2010-09-05T08:19:20+02:00 Offshore Wind Energy info@offshorewindenergy.nl urn:uuid:e0812696-2586-0411-5a0f-e589fe91c18f urn:uuid:bf14ff06-ed20-e315-31a6-2fddd1253e2a 2010-01-06T10:38:39+01:00

A discussion started on LinkedIn attracted my attention! Very interesting to discuss this on our site, so don't hesitate to give your opinion on the following. Thomas S. Wissmann: What are your views for 2010? Where is the industry heading? Will project finance be available? Answer Ian Zhang: The prime issue in this profession will be how to make offershore wind unit cost as cheap as or cheaper than the fossil fuel power's. For sustainable development and utilization of renewable energy, it is a key driver to reduce power generation unit cost to ba an acceptable level with new technology, say, high tempreture superconductor enables big offshore wind turbines to produce cheaper power than the one generated by fossil fuel. Therefore, the continuel government subsidy for unit cost can be transferred to the R&D of application of HTS wire to big offshore wind turbine power output improvement. Then we can achieve the pure commercialization of wind energy utilization. Welcome your discussion! Answer Geert Fijnaut: In North Western Europe (i.e. The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Scandinavia) the focus will be on offshore wind, not only in 2010 but also in the years after 2010. There are reasonable to good subsidy mechanisms in place and banks will be interested in solid offshore projects. The biggest problems for the industry will be shortages in the supply chain (specifically the availability of enough installation and O&M-vessels) and the cost/availability of good grid connections. Offshore maintenace is also an issue but this can be mitigated by acceptable supply- and O&M-contracts. My bank, ASN Bank in The Netherlands, will be open for project finance with respect to offshore windprojects. We participated in the Belwind deal (one of the biggest offshore deals in project finance in 2009) and are willing to look at other offshore projects, although they have to be in our core area which is North Western Europe. I hope this contribution helps.

urn:uuid:080bc67c-8c26-c706-93cb-c9bdd2d7495f 2010-01-06T10:38:39+01:00

Given the huge cost involved in new build of offshore vessels, earlier generation jack-up oil drilling rigs, no longer used for that purpose offer a comparatively economic avenue for the offshore wind industry. Available in various configurations, and built for operations in waters ranging from 80' to 800', there basic stable base and physics offers the industry a proven resource for stable and safe offshore operations, whether it be for heavy lift operations for installation ( crane systems fitted ), maintenance, service, supply or accomodations. Also, given the size and load capabilities of some of these rigs they could be converted as well into offshore gathering and distributing power stations and permanent offshore bases. Thanks, for more information. Colin, Colin Hardy, Houston, Texas, 281-954-8985 832-771-6825cell

urn:uuid:83cf7a2d-9bcc-7914-a769-40353ab746e2 2010-01-06T10:38:39+01:00

"Europe's interconnected grid needs to become smarter so it can handle surges in power caused mainly by the fluctuations associated with wind and solar energy," explains Dr. Michael Weinhold, Chief Technology Officer at the Siemens Energy Sector. The Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association (NOGEPA) suggest installing a gas production platform in the offshore wind farm. The gas production facility can compensate the variation in energy supply of the offshore wind turbines. This way the offshore areas surrounding the Netherlands is shared and the offshore wind industry can learn from many years of worldwide experience in the gas production industry. Do you think such cooperation can be established? Let us hear your opinion on the subject!

urn:uuid:8b0e876c-2d26-690a-53fb-9c4f96df8653 2010-01-06T10:38:39+01:00

To offset the huge cost of offshore oil platforms, several wells and entire oil fields are drilled from a single platform. In the offshore wind industry a platform has one wind turbine. This example makes it very clear that the offshore wind turbines really are land-based designs! The following site provides some very interesting ideas! http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2008/12/deepwater-offshore-wind-power-generation-using-oil-and-gas-platform-technology-54314 By utilising redundant offshore oil platforms the construction cost is removed. These big offshore platforms should be able to provide power in three ways instead of just harnessing electricity out of the wind. The wind platform alternative looks good. But it could also be used to harness power from the sea waves that surround the platform. They should include installing those huge red snakes that the British invented to generate power from the waves. With at least 20 big mechanical snakes attached to the platform, the electricity production of this station can be triple or quadruple. Also, since this platform is sitting on top of deep water, the geothermal differences in the water at various levels could be used to generate electricity. So there is a possibility of increasing the electricity output of one single platform by six or eight times than using wind alone. So one big investment and three ways to produce electricity. It will pay for itself sooner than just by depending on wind alone. Add solar energy to the equation and you'll have a renewable energy production facility!

urn:uuid:192ea37d-7536-c973-8933-7d456430d9ed 2010-01-06T10:38:39+01:00

Dutch industry and knowledge institutes are taking a leading position in offshore wind farm innovation by starting the "Far and Large Offshore Wind"-consortium, otherwise known as FLOW. A R&D program and a demonstration wind farm with 20 to 60 turbines 75 kilometer off the Dutch coast is being developed by the partners RWE, Eneco, TenneT, Ballast Nedam, Van Oord, IHC Merwede, 2-B Energy, XEMC Darwind, ECN and TU Delft. FLOW's R&D plan will develop technology and innovative concepts that will be used in the demonstration wind farm, considering Wind farm design, Support structures, Electrical systems & grid integration and Turbine development. The budget required for this plan is 1,2 billion Euros. The Dutch government announces a significant increase in the households' energy bill for 2012! Is this the price the Dutch citizens have to pay for taking the leading position? Tell me what you think! Why not issue government bonds or shares for investments in renewable energy. That way people who don't believe in offshore wind energy are not obliged to pay for a leading position and people who do believe might make money if it really is the future!