshore renewables.” The reports contribute to NeSSIE’s overall objective of developing three investable demonstration projects in offshore renewables focused on corrosion and materials. The projects will utilise the existing EU subsea supply chain and their knowledge to develop commercial solutions. The main conclusions that can be drawn from the report are: • Offshore renewables are estimated to play a major role, driven by both political and economic factors. Renewables-based electricity generation is projected to triple between 2013 and 2040, overtaking coal to become the largest source of electricity. According to the new policies scenario, 33% of world electricity generation by source will come from renewables in 2040 (IEA, 2014). • Offshore structures in general are subjected to several damage mechanisms including corrosion and fatigue; so protective strategies should be considered essential to reach the expected service life for which a structure was designed. Different protection systems can be used to delay and mitigate corrosion initiation and its related consequences such as safety, structural integrity and service life. • Cleaning of substrates before coating is still a very fundamental operation as it strongly influences the adhesion of the protective layers and coatings on the substrate. Grinding and blasting is mostly performed but other methods like high pressure waterjets can be used. • Modern offshore structures are increasingly made of special alloys including high strength steel, stainless steel, aluminium and even titanium alloys. Unalloyed steel, however, must always be protected because of its low corrosion resistance to the marine atmosphere. The
best results are obtained by thick thermal spray aluminium or zinc aluminium coatings with or without additional paint layers. Smaller parts can be made of uncoated special stainless steels and nickel alloys. The number of innovative corrosion-resistant alloys is, however, restricted: only AMLoCor, a new, corrosion-resistant steel developed especially for marine applications was found to be a new alloy for offshore applications. • A survey of the main standards and guidelines is required to collect all references for the materials and procedures that can be used in offshore systems.
Deltares says modelling can enhance the design of monopiles and reduce corrosion within them
Modelling replenishment could enhance turbine lifespan Deltares in the Netherlands has developed a tool to model water replenishment in the foundations for offshore wind turbines and assess the performance of anticorrosion systems. It said that by linking realistic metocean conditions with water quality processes, it can help with the optimisation of the number, positioning and size of water replenishment holes in monopile foundations. Replenishment holes are needed to prevent acidification
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of stagnant water, which can cause damage to sensitive cables and other fittings inside the monopile. Acidification is caused by the chemical reactions of impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems used to prevent corrosion of monopiles in offshore windfarms. More ICCP systems are being used in offshore wind to prevent corrosion. In recent years there has been an increased
awareness of the risk of corrosion inside monopiles. This awareness is mainly stimulated by decisions and decommissioning of existing foundations, where more corrosion than expected was observed. This has led to the installation of anticorrosion systems. The newly-developed tool couples a hydrodynamic model with DELWAQ, a water quality model. It allows Deltares to determine pressures and
wave action inside a monopile, the effect of marine growth, flow velocities through replenishment holes and pH levels in the monopile. This information can then be used to optimise the positioning and the size of replenishment holes. The hydrodynamic flow model has been validated with physical model experiments performed in Deltares’ wave and current physical model facility. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
30 | GRID CONNECTION
MODULAR ARCHITECTURES AND OFFSHORE ISLANDS TO REVOLUTIONISE GRID CONNECTION As the number of offshore windfarms grows, so new ways to connect them to the grid are being developed, including islands in the North Sea and less-costly modular connections with a reduced environmental impact
RIGHT: New ways of connecting offshore windfarms to the grid are being developed in several European countries
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ecent weeks have seen progress in the development of future gird architectures in the Netherlands and other countries opting for offshore wind energy. In March 2018, the Dutch government unveiled its Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030, setting out plans for the further development of offshore wind energy between 2024 and 2030. The roadmap specifies which windfarm zones will be released for development in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, when this will occur, the projected generation capacity of these zones, and when they will be taken into operation. The windfarms will be in three windfarm zones: Holland Coast (West), North of the Wadden Sea Islands, and IJmuiden Far Offshore. Transmission systems operator TenneT will connect the offshore windfarms and is preparing to develop innovative and cost-effective grid concepts for the offshore grid
connections required. Under the National Energy Agreement concluded in 2013, five offshore windfarms with a total capacity of 3.5 GW will be built in the Dutch sector of the North Sea in the period until 2023, in addition to existing windfarms that have a capacity of 1 GW. A coalition agreement provides for a further 7 GW increase in offshore wind energy capacity between 2024 and 2030. TenneT said that, in its view, the best way to connect windfarm zones located relatively close to the Dutch coast to the grid is to use alternating current (AC) technology. The energy produced in these zones can be transmitted via a standard TenneT transformer platform connected to an onshore highvoltage station located near the coast via 220 kV AC cables. Each of these standardised connection systems has a capacity of 700 MW and will also be used by TenneT to connect the Borssele windfarm zone (2 ×
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
700 MW), the Holland Coast (South) (2 × 700 MW) and Holland Coast (North) (700 MW) windfarm zones. With a view to further cost reduction and limiting the space required, the roadmap enables combined preparations for the connection of the northern section of the Holland Coast (West) and the existing Holland Coast (North) zone. The standardised 700 MW design will be optimised further for application in the Holland Coast (West) and North of the Wadden Sea Islands zones. In TenneT’s view, direct current (DC) connections will be needed to connect offshore windfarms on a larger scale, over greater distances, in a cost-effective manner, as is the case with IJmuiden Far Offshore. It believes that continued innovation should enable the development of DC connection capacities of 1,200-2,000 MW. These higher capacities will then make it possible to integrate IJmuiden Far Offshore with
fewer connections (less cabling) and with less impact on the environment. As previously highlighted by OWJ, TenneT is working with relevant government departments to research the possibility of constructing an island in the IJmuiden Far Offshore zone to accommodate a converter and transformer station, to which windfarms can then be connected. This approach could be more cost-effective than installing multiple large offshore DC platforms, it believes. In addition to potential economic benefits, such an island would offer opportunities for converting wind power into hydrogen, facilitating a so-called ‘Wind Connector’ and creating port and maintenance facilities. There are several potential benefits in this approach, not least that a Wind Connector to the UK would make it possible to use the infrastructure to connect windfarms and enhance integration in the international electricity market.
