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Onshore wind: Truss and Johnson join group of rebel Tories calling for ban to be lifted

Posted on November 29, 2022 by dishanth

An amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill was first tabled earlier this week by Simon Clarke, the Conservative MP for Middlesborough South and East Cleveland, in a bid to end the de facto ban on new onshore wind. It has gained the backing of more than 20 Conservative MPs, with Clarke confirming the support of Johnson and Truss earlier today (25 November).

Clarke’s amendment would oblige the UK Government to alter planning rules for onshore wind farms within six months of the bill passing into law. These changes would permit onshore wind in communities where there is a high level of support. It has been extremely challenging to develop new onshore wind farms in the UK since 2014, due to a tightening of planning restrictions under then-Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Government did add onshore wind back into the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction rounds’ eligibility criteria in 2020 under Johnson but planning restrictions were kept in place. Hence, it is very significant that Johnson is backing Clarke’s amendment.

Truss has repeatedly stated that she would support more onshore wind development despite her opposition to solar farms, particularly on agricultural land.

Clarke has stated that his amendment would result in a “pro-growth, pro-green policy at a time when we need both”. The UK Government is notably undertaking a review of its pathway to net-zero at present, in recognition of the fact that its current Net-Zero Strategy is unlawful and given Truss’s wish for a “pro-business, pro-growth, economically efficient” approach. Chris Skidmore MP is heading up this review.

Also of note is the fact that the UK published a new Energy Security Strategy this spring, headlined by a pledge for 95% of Britain’s electricity generation mix to be from low-carbon sources by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035. There was precious little support for onshore wind or solar, despite major capacity target increases for offshore wind, nuclear and hydrogen, plus a swathe of measures designed to boost North Sea oil and gas production.

Clarke has stated: “Whether or not to proceed with onshore wind [development] is a decision that should be made by local communities, rather than top-down from Westminster. It is the cheapest form of energy generation bar none. It will boost our energy security, help us on the path to net-zero and ease the cost-of-living squeeze just when we need it most.”

The Conservative Environment Network is supporting Clarke’s work here. Its Parliamentary Caucus now includes more than 100 Tory MPs.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill was introduced in May and is currently in the report stage and third reading stage. The next meeting on the Bill will take place on Monday (28 November).

Another amendment that has caused drama this month was brought forward by former Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers. She, and around 50 other Tory MPs, want the Bill to include measures that would scrap mandatory housebuilding targets for local authorities in favour of an advisory-only measure.

Source edie

Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm now fully operational, making it the world’s largest

Posted on September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 by dishanth

Construction began at the 165-turbine project, 89km off the coast of Yorkshire, in 2018. Ørsted announced on Wednesday (31 August) that it is now fully operational.

The Dutch business now has 13 fully operational offshore wind farms in the UK that it either fully or partly owned, with a combined capacity of 6.2GW. Its other British projects include Hornsea 1, Walney and the Walney Extension, and Burbo Bank and the Burbo Bank Extension.

“The UK is truly a world leader in offshore wind and the completion of Hornsea 2 is a tremendous milestone for the offshore wind industry, not just in the UK but globally,” said Ørsted,’s head of region for the UK Duncan Clark.

“Current global events highlight more than ever the importance of landmark renewable energy projects like Hornsea 2, helping the UK increase the security and resilience of its energy supply and drive down costs for consumers by reducing dependence on expensive fossil fuels.”

To Clark’s point on cost, the Government is currently consulting on what it describes as the broadest plans for electricity market reform in a generation. Among the measures proposed in the Review of Electricity Market Agreements (REMA) are interventions to de-couple global gas prices from electricity prices. Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke out in favour of change at last month’s G7 Summit in Germany.

In the UK, wholesale electricity prices are informed by gas prices, partly due to the historic and present extent of gas-fired generation in the energy mix. It has been pointed out that this is not fair on domestic and business customers who purchase 100% renewable energy. Under the latest CfD round, offshore wind operators will sell power for as little as £37.35 per MWh.

Offshore wind expansion

The UK is aiming to host 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 in contribution to its ambitions on net-zero emissions and energy security. This target was announced in April’s Energy Security Strategy, increasing the previous 40GW target set by Johnson through the Ten-Point Plan. The Strategy envisions 95% of the UK’s electricity mix being low-carbon by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035.

A further extension in the Hornsea zone is set to help deliver on the 50MW by 2030 goal. Last year, Ørsted received allocation through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction scheme for Hornsea 3, after the project received consent for development in December 2020. Up to 231 turbines will be installed for Hornsea 3 and Ørsted expects to commission the project in 2027. In total, the three Hornsea projects will have a combined capacity exceeding 5GW.

