State of the industry

The offshore wind industry has exploded within the last ten years. Already well-established in Northern Europe, it is developing quickly regions such as Asia and the US. More governments, utilities and investors are seeing the benefits of this renewable energy form. But there are barriers undermining offshore wind’s ability to produce energy at a competitive price level. The industry needs to continuously work on developing robust solutions for cheaper energy to consumers. Some of the major issues include efficient completion of offshore wind turbine installation and operations & maintenance, jack-up vessel utilisation, risk assessment and mitigation, less weather dependence, and lowering the levelised cost of energy (LCoE).

The articles below contain opinions, recommendations, learnings and experiences from professionals throughout the offshore wind industry. They explore issues related to the current state of the industry and how developments are contributing to its sustainable future.

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Intelligent guidance for offshore lifting: The next DP2?

A number of years ago, it was normal practice for offshore contractors to win major offshore wind turbine installation projects using non-propelled jack-up barges supported by tugboats and anchors for positioning. This was the established way – it was safe, reliable and efficient.

Then, in around 2011, the introduction of second-generation jack-up vessels brought Dynamic Positioning Systems (DP systems) into play. This became the new ‘state of the art’. In the typical progression of ‘order winners’ becoming ‘qualifiers’, today, vessel owners are not even invited to tender if their installation vessels are not DP2-capable.

If you consider offshore lifting operations of large components such as turbine blades, there is a strong parallel to that of vessel positioning before DP2 became the industry standard. During the lift, manual winches, people with ropes and, in some cases, simple constant-tension systems try to keep the blade under control during the lift. You could compare it to the tugboat-and-anchor method of positioning your jack-up barge. Continue reading →

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Business case: Increasing maximum wind speeds for offshore wind installation

Maximum wind speeds have a significant influence on costs and time required for offshore wind turbine installation projects. The maximum wind speed is the speed at which it is no longer possible to lift major turbine components (nacelle, tower and blades) by a jack-up vessel. The restricting factors are crew safety and equipment damage due to instability of the load during the hoist.

Kate Freeman and I recently performed an analysis of the main factors contributing to project delays and cost increases. Importantly, we have also analysed the impact of increasing the maximum wind speed – such that lifts can be performed at higher wind speeds. We looked at the potential savings by being able to complete offshore wind turbine installation projects in higher wind speeds. Continue reading →

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DEME CEO: Driving down offshore wind costs

In this second of two exclusive interviews with High Wind Challenge, DEME Group CEO Alain Bernard explains why the company invests in innovation and how it contributes to reducing offshore wind costs.

Can you explain the DEME Group’s basis for diversification, particularly into offshore renewables?

The essence is our speciality within certain niches and that we aim to be the best in those niches. Our dredging background has given us knowhow within different areas, such as the seabed, sea conditions and other marine environment factors as well as the associated technologies. We have specialised further in related niches, and without losing the focus of our core knowhow, we have expanded our activities. Continue reading →

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Alain Bernard: Why offshore wind needs innovation

In an exclusive interview with High Wind Challenge, DEME Group CEO Alain Bernard, explains why innovation is needed for the offshore wind industry to advance and that true innovation will only happen with greater collaboration across the industry.

Belgian DEME Group is one of Europe’s largest marine engineering conglomerates. CEO Alain Bernard has seen it grow from a specialist dredging company into a highly diverse maritime business covering hydraulic projects, services to oil and gas companies, installation of offshore wind farms, environmental activities and more.

High Wind Challenge spoke to Alain Bernard about the main challenges and opportunities facing renewable energy. Continue reading →

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Risk mitigation through robust offshore wind solutions

As the offshore wind industry continues gaining in maturity, with more investment commitments across Europe, risk mitigation is becoming an increasingly important area for developers and investors.

Insurance providers have an important role to play, providing not only financial solutions for risk mitigation, but also helping wind turbine installation projects to get on track again in the event of a major incident.

But avoiding such incidents is in the interests of all. Indeed, the offshore wind industry needs to work towards more robust solutions that guarantee completion of offshore wind turbine assembly and repair.

If a claim is made, however, and the insurance provider steps in to complete the installation, it is vital the installation is completed quickly. Continue reading →

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What’s next in offshore wind installation technology?

As offshore wind turbine sizes grow rapidly, the technology needed to install and commission turbines is not following suit. This is a significant barrier to progress in the offshore wind industry and is continuing to make it difficult to reduce the levelised cost of energy.

Today’s wind turbines and the associated installation technology, such as taglines, have been created from the same baseline. But it is all essential just an incremental evolution of technologies that have been moved from onshore to offshore. There have been no significant design revolutions.

At the same time, we are using the same technology developed for smaller turbines and assuming it will deal with 8MW turbines – and bigger. We are increasingly demanding more from the equipment, but in reality the technology has its limits. Continue reading →