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GRID CONNECTION | 31
This would significantly improve – potentially even double – the efficiency of the offshore grid and contribute to a further cost reduction in offshore wind energy. An island in the IJmuiden Far Offshore zone could also provide valuable experience for the creation in the longer term of an even larger energy island, further offshore, in the North Sea. The Swedish Energy Agency has been commissioned by the Swedish Government to investigate ways to eliminate grid connection costs for offshore wind energy. The agency has chosen to examine two different models. The first model entails moving the grid connection point to the offshore windfarm. This means that Svenska kraftnät (the Swedish National Power Grid) would be responsible for planning, construction and operation of the undersea cables and, hence, for all the costs entailed by the connection. Funding of the measure could be provided through an increased grid tariff. However, the agency believes there are issues associated with this model. It could lead to a disparity between the onshore and offshore wind energy sectors, as onshore wind power and other electricity production facilities would continue to pay connection costs, but offshore wind would not. It is also the agency’s assessment that there would be no incentive for wind power producers to select locations that lead to cost-efficient connections if they are not obligated to pay any portion of the connection costs. The second model entails the introduction of subsidies to wind power producers for a portion of the connection costs. The agency proposes that this support be limited to undersea cabling and associated transformers. This would create conditions comparable to those of onshore wind power. Another benefit of this model, in the agency’s estimation, is that the cost of
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the removal of connection costs would be limited while still retaining an incentive to connect windfarms in locations that are cost-effective. It is proposed that the subsidies under this model be financed through the introduction of a surcharge paid by all electricity consumers. Removing costs may make Swedish offshore wind power more competitive in the European context, which – given that this would lead to an expansion of offshore wind power – could lead to increased profit margins in electricity production if there are rapid changes in the electricity market that cannot currently be predicted. In Belgium, Elia has confirmed that all the main construction contracts for the planned modular offshore grid (MOG) are now in place. Development of the MOG remains on schedule and it should go live by the end of September 2019. The project will be fully operational in 2020. With the MOG, Elia is
developing an offshore electricity hub for four offshore windfarms to bring the electricity produced to shore in the most efficient way. It is the first project of its kind in Belgium and it will create opportunities for the further development of renewable energy in the North Sea. The MOG will allow windfarms connected to it to inject wind energy directly into the Belgian grid, even when there is a loss or failure of one of the offshore cables. Construction can be phased and synchronised to the time schedules of individual windfarms. It is also more costefficient and environmentally friendly. Using a MOG rather than a conventional solution facilitates a reduction in the length of cable by 40 km. Detailed design of the platform forming the basis of the offshore switchyard will be undertaken by Ramboll. The contract awarded to the company encompasses the engineering work to bring the platform from a conceptual stage to a detailed structure, ready for
fabrication. The jacket structure (bottom structure, anchored on the seabed) and the topside, will be fabricated by Heerema. The platform will be installed by Seaway Heavy Lifting in two separate campaigns. Installation of the jacket is scheduled for late 2018, with installation of the topside in 2019. The primary tubular steel components and the piles will be fabricated by EEW. The high-voltage switching equipment and gas insulated substation will be delivered by Siemens. Dredging International will deliver and install the 85 km of 220 kV subsea cable. A contract for unexploded ordnance identification and disposal is due to be awarded shortly. The platform will be located approximately 40 km from the coast of Zeebrugge. Two direct current 220 kV cables and one cable via the Rentel windfarm will link the platform with the Stevin substation in Zeebrugge, so that the electricity produced can be injected in the Belgian onshore grid. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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FOUNDATIONS | 33
Environmentally-friendly hammer could make foundation installation less expensive A new type of environmentally friendly pile-driving system for foundations that is cheaper to use than conventional hammers is being tested offshore
The environmentally-friendly Blue Hammer will be tested offshore on Van Oord’s vessel Svanen
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n March 2018, the Carbon Trust announced the launch of a demonstration project, Blue Pilot, that aims to reduce the cost of installing foundations for offshore wind turbines and reduce underwater noise during construction. Part of the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), the Blue Pilot project will see the deployment of the Blue Hammer, a new type of pile driver developed by Fistuca BV, a Dutch technology company founded as a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology. The project is estimated to enable potential lifetime savings of €33-40M (US$40-48) for a 720 MW offshore windfarm, equal to a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) reduction of €0.9-1.2/MWh. OWA partners Eon, EnBW, Ørsted, Statoil and Vattenfall, alongside