In the UK government’s latest CfD auction round in July, 11GW of renewable energy was commissioned in total. The lion’s share, as usual, went to offshore wind developers.

Source edie

An offshore wind farm with the ability to ‘power one million households’ is fully up and running

Posted on December 1, 2020 by dishanth

A major offshore wind farm in the Netherlands is now fully operational, with its owners, Danish energy firm Orsted, claiming it provides enough green electricity to power one million households.

Situated 23 kilometers (around 14.3 miles) off the coast of Zeeland, in the southwest of the Netherlands, the 752 megawatt (MW) Borssele 1 & 2 offshore wind farm spans an area of 112 square kilometers. It uses 94 wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa.

In an announcement Friday, Orsted described the facility as the second-largest operating offshore wind farm in the world. The largest, Hornsea One, has a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW) and was also developed by Orsted.

News of Borssele 1 & 2′s commissioning is the latest example of European countries embracing offshore wind and comes after the European Union said it wanted to increase its offshore wind capacity from 12 to 300 GW by 2050.

The “Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy” from the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, also aims for 40 GW of ocean energy such as tidal and wave power within the same time frame.

A number of major offshore wind projects located in European waters are now in the pipeline. These include the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in Britain, which left the EU in January 2020.

A 50:50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor, the Dogger Bank facility will have a total capacity of 3.6 GW once completed, making it the largest in the world.

At the end of last week, it was announced that a deal to fund the first two phases of the project had been completed. According to SSE, investment for Dogger Bank A and B will amount to approximately £6 billion (around $8 billion).

While Europe is now home to a mature offshore wind sector, the one in the U.S. is still relatively new.

The country’s first offshore wind farm – the 30 MW, five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm, which is also operated by Orsted – only started commercial operations at the end of 2016.

The next few years could see the sector develop, however, with companies starting to invest large amounts of money in schemes located off the East Coast.

Back in September, for instance, oil and gas giant BP took 50% stakes in Equinor’s Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects, which are located off the coasts of New York State and Massachusetts respectively.

By Anmar Frangoul

Source CNBC

What Will It Take to Make Offshore Wind Viable in the U.S.?

Posted on November 5, 2020 by dishanth

The benefits of offshore wind power have become indisputable. While it takes significant investment to bring these sources of power about, we can see that where offshore wind is being introduced, jobs are being created and clean, sustainable energy is being generated.

Despite these clear and appealing benefits, however, only a handful of countries have made significant progress toward embracing offshore wind in a meaningful manner. Of the countries leading in offshore wind power, just three—China, Germany, and the UK—account for more than 80% of worldwide installations. The UK leads (at 34%), and is expected to obtain one-third of all its energy from wind power by 2030 (with tens of thousands of new jobs created along the way).

So, what would it take for the U.S. to inch toward that group of leaders? With many Americans increasingly focused on clean power and broader sustainability efforts, it’s a fair question to ask. And there are a few developments and steps that would seem to make for the clearest path forward for offshore wind viability in the U.S.

The Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island began operating in 2016. It is still the only commercial offshore wind farm operating in the U.S. Courtesy: Deepwater Wind

Ongoing Struggles for Oil & Gas

There hasn’t been much good news in 2020, but some with interest in the clean energy movement have seen silver linings in the oil and gas industry’s struggles. As a result of decimated demand due to the coronavirus, this industry experienced a catastrophic crash in March and April. And while the movement in oil’s trading price since has shown some recovery, it’s been anything but complete. Oil is still trading much lower than it typically does, demand remains unreliable, and major producers have had to curb output to avoid further price crashes.

There are no guarantees about how all of this will play out, but some see it as the development that was needed for renewable energy to gain ground. An oil and gas industry that is even partially crippled will make way for alternative fuel and energy sources, including offshore wind power. And if the oil and gas struggles continue, we could even see meaningful shifts in energy investment.

Government Emphasis on Clean Energy

Without getting too far into politics, it’s important to note that government policy will play a role in any meaningful transition toward offshore wind power as well. Somewhat surprisingly, some analyses of clean energy and the 2020 election actually suggest that the industry is poised to progress regardless of outcomes. The suggestion is that there’s an inevitability to clean energy, and that in time, we’ll see more renewable options regardless of politics.

With that said, there’s no denying the fact that some in politics prioritize the transition to cleaner energy more than others. Should changes in the government this year result in more power for those who want to focus explicitly on environmental sustainability and energy-related job creation, the U.S. will have moved closer to the widespread viability of offshore wind power.

