It looks brilliantly simple. Why are onshore wind turbines smaller than offshore ones? Because you have to move them to their location by road, over bridges, through tunnels and around curves. That limits their size. As Michael Purton, writing for WEF, explains itâs why the company Radia is building the worldâs biggest aeroplane called WindRunner (12 times the volume of a Boeing 747), big enough to carry turbine blades over 100m long. And the … [Read more...]
Chinaâs plans for large-scale Offshore Solar
If offshore wind, why not offshore solar? Itâs been talked about for a while and implemented on a small scale in places like Norway. You Xiaoying, writing for Dialogue Earth (formerly China Dialogue), looks at Chinaâs efforts to establish it as a new and â once scaled up - major contributor to the energy transition. The main advantages over land-based solar are clear: large spaces of land must be found, theyâre not usually near population or … [Read more...]
The benefits of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: omnidirectional, close-packed, easier to maintain + more
Most wind turbines are âhorizontal axis,â pointing into the direction of the wind. âVertical axisâ turbines can capture wind energy from any direction, but current designs are less efficient and so get little attention and investment. Andrea Montanari at ECECP looks at innovative companies around the world that are trying to leverage the other advantages they have over the dominant horizontal versions. They are more stable (lower centre of … [Read more...]
New Offshore Wind projects: is permitting being slowed by evidence from âgrey literatureâ?
Offshore wind is the new frontier of clean energy generation. The permitting process depends on policymakersâ evaluation of the impact assessment evidence. As Claire Szostek at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory explains, that evidence has two sources: primary and âgreyâ literature. âPrimary literatureâ comes from structured peer-reviewed scientific journals. âGrey literatureâ includes all other types of reports and evidence published freely. The … [Read more...]
Tomorrowâs deep water Floating Wind Turbines: the six main design categories explained
The new frontier of offshore wind power is floating wind turbines. Thatâs because they can be installed in deep water where wind speeds are consistently higher. The new designs have the floating turbines, that bob and sway with the waves and wind, stabilised with ballast or anchored with chains to the seafloor. Emma Edwards at Oxford University looks at the six major categories of design: Spar, Barge, Tension-leg platform, Semi-submersible, … [Read more...]
Study: Marine Carbon Removal, and the Offshore Wind and Wave Energy to power it
Ocean-based carbon dioxide removal makes a lot of sense. The oceans are already carbon sinks that absorb about 30% of global carbon emissions. And the concentration of CO2 is higher in water than in air. Caitlin McDermott-Murphy at NREL looks at a new study of the technologies under development, and the opportunities for offshore wind and wave energy to power it. There are nature-based solutions like vast seaweed or algae farms. There are also … [Read more...]
Another chapter in Offshore Windâs stop-go story: New York
New York State should be leading the offshore wind ambitions of the U.S. The region enjoys high capacity factors for offshore wind, especially during the peak winter heating season. And New York is used to being a leader in so many things. Thatâs why it put its climate reputation at risk in October when the state government announced it would not renegotiate contracts with offshore wind providers Ărsted, Equinor and BP, explains Joseph Webster at … [Read more...]
The world needs 200,000 Offshore Wind turbines by 2050: mapping the locations, constraints
Hugo Putuhena, Fraser Sturt and Susan Gourvenec at the University of Southampton summarise the results of their methodology that determines where to locate the hundreds of thousands more offshore wind turbines the world needs to meet net-zero targets. The world may need as many as 200,000 offshore turbines by 2050, generating 2,000GW. At the end of 2022, 63GW had been installed worldwide, so that means 32 times current capacity. If the âpower … [Read more...]
Norwayâs Sleipner and Snøhvit CCS: problems expose limitations of the science, regulations and multi-decade commitment
The offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects of Norwayâs Sleipner and Snøhvit are often cited as good case studies for the viability of the technology. Other CCS hubs are being proposed from Malaysia to the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, larger by factors of 10 or more. But how viable are they? Grant Hauber at IEEFA summarises his in-depth report on the risks. Both Sleipner and Snøhvit, operating since 1996 and 2008 respectively, have … [Read more...]
EUâs 40% domestic Cleantech ambition: same target for Wind (easy) and Solar (hard) doesnât make sense
The proposed Net Zero Industry Act includes a target for the EU to manufacture domestically at least 40% of its cleantech deployment needs by 2030. That includes the key technologies of solar PV panels, wind turbines (onshore and offshore), EV batteries, heat pumps and hydrogen electrolysers. But it doesnât make sense to have the same 40% target for all, explain Giovanni Sgaravatti, Simone Tagliapietra and Cecilia Trasi at Bruegel. The main … [Read more...]
How to protect marine mammals from the coming roll-out of Offshore Wind
The EUâs target for offshore wind is an installed capacity of at least 60 GW by 2030, and 300 GW by 2050. It will use the vast potential of the five EU sea basins, in particular the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. But growing awareness and concern over their impact on the marine ecosystem will require new methods of protecting sea life from the consequences. Isla Graham at the University of Aberdeen describes the work of her team on measuring … [Read more...]
What is the potential for offshore wind in the Baltic Sea?
What is the potential for offshore wind in the Baltic Sea? Simon GĂśss summarises the panel discussion that brought together Marcin Nowacki (President of the European Enterprise Alliance), Dariusz LociĹski (President of the Management Board, PGE Baltica), Pierre Tardieu (Chief Policy Officer at Wind Europe), Ricardo Williams (Policy Officer for Infrastructure and Regional Cooperation at DG ENER, EC) and Pernille Weiss (MEP and ITRE committee … [Read more...]
Event Summary: Building GW-scale Offshore Wind in the Baltic Sea
Here we provide a written summary of the panel discussion âWind of Change or Change of Wind? The future of Baltic Sea offshore investmentsâ held on 12th September 2022 in Brussels. Itâs a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights. The Baltic Sea has the potential to develop over 90 GW of offshore wind capacity. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has delivered … [Read more...]
Poland can become a major player in Offshore Wind, says PGE
PGE Polska Grupa Energetycznaâs goal is to have at least 6.5 GW of offshore wind capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2040. The first projects will come online within the next few years. The offshore projects are one of PGEâs key steps towards climate neutrality, and PGE hopes to become a leader in offshore wind in Poland. Here, Wojciech DÄ browski, PGEâs President of the Management Board, answers questions to explain their strategy, and how it fits into … [Read more...]
China should comfortably meet its 2030 Renewables target. But its emissions?
The long Covid lockdown seems to have had little effect on Chinaâs electricity generation growth. In 2021, total generation increased by about 750 TWh (thatâs around 1.3 times Germany's absolute total). Solar PV capacity grew by 53 GW last year (equal to the total installed solar capacity in Germany). Half of all offshore wind turbines installed worldwide in 2021 were off the coast of China: the strong additions were accelerated by the January … [Read more...]
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