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industry partners Fistuca, Van Oord, Shell and Sif are contributing €3.2M in funding to the project. Due to the project’s ability to impact the cost of offshore wind, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has granted public subsidies of over €2.5M. The Blue Hammer is predicted to reduce underwater noise levels by up to 20 dB (SEL), and potentially reduce the fatigue damage during installation on the pile by up to 90%. This could not only remove the need for underwater noise mitigation, but also enable secondary steel to be prewelded to the monopile before installation, potentially unlocking ‘transition piece free’ designs. Furthermore, by reducing the amount of time and number of operations carried out offshore, the innovative piling method would improve health and safety and result in a significantly lower installation cost. The Blue Pilot project aims to verify these predictions through installing a full-size monopile offshore, using measurement equipment and sensors to validate the predicted noise levels and fatigue damage. The tests will take place mid-year. In the Blue Pilot project, the new pile driver will be tested offshore at a location in Dutch waters. Sif will provide the monopile, and Van Oord will support the installation logistics. The other industry partners will provide funding and strategic advice to the project to ensure its relevance to future commercial projects. Fistuca’s founder and managing director Jasper Winkes told OWJ, “We want to help the offshore wind industry to develop environmentally friendly installation methods and reduce the cost of installing foundations. Collaboration will help make this possible.” Statoil’s technology director for wind and low carbon solutions, Rajnish Sharma told OWJ the company wants to reduce the environmental impact and cost of offshore wind projects. “Blue piling technology has the potential to be an important contributor in this work,” he said. The OWA’s project engineer for foundations Michael Stephenson said he believed the Blue Pilot “has real potential” to reduce the levelised cost of energy of offshore wind projects. “We are excited to support this project to validate the hammer offshore and to support the integration of industry into the project, which will be vital to its success. It is great to see the whole supply chain involved in the project and collaborating towards the common goal of continuing the
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
34 | FOUNDATIONS
cost reduction in offshore wind,” he said. Rather than hammering a monopile into the ground, the Blue Hammer concept developed by Fistuca uses acceleration of a water column by a gas mixture to provide the driving force – a mechanism that can deliver a large amount of energy without exciting undue vibration in a monopile. Mr Winkes explained, “The combustion of a gas mixture leads to an increase in pressure. This pressure creates an upward acceleration of the water and a downward force that pushes the pile into the seabed. Another powerful downward blow is delivered to the pile when the water mass falls. After the exhaust gases have been released, the cycle is repeated.” ‘Blue piling’ has several potential advantages compared with conventional impact hammers. Firstly, the hammer produces very low levels of noise compared with conventional hammers. This means that noise reduction measures – which can add significantly to the cost of piling operations – are much less likely to be required. Secondly, compared to the impact of a conventional hammer, the duration of the impact from the Blue Hammer is much longer, which minimises fatigue damage to the monopile. Conventional hammers exert force over a short period of time, whereas the Blue Hammer delivers a blow over a period of more than 100 milliseconds. This makes the force delivered by the system more efficient. The waterbased blows ensure a gradual build-up of force on the monopile, reducing tensile stresses in the pile and reducing acceleration levels.
Fewer blows and lower stress levels reduce installation fatigue. A third and increasingly important benefit of the Blue Hammer, given the rapid growth in the size of offshore wind turbines and in their foundations, is that it can drive large-diameter piles. As highlighted above, another advantage is that the concept is compatible with having secondary attachments mounted on the monopile before pile driving is undertaken. Lower acceleration levels allow piles to be partially pre-assembled prior to piling, reducing the loads on components such as flanges. Apart from being able to drive larger-diameter monopiles, Blue Hammer is also well suited to doing so in deeper water. It is suitable for all types of conventional piling and foundation work using jacket (pin) piles as well as so-called XL monopiles. It interfaces with the pile in the same way as conventional piling technology, so the pile itself does not need to be adapted. In the first phase of the project the ‘blow profile’ of the hammer was analysed and modelled. This input was used to model the secondary steel on the pile and the expected underwater noise emissions. The next phase saw a test pile installed. In the third phase offshore piles were installed. Measurements on the hammer and pile will validate predicted fatigue loads on primary and secondary steel and underwater noise will be monitored. The final phases of the project will see the test pile fully decommissioned using water pressure and the findings of the tests summarised in a report made available to partners.
Mono bucket technology tested in Japan Universal Foundation and Hitachi Zosen have teamed up to undertake a feasibility study to assess the application of mono bucket foundation technology for a Japanese offshore wind project. The project will use experience gained from commercial projects in Europe and the US and apply it to conditions and requirements relevant to the Japanese offshore wind market.
Hitachi Zosen Co is executing the work in partnership with Kyoto University and Toyo Construction Co. The decision to engage Universal Foundation in the feasibility study was based on a comparative assessment of various foundation types for a windfarm with 15 turbines. In an engineering, procurement, construction and installation cost
assessment the mono bucket was concluded to be the most cost-effective solution and to
have the potential to reduce the time it takes to build the windfarm.