Demonstrated Effectiveness and Public Buy-In

We mentioned above that the UK is already seeing significant job creation and the availability of clean power as a result of its emphasis on offshore wind. But information from overseas isn’t necessarily likely to move the American public—at least not as much as the same information at home would be. However, there is some hope of a snowball effect once offshore wind power does begin to expand in the U.S.

That is to say, if Americans see for themselves that offshore wind is a developing industry—one providing new jobs and clean, affordable energy—public demand for a focus on clean power could intensify. It may be that in a few years’ time, it will be in the best interest of government officials and related companies alike to satisfy that demand.

Investment from Key Companies

Perhaps most important of all will be significant investment from key companies in the energy sector. This may come about as a result of greater government emphasis or a declining oil and gas industry, but it’s still the step that will truly bring about meaningful advancement in offshore wind power (and, possibly, that snowball effect).

Fortunately, it’s also something we may be witnessing the beginnings of. POWER covered changes being made by Duke Energy in the Carolinas, in pursuit of net-zero carbon goals by 2050. And among those changes are the transition away from coal and significant capital investment in renewable energy sources, including offshore wind. It’s only one example, but it’s a big one, and it’s the kind of story we’ll be seeing more of when the U.S. is ready to make more of a leap toward harnessing offshore wind.

—Alyssa Regina Rose is a writer with a passion for the environment. She believes that the world needs to switch to renewable energy now and hopes that her articles help people understand why.

Source: Power Mag

Siemens Gamesa bags contract to supply giant turbines to UK wind farm

Posted on June 24, 2020August 12, 2020 by dishanth

Sofia offshore wind farm off UK coast in North Sea is set to have 100 262-metre tall turbines after developer Innogy signed a deal with turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa.

A wind farm planned in UK waters in the central North Sea is set to be the first in Europe to boast a new generation of king-sized turbines produced by Siemens Gamesa.

Developer Innogy confirmed yesterday that it had signed a preferred supplier agreement with the turbine maker for 100 of its new 14MW offshore turbines, which are 262 metres tall, or just 47 metres shorter than The Shard.

The turbines are set to be installed at the developer’s planned 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind project, which is located just under 200 kilometres from the UK coast in the shallow Dogger Bank zone of the central North Sea.

Innogy expects to start onshore work for the project at its Teesside converter station site in early 2021 with offshore construction then starting in 2023. Once comissioned, it expects the farm to generate enough low-carbon electricity to supply roughly 1.2 million average UK homes with their annual electricity needs.

The order is conditional upon Innogy taking the final investment decision, which it expects to happen the first quarter of 2021.

Minister for Energy and Clean Growth Kwasi Kwarteng celebrated the milestone, noting that the UK’s fast-growing offshore wind sector was set to play a “vital role” in the UK’s transition to a net zero economy.

“The UK has invested more in offshore wind than any other country and is already home to the world’s largest offshore wind farms,” he said. “Now the UK will be the first European nation to boast this cutting-edge turbine technology at Sofia offshore wind farm. Offshore wind will play a vital role in a future net-zero UK economy, and already supplies 10 per cent of UK electricity demand – a figure we expect to double by the middle of the decade.”

Siemens Gamesa said that the SG 14-222 model, which is 25 per cent more powerful than the firm’s next-best model, will be market-ready by 2024. Each enormous turbine will have a 222-metre diametre rotor and sweep an area of 39,000 metres squared.

Advocates of large scale turbines argue that their increased capacity helps to reduce costs and environmental impacts from new offshore wind farms, making the technology even more competitive.

Sven Utermöhlen, Innogy’s senior vice president of renewables operations offshore, said that the Sofia wind farm’s remote location, at 195 kilometers from the coast, necessitated the advanced technology.

“Siemens Gamesa’s towering 14 MW machine is a perfect match for our flagship Sofia project, together cementing offshore wind‘s central role in the world’s clean energy future,” he said. “This turbine embodies the impressive technology we need to build our ground-breaking project that is further from shore and more technically challenging than any of its predecessors.”

His colleague Richard Sandford, director of offshore investment and asset management, said the deal would have positive implications for the broader UK economy.

“It is also to be noted that the company [Siemens Gamesa] is a staunch supporter of the UK’s offshore wind sector, having shown impressive commitment to the development of its own facilities and to the local supply chain,” Sandford said. “This is of utmost importance to us as we work to support the Sector Deal commitments, particularly in relation to UK content.”

Siemens Gamesa and Innogy said the deal would lead to “significant opportunities” across the supply chain in the UK, noting that Siemens Gamesa already had more than 2,000 UK employees.

Source www.businessgreen.com

By Cecilia Keating