Foundation fabricator saved Investment has been secured for offshore fabrication firm BiFab and its yards at Methil and Burntisland in Fife and Arnish in the Western Isles, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Canadian company JV Driver, through its subsidiary DF Barnes, has acquired BiFab as part of an agreement brokered by the Scottish Government to support new opportunities at the yards for fabrication and construction in the marine, renewables and energy sector. BiFab’s track record in the offshore wind industry includes work on the Beatrice, Alpha Ventus, Gwynt y Mor and Greater Gabbard windfarms. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
Universal Foundation and Hitachi hope to determine whether the mono bucket foundation is suitable for use offshore Japan
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©
a rrw fot Wi oglor ia / Ulrich
1,500... ...monopiles produced by EEW SPC: We keep building a solid foundation for tomorrow’s energy supply. EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH www.eew-group.com
MacGregor 3-Axis crane
36 | SERVICE OPERATION VESSELS
Service ship of the future will be greener and much more cost-effective The partners in the Nexus project want to develop a service operation vessel design that is 20% more cost-effective
A European research project to develop a new-generation service operation vessel is examining every aspect of SOV design and operation to help reduce O&M costs and the environmental impact of their operation
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
A
European research project to develop a new-generation service operation vessel (SOV ) is examining every aspect of SOV design and operation to help reduce operations and maintenance (O&M) costs and the environmental impact of their operation The concept of a SOV is still a relatively new one. SOV design has evolved since the first units were introduced into service 3-4 years ago, but as the number of offshore windfarms grows cost reduction has come to play an ever-greater role in the industry, creating the need for more cost-effective SOVs. O&M costs account for 20-30% of the lifecycle cost for a typical offshore windfarm so a huge opportunity exists to reduce costs by analysing windfarm maintenance as a system. Existing O&M concepts leave room for further
cost reduction if enhanced SOVs can be developed. The number of SOVs in the European market alone is expected to quadruple in the next decade, further highlighting the potential savings if more cost-effective vessels can be developed. What form an enhanced SOV might take, how its design might be improved, new logistic processes and changes in how windfarm service ships operate are all part of the three-year Nexus project, which is funded to the tune of €3.3M (US$3.9M) by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research programme. With a total budget, including the European funds, of €4.4M, the organisations participating in the project aim to deliver an advanced service vessel concept optimised for maximum performance and safety with minimal lifetime costs. Their stated aim is to
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SERVICE OPERATION VESSELS | 37
reduce SOV costs by 20% and reduce CO2 emissions from SOVs by 30% compared to current ‘state-of-the-art’ vessels. To find out more about the Nexus project and its aims, OWJ spoke to RollsRoyce chief designer for SOVs Martin de Jongh, one of the main participants in the project, Rolls-Royce technology manager Sverre Torben, and ARTTIC senior consultant David Bone. The project is co-led by ARTTIC, which supports research and technology developments including Nexus, and Rolls-Royce Marine, and also includes Strathclyde Business School, Astilleros Gondán, DNV GL and Global Marine Group. It got under way in November 2017 and is due to be completed by the end of October 2020. They noted that, as offshore windfarms move further offshore, the challenges placed on O&M providers are growing, and the relatively high cost of windfarm maintenance today has a negative impact on the competitiveness of offshore wind. In addition, they said, current safety requirements limit design and operational flexibility. In short, future SOVs will need to be significantly more efficient and safer. Messrs Bone and Torben said that project Nexus recognises that offshore windfarms are only now emerging as a mature source of energy, and to create substantial cost savings a ‘root and branch’ analysis of the inefficiencies in O&M services is required. This process includes an integrated look at the dynamics, uncertainties, costs and gains, and interactions between key players in offshore wind, including the windfarm itself, transport, O&M operations, onshore support, and the environment. “This kind of in-depth analysis has been neglected until now,” they told OWJ. “This has resulted in suboptimum vessels that cost more than they should that have emissions that are higher than they need to be. “Innovations, such as a service vessel partially powered by batteries that could be recharged from turbines whilst they are being serviced need to be assessed,” they said, noting that Nexus “has a list of innovations to be analysed to determine which ones can be potential game-changers. “What is needed is a structured analysis of the situation, so that a clear path forward for specialised wind service vessels can be determined,” they told OWJ. “Larger turbines further offshore create a demand pull for more innovative, specialised ships. By providing an unbiased assessment of the market, the Nexus project will guide
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the industry towards an optimised, robust solution that will help the EU capture a significant market share of demand for these new types of ship.” The aim of Nexus, they said, is to develop and demonstrate a novel, ‘beyond state-of-the-art’ SOV and logistics concepts for safe and sustainable servicing of offshore windfarms. Mr Bone explained that this will be achieved by designing and validating a reference concept SOV that will integrate new and emerging technology. To allow room for design creativity and flexibility, the project will also recommend new safety regulations for windfarm service vessels. The holistic approach adopted by the project partners will look at every aspect of the design of SOVs, said Mr Torben, including hullforms, propulsion, alternative fuels, energy efficiency and the potential application of hybrid power and propulsion systems. The project also includes simulation, model testing and consideration of the most suitable construction and production principles for vessels of this type. Apart from enabling the development of more advanced SOVs, the Nexus team believes the project will have a significant impact on the whole value chain, reducing costs and providing industry with a toolset that will give it a competitive edge and the ability to use the same process to expand into new markets. The project will also enable an increase in the professional skills of workers and the capability of the
European marine and maritime industry to develop and commercialise specialised vessels and related technology, benefiting SMEs in particular. Apart from reducing lifecycle expenditure and CO2 emissions associated with windfarm service vessels, Nexus also aims to enable more effective management of SOVs, capture overall design requirements for a new windfarm service vessel for operation in the North Sea and develop a new vessel concept to technology readiness level 5. As Mr de Jongh noted, as the level of subsidies for offshore wind decline and zero-subsidy windfarms become more and more common, so the need for more efficient O&M concepts and more cost-effective SOVs is likely to grow. “This focus on costs makes the design and operation of SOVs quite challenging,” he told OWJ. Mr Bone emphasised the way the Nexus project focuses on the role that SOVs play as part of a wider O&M strategy. “It is essential to create major savings,” he told OWJ. “One of the most important aspects of Nexus is that it starts with a business analysis of the role SOVs play and systems engineering approach that satisfies the needs of all users and stakeholders.” As highlighted above, another key part of the project is a review of safety regulations that apply to SOV operations with a view to enabling operations to “go further,” as Mr Bone described it. A key aim is the development of specialised
Design and operation of SOVs is evolving but in-depth analysis in the Nexus project is expected to provide cost savings and reduce emissions
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
38 | SERVICE OPERATION VESSELS
safety regulations for windfarm service vessels, thereby improving costeffectiveness and operational flexibility that, to some extent, are undermined by current, generic safety rules. Although there is consensus in the industry that SOVs should be designed in accordance with the IMO 2008 SPS Code, differences in interpretation between flag
states and coastal states regarding the status of windfarm technicians servicing wind turbines have resulted in different regulatory regimes in different countries. The issue has been recognised at IMO, and work is ongoing on a code for windfarm and other vessels carrying industrial personnel. Class societies have issued guidance for offshore access systems of the type used by
SOVs to transfer personnel and equipment, but there are a number of ‘grey areas’ when it comes to SOV operations that need more in-depth examination, the project partners believe. One of the most important grey areas that the partners in the Nexus service ship project want to address is the use of gangways while vessels are in dynamic positioning mode.
X-STERN SHIP MAKES ITS MARK The Netherlands-based Acta Marine, which recently took delivery of its second walk-to-work vessel Acta Auriga, placed a contract for a second ship of the type at the OWJ conference in February. The new vessel is a dynamic positioning class 2 SX195 design walk-to-work/construction support vessel like Acta Auriga, which was recently awarded a two-year charter for O&M operations on the Bard Offshore 1 windfarm in Germany. The SX195 design is 93.4 m long with a breadth of 18 m. It will have a centrally positioned motion-compensated gangway and elevator tower for personnel and cargo transfers. The gangway and tower are to be supplied by SMST in the Netherlands. Logistics on board will be optimised to enhance workflow and complemented by significant storage capacity and a ‘stepless’ approach to the offshore installations for windfarm personnel. The new vessel will differ from Auriga only in a few respects, including the installation from the outset of a helicopter deck, Auriga having been designed and built ‘for but not with’ a helicopter deck. With most of the main equipment and operations in the aft ship, the vessel will operate stern first while in the field, keeping its X-STERN towards the weather, which will mean slamming will be very much reduced and noise and vibration will be minimised. Speaking exclusively to OWJ in April, Acta Marine’s general manager, commercial offshore Simon Anink, said the first X-STERN ship Auriga had surpassed operating requirements during trials. This included transferring personnel using its gangway in a significant wave height of 2.5 m and wind speed of 40 knots. Mr Anink said it
was evident that Auriga could safely undertake transfers in higher sea states, if required. Mr Anink said the X-STERN hullform had been demonstrated to have a number of advantages when used on service vessels. Among the most important is that being able to operate bow or stern first significantly reduced cycle times when moving between turbines. “Unlike oil and gas, where a vessel is only serving one offshore installation, SOVs have to service multiple installations. With the X-STERN we save time on the approach to and departure from every turbine. On a large windfarm that can save hours,” he said.
Acta Auriga benefits from having the X-STERN and X-BOW hullform, reducing cycle times between turbines
MORE SERVICE SHIPS ORDERED In April 2018, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs placed a contract for a second service operation vessel, which will be deployed on Ørsted’s Hornsea Project Two offshore windfarm off the coast of the UK. As sister vessel to Wind of Change, the first SOV ordered by the company in 2017, the second ship will also be designed in close co-operation with Salt Ship Design and will be built by Cemre shipyard in Turkey for delivery in 2021. The 84 m ship will be equipped with an innovative hybrid propulsion system using diesel generators
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
and ABB’s OnBoard DC grid. The vessel will also incorporate an energy storage system using batteries. In February, Norway’s Østensjø Rederi held a naming ceremony and launched the newbuild Edda Mistral and held a naming ceremony for another, Edda Passat. Both newbuildings are purpose-built for Ørsted’s offshore windfarms off the coast of the UK. Edda Passat was delivered in the last week of February and started operations at the Race Bank windfarm. Edda Mistral will be delivered in August and will operate on the
Hornsea Project One offshore windfarm. The keel-laying ceremony for Bibby Marine Services’ second WaveMastertype SOV took place at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania on 5 May. The first Damen SOV, Bibby WaveMaster 1, was delivered to Bibby Marine Services in 2017. The new SOV is due for delivery in August 2019 and will carry out maintenance operations on the Hohe See and Albatros windfarms offshore Germany on behalf of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and EnBW. OWJ
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PROJECT FOCUS | 41
Offshore construction for Hornsea Project One got under way in January with the first monopiles being installed
Ørsted finds massive windfarm presents challenges – but opportunities too Constructing the world’s largest, farthest-from-shore offshore windfarm is a massive challenge, but solutions that Ørsted has adopted to build it will help provide answers to challenges on even larger projects
T
ensions between pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation while managing risk and safety pose challenges in the development of any offshore windfarm, but as they are built farther from shore, using ever-larger turbines, in ever more challenging conditions, so engineering and technical challenges are growing. So too are the industrial challenges of building massive projects – issues with suppliers could potentially hold up a project and cost millions of pounds in delays, so new manufacturing solutions are needed that can cope with the sheer scale of projects. With 174 Siemens Gamesa turbines, the 1.2 GW Hornsea Project One offshore windfarm in the North Sea will be the biggest in the world when it is completed in 2020. Even this massive scheme will be superseded in size by the next in the
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Hornsea Zone, Hornsea Project Two. Together, Hornsea One and Two will provide 2.6 GW of offshore wind capacity. To get an idea about how Hornsea Project One is being built, what the challenges are and how they are being addressed, OWJ conducted an exclusive interview with Ørsted’s project manager for Hornsea One, Duncan Clark. At the time of writing in early May, offshore construction had been under way for nearly five months. The jackets for all four offshore substations had been installed and the first section of offshore cable out of 900 km had been laid. More than 100 km from shore, covering an area of about 407 km2, Hornsea Project One is farther offshore than any other windfarm, a fact Mr Clark said presented numerous challenges but has seen the industrialisation of offshore wind taken
to a new level. “The principal challenges on Hornsea One arise from its sheer scale and because it is so far from shore,” Mr Clark said. This means that conventional solutions to logistic challenges – such as transporting workers offshore on a daily basis – would not work. “You can’t shuttle more than 100 people backwards and forwards over 100 km every day,” said Mr Clarke, “not like you can on a nearshore windfarm. We’ve had to adopt different logistic solutions, such as using helicopters when transfers are required and having people live offshore while construction is under way, on jackup accommodation vessels.” A similar approach will be needed once the windfarm is in operation and the operations and maintenance phase starts. Offshore workers are accommodated on the jack-ups for two weeks at a time and
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
42 | PROJECT FOCUS
have a specially developed access system to transfer them from the jack-ups to the substations as they are being built. One of the jack-ups, contracted from Gulf Marine Services (GMS), is already supporting work on the substations; the second is due to be mobilised shortly. Both have an innovative boat landing system developed by Osbit that is integral to enabling work crews to remain offshore, rather than making daily trips to and from shore. The system will facilitate up to 50 crew transfers each day and is raised and lowered into position using the jackup’s crane. Hornsea One’s four offshore substations include the world’s first reactive compensation substation, an essential part of transmitting the electricity produced by the offshore windfarm to shore over great distances, enabling the high voltage AC system to work with cable lengths longer than those previously used for offshore wind. To meet the manufacturing timescale for the huge project, Ørsted is also working with the UK supply chain and bringing new players into the sector that have not worked in offshore wind before, increasing the level of work of those already in the supply chain. “The project is a great story in terms of engineering and for those interested in it from a supply chain perspective,” Mr Clark said. “Apart from working with companies that
are new to supply chain, we’ve also had to split the manufacturing work scope to ensure timely deliveries,” he explained. “On a project of this scale and complexity, there are no lucky escapes if something goes wrong with a supplier.” Among the companies that are new to the offshore wind industry that have come on board Hornsea One is Wilton Engineering on Teeside, which, along with its own supply chain, has become involved in manufacturing the transition pieces for the windfarm. “For all of the main engineering scopes, whereas on a smaller project we might work with a single supplier, the size of Hornsea One means that we are working two, three sometimes four suppliers in order to be able to maintain the pace of delivery required,” Mr Clark told OWJ. “It is testament to the fact that the industrialisation of the supply chain has been keeping up with the growing size of sites and turbines, including installation of cables, turbines and other components using bigger vessels,” he said. Hornsea One has seen other offshore contractors that are new to offshore wind assume key roles. Among them is Saipem, the well-known offshore oil and gas contractor, whose crane vessel Saipem 7000 is installing the offshore substations. As of early May, the vessel had installed all four jackets for the substations with three
GMS is supplying two jack-up units of the type shown here to provide accommodation for workers on Hornsea Project One
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
topsides to go. Flexibility is essential on a project this size, as is access to suitable vessels, when required. Here Ørsted had a large slice of luck when it encountered a problem with a cable lay vessel due to undertake much of the work on the project. Tideway, a subsidiary of the Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME, was awarded a design-and-build contract for the export cable installation for Hornsea Project One and was due to undertake the work using its newbuild dynamic positioning Class 3 vessel Living Stone. The cable lay vessel was built by Spanish shipyard LaNaval with delivery planned for April 2017 but problems at the yard mean that it has yet to enter service. As a result, said Mr Clark, Ørsted and Tideway needed to quickly find another vessel capable of undertaking the work. It did so in Norwegian owner Ocean Yield, with which Tideway concluded a timecharter contract for the vessel Lewek Connector. Tideway will carry out the first section of the cable lay using Lewek Connector, with Living Stone due to join the project at a later date. Lewek Connector has two large turntables with capacity to hold up to 6,000-tonne cables and has laid subsea cables since 2012 in a range of water depths. For this particular job, the lay system on the vessel has been replaced with a bespoke back deck cable lay spread designed and installed by Tideway for the project. Mr Clark said fitting Lewek Connector with the bespoke kit was a way of ensuring the project goes according to plan. “It’s well-known in the industry that cablelay is a complex process and is rather weather-sensitive. "Previous projects have been held up because of problems with cablelay. It can be expensive if something doesn’t go according to plan. “Lewek Connector is a very capable vessel, but we wanted the equipment it used to be just right. We wanted to make sure that the ship had just the right tools on board to undertake the project and could undertake the job within its technical constraints, so it was modified.” So far, said Mr Clark, the export cable work using the ship has gone as planned. As it continues so array cabling installation work will get under way, more and more of the transition pieces will be installed and the substations completed. And that’s just the offshore aspects of the project. OWJ
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44 | TRENCHING & CABLE LAY
SUBSEA SUPER-MAJOR SEES TRENCHING SPECIALIST AS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND INTO RENEWABLES OCEANEERING’S ACQUISITION OF TRENCHING AND ROUTE CLEARANCE SPECIALIST ECOSSE SUBSEA SYSTEMS PROVIDES IT WITH A WAY INTO THE OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY AND SOME HIGHLY SPECIALISED PIECES OF EQUIPMENT
In acquiring Ecosse Subsea, Oceaneering has gained access to the SCAR system, which can complete an entire trenching work scope
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
R
ecent weeks have seen two important developments in the market for cable lay and trenching. The first, Global Marine Group’s acquisition of Fugro’s trenching and cable lay business (which now forms the basis of Global Offshore), is addressed elsewhere by OWJ. The second saw innovative Scottish outfit Ecosse Subsea Systems acquired by subsea super-major Oceaneering. Headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, Ecosse Subsea was acquired by Oceaneering at a cost of £50M (US$69M) and builds and operates seabed preparation, route clearance and trenching tools for submarine cables. The company has undertaken several notable projects in the offshore oil and gas and offshore wind industries. Technology acquired in the transaction included Ecosse’s modular SCAR seabed system, which can complete the entire trenching work scope (route preparation, boulder clearance, trenching and backfill), and its newly developed SCARJet trenching system, which is designed for use with standard work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and adds stateof-the-art jetting and post-lay trenching capabilities to the existing pre-cut methods offered by the SCAR ploughing tool. Reducing the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) has been a mantra in the offshore wind industry in recent years. In
contrast, damage to cabling, which happens all too often, has tended to drive costs up, whether it occurs because of damage during installation or afterwards. Slow and sometimes unreliable trenching techniques can also lead to problems, as can issues such as boulders on the seabed on the cable route. It is against this backdrop that Oceaneering International decided to acquire Ecosse Subsea. Over the last 20 years, the company, which was founded in 1996 by former chairman Mike Wilson, has focused on helping developers to reduce the LCOE by reducing risk, reducing cost and increasing flexibility. The SCAR is its principal tool for doing so. A modular plough trencher which offers a robust and cost-effective option for lowrisk, high productivity cable protection, the SCAR can operate in several configurations to provide a complete product protection solution spanning from site investigation and route preparation through to trenching and backfill. The driving force that inspired the design was a ‘back to basics’ philosophy, brought about from experience in trenching coupled with frequent observations of over-engineered and underperforming products. SCAR’s four primary modes of operation are boulder clearance; pre-cut trenching; backfill; and what the company calls SUST (SCAR
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TRENCHING & CABLE LAY | 45
uninterrupted soils testing). In these different configurations the system provides a complete product protection solution from site investigation and route preparation through to trenching and backfill. As the company’s commercial director Keith McDermott noted in a recent presentation, using a single system for all the abovementioned operations has several advantages. Firstly, pre-cut trenching and effective route preparation reduce the risk of damage to the product. It also reduces the risk of not achieving specification in the given soils, and decouples trenching operations from the project schedule, enabling key elements to be removed from the project critical path. Another advantage is that technology can be deployed from smaller, less expensive and more readily available support vessels, significantly impacting installation costs. The SCAR was also designed to be robust enough for use in a wide range of soil types and can clear boulders quickly and easily. In 2017, the company used SCAR technology on several offshore wind projects. These included a seabed clearance and trenching scope on the Wikinger offshore windfarm in the Baltic Sea for the Prysmian Group, a campaign over 116 days that saw a SCAR system deal with an extremely varied seabed and shallow soil conditions. The route preparation phase on this project involved
SCAR can be used in four main modes operation, boulder clearance, pre-cut trenching, backfill and uninterrupted soils testing
thousands of boulders being cleared over a distance of 34 km covering 45 inter array routes, followed by pre-cut trenching over 83 km in single and multipass modes. Speaking about the acquisition of the company, Oceaneering’s president and chief executive Rod Larson said Ecosse provided Oceaneering with an opportunity to expand its service line, grow its market position in the offshore renewable energy market and provide customers with proven tools to optimise installation projects. “The addition of Ecosse reflects our commitment to expand into the renewable energy market to more comprehensively serve the offshore energy industry,” he said. For his part, Mr Wilson
described the acquisition as a “strategic opportunity” for its customers and employees. “Together we can establish a stronger platform to take on even larger and higher profile projects in the renewables and oil and gas industries,” he said. Ecosse Subsea, the parent company of subsea technology specialist, Ecosse Subsea Systems, more than doubled turnover to £27.7M in the last financial year, primarily because of increased adoption of SCAR technology for offshore renewables and interconnector projects, aligned to growth in oil and gas engineering projects. March 2018 saw the company’s new owner Oceaneering secure a threeyear frame agreement with Van Oord Offshore Wind, part
of the international dredging, marine and offshore contractor based in the Netherlands. The agreement relates to ROVs and trenching support services. As part of the agreement, Oceaneering has agreed to install a work-class ROV on Van Oord’s cable lay vessel Nexus for the full three-year term. Oceaneering has also agreed to provide six ROV systems – including three observationclass and three work-class units – for Van Oord-operated vessels on request during the first year of the contract term.The ROV systems are to support several offshore windfarm assets. Mr Larson said the award was the company’s largest in the offshore renewables services sector to date.
Curvetech thrusters to power French subsea trencher Engineers at Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) in the UK have completed the build and test of a range of hydraulic thrusters for French subsea cable installation engineering firm Louis Dreyfus TravOcean. SMD’s Curvetech THE-500BA and THE-430-63 thrusters are destined for use on a large trenching unit that was designed and built by the Marseille, France-based company. In a cost-conscious market, SMD said it has seen an increase in demand from self-builders and third-party OEMs to use Curvetech
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components in the design and build of subsea engineering vehicles and equipment. The northeast of England-based Curvetech product range includes subsea vehicle propulsion systems, subsea motors and hydraulic power units, hydraulic valve control, compensators, control systems and surface high-voltage power units, subsea sensors and electrical control cards, subsea tooling and work-class remotely operated vehicle skid units. OWJ
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
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Global Marine Group CONTRACTOR PROFILE | 47
EVOLVING CABLE GROUP USES ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO ADD VALUE AND REDUCE COSTS GLOBAL MARINE GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE IAN DOUGLAS IS BUILDING A COMPANY DRAWING ON DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN SUBMARINE CABLE THAT INCREASINGLY USES ENGINEERING CAPABILITY TO PROVIDE CLIENTS IN NEW MARKETS WITH A GROWING RANGE OF SERVICES
N
ot many companies can claim history that stretches back to 1850, but Global Marine Group can. It was then that a predecessor of the current group used a small paddlewheel-driven tug to lay a subsea cable between England and France. Doing so kick-started what became the submarine cable industry, in which Global Marine Group continues to play a leading role engineering, installing, maintaining and repairing underwater cables. The kinds of cables that the company installs and repairs have changed a great deal in the intervening period, from the early days of telegraph communication through coaxial telephone and then fibre optic, which is when subsea cable really came into its own. Global Marine Group is led by industry veteran Ian Douglas, who has a lengthy track record in the offshore industry, having joined Cable & Wireless after university. He also has extensive experience in the Asian market – after he left Cable & Wireless in 2002 he spent five years in China working for one of the company’s joint ventures, SBSS. In 2008 he was involved in founding another joint venture in the region,
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CWind, one of whose vessels is shown here, provides cable and asset management services topside and subsea
between what was then Global Marine Systems and Huawei Submarine Networks. He is one of only a handful of western businessmen to receive the Friendship Award, the highest honour awarded by the Chinese Government for contributions to China.
Global Marine Group’s history may be in cables for communications of one type or another but, as he explained, now it is recognised as much for its offshore engineering expertise – not least in the offshore wind industry – and as a player in multiple sectors, as it
is for telecoms cable expertise. “Nowadays we are organised into three business units,” Mr Douglas told OWJ. “CWind, which delivers power cable and asset management services topside and subsea to the offshore renewables and utilities market; Global
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
48 | CONTRACTOR PROFILE Global Marine Group
Marine, which provides fibre optic cable solutions to the telecommunications and offshore oil and gas market; and Global Offshore, which delivers trenching and cable lay services to the oil and gas industry.” The most recent addition to the group Mr Douglas leads is Fugro’s trenching and cable lay business (which now forms the basis of Global Offshore), which it acquired in October 2017, an acquisition he described as “another step in our strategic plan, adding extensive capabilities and further equipping us with proven assets.” CWind recently conducted several high-profile offshore power cable projects, including the rapid deployment of CS Sovereign to repair the power connection between the Isles of Scilly and the UK mainland after it had been broken by an anchor in March 2017, in addition to a cable installation project at the Rampion offshore windfarm. It also holds several operations and maintenance contracts, with the longest running until 2036 at the offshore and onshore substations at Westermost Rough offshore windfarm. Mr Douglas told OWJ that demand for the company’s services in the telecoms market remains robust, not least because of the high level of investment that companies such as Google, Facebook and Alibaba are making in new capacity. Subsea cables form the backbone of the internet by carrying more than 90% of the world’s data traffic. In Global Offshore and the assets, vessels and expertise acquired from Fugro last year, Mr Douglas said the group has created a business unit that can deliver trenching and power cable laying services for the oil and gas sector, for projects that include pipeline, cable and umbilical installation and trenching, platform-to-platform connectivity and complete platform to subsea installation
services. In addition, depending on the needs of specific projects, Global Offshore will have access to Global Marine Group’s full range of capabilities and diverse fleet, including four specialist cable installation and repair vessels, four maintenance vessels and 16 crew transport vessels. Mr Douglas believes that adding industry-leading trenching capabilities to the group’s offering will create significant opportunities for Global Offshore’s customers and for the entire group. He anticipates that CWind will continue to expand in the operations and maintenance segment of the fast-growing offshore wind industry, although it is active across the project lifecycle of an offshore windfarm, from pre-project planning, cable storage and trenching and pull-in to crew transfer vessel operations, provision of technicians and engineering support to inspection and maintenance
Ian Douglas: “our aim is to constantly improve the solutions we provide for our customers”
Offshore Wind Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018
and blade repair. “There are a number of trends in the offshore wind industry that CWind is responding to,” Mr Douglas said. “These include the fact that windfarms are being built farther from the shore, in deeper water, and turbines are increasing significantly in capacity and in size. This means that larger components need to be handled.” In this industry, as the number of windfarms grows and the number of turbines increases, so demand for O&M activity will also increase, said Mr Douglas, noting that as the sector evolves, so CWind has developed unique solutions to meet new requirements. “There is a growing need for a more customer-focused approach,” Mr Douglas said. “Our customers also want to reduce O&M costs and they want to reduce the cost of fuel used by crew transfer vessels. This is where we come in, with innovative engineering solutions and technology. “We are developing several concepts, including a power cable monitoring system, a hydrogen fuel system and new fenders and thrusters for our crew transfer vessels to improve operational performance. These solutions are designed specifically to operate with our existing fleet, as well as our customers’ vessels.” Like several offshore operators, CWind is investigating the use of hybrid energy storage systems with batteries to reduce its environmental footprint. Another development at CWind involves new types of crew transfer vessel, including enhanced units with small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) designs that will enhance operational efficiency, provide a more stable platform for windfarm technicians as they are being transported and reduce seasickness. Also under development at CWind are surface effect ships
(SESs) that CWind believes will be more stable in challenging conditions and be capable of transferring windfarm technicians at higher speeds than conventional craft. Another innovative concept is what CWind’s sales director Lee Child described as a nextgeneration mothership that would be permanently based in a windfarm with next-generation crew transfer vessels. In a presentation at Riviera Maritime Media’s Offshore Wind Journal conference in February, Mr Child said the concept could enhance operational performance, safety and accessibility, reduce delays for unscheduled maintenance, reduce journey time and provide more time on site while reducing the carbon footprint of offshore operations. “There are huge cost savings to be made in the offshore wind industry,” said Mr Douglas. “At the moment you have a very disaggregated supply chain supporting O&M, but companies such as ours can bring together services and provide savings up and down the value chain. “In the longer term we also see opportunities to make use of new technology such as drones and advanced underwater vehicles to collect data." "We are good at managing data and can help clients maintain infrastructure and undertake repairs when needed. We see potential applications for artificial intelligence too, helping customers make better decisions and predict maintenance requirements rather than just responding to them. “Our aim at Global Marine Group is to constantly improve the solutions we provide for our customers,” Mr Douglas concluded. “Our innovation team draws on expertise from all areas of our business to develop improvements in technology, assets and services that will deliver competitive advantage for our business and our customers.” OWJ
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