Energy Management News

Advanced boat-handling systems supplied by Vestdavit have been installed on the newbuild CSOV Olympic Notos delivered for Olympic by Norway’s Ulstein Verft, which is raising the bar in terms of sustainability and operational efficiency for such vessels employed in the offshore energy sector.The leading Norwegian supplier provided a total package of five davits for the vessel including two H-9001 davits - one dedicated lifeboat davit and the other a combination of MOB (man overboard) and lifeboat davit.

Vessel Performance Solutions, a subsidiary of Ascenz Marorka, GTT Group’s smart shipping arm, has announced that Harren Group, a family-run shipping conglomerate, has selected VESPER as its performance management platform for 30 vessels of their fleet.VESPER, Vessel Performance Solutions’ advanced performance management platform, enables comprehensive monitoring through data processing and automated reporting.Under the contract, the VESPER platform will be fully deployed across the designated vessels…

A Biden administration auction of offshore wind development rights in the Gulf of Maine drew $21.9 million in high bids for half of the eight areas offered, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said on Tuesday.Offshore wind developers Avangrid AGR.N and Invenergy each walked away with two leases following one round of bidding. They were among 14 companies that had been qualified to bid at the sale.Once developed, the lease areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes…

American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has released its latest report into the potential of advanced nuclear technology for maritime applications, concluding the technology installed on LNG carrier would enable faster transit speeds with zero-emission operations.ABS conducted a study of a small modular reactor on a standard liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.The transformational impact of a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) on the design, operation and emissions of a 145…

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized an extensive environmental review concerning wind development activities across six lease areas in the New York Bight, covering more than 488,000 acres off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. This initiative is projected to yield up to 7 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy—enough to supply power to approximately two million households.BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement, stating, "We have gathered input from Tribes, government agencies, local communities, and ocean users.

Hurtigruten released updated plans for its Sea Zero project, a zero-emission ship scheduled to debut in 2030 which is now in its R&D phase. The ship, as designed today, will lean on large batteries, sails, and other solutions to sail emission-free during normal operation, while energy consumption could be reduced by 40-50%.Hurtigruten announced its Sea Zero project in October 2022, and unveiled its first set of renderings in summer 2023. A second version of renderings are now released…

Hurtigruten has released updated plans for its Sea Zero project, the zero-emission ship scheduled to debut in 2030.With the help of large batteries and sails, the ship will be able to sail entirely emission-free during normal operation, with energy consumption reduced by 40-50%.Hurtigruten initially announced its Sea Zero project in October 2022, and then unveiled its first set of renderings in summer 2023. This latest advancement was developed in the Norwegian city of Ålesund by Vard…

Korean maritime service company MARCON has secured an approval in principle (AiP) from Korean Register (KR) for its crew transfer vessel (CTV), a passenger and cargo transport vessel dedicated to offshore wind farms.The CTV that received the AiP adopts an eco-friendly hybrid electric propulsion system using batteries.This addresses environmental regulatory issues while also offering fuel cost savings and supporting safer offshore wind farm operations.The key components of the CTV include a hybrid system and energy storage system (ESS) provided by Hanwha Aerospace…

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has approved the Atlantic Shores South project plan to construct and operate two wind energy facilities.The Atlantic Shores South Offshore Wind Projects 1 and 2 have the potential to generate up to 2,800MW of renewable energy—enough to power nearly one million homes.“Securing these critical approvals enables New Jersey’s first offshore wind project to start construction next year and represents meaningful progress in New Jersey achieving 100% clean energy by 2035…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has decided to delay the offshore wind energy auction planned for potential lease areas offshore Oregon due to insufficient bidder interest at this time.On August 29, 2024, the Department of the Interior announced the Final Sale Notice (FSN) for offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Oregon following engagement through the Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force.The FSN set an auction date for October 15…

Norwegian shipowner Rem Offshore has hired Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) to deliver a deck-based battery energy storage system to its Rem Inspector construction support vessel (CSV). NES, specializing in sustainable energy design and smart control systems for vessels, will deliver a containerized energy storage system that includes a Quest battery charger, a 1 MW battery package, and a control system.The system is capable of operating in peak shaving, spinning reserve and harbor…

Van Oord’s new cable laying vessel (CLV) Calypso is gearing up for its debut at RWE’s 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm in the UK.The inter-array cables have been loaded onto Calypso CLV at the Port of Blyth in the UK, ahead of its first job at RWE’s biggest offshore wind, according to Van Oord, which secured the contract for the installation of monopile foundations and cables back in 2021.Built by Vard, the vessel is 130 meters long and has a beam of 28 meters.The DP2 Calypso is equipped with a below-deck cable carousel and a second carousel on deck…

President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday announced final approval of a wind project off the coast of Maryland, bringing the U.S. halfway to its goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of the clean energy technology by 2030.The project is the 10th approved by Biden's Interior Department. He has made offshore wind a cornerstone of his climate change agenda.The Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which is being developed by US Wind, could one day generate enough electricity to power 718,000 homes, Interior said in a statement.

Marine electric propulsion systems and services company ePropulsion announced it has established a new commercial marine business unit.Established in 2012 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, ePropulsion has gone on to expand into the commercial marine sector, offering both electric and hybrid system integration solutions for applications ranging from 50 kW to 1000 kW.The company's new ePropulsion Commercial unit has its own project management and delivery team and is able to provide system integration solutions that combine different components for a unified…

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has secured a contract to provide design and equipment to Cochin Shipyard in India for two Service Operation Vessels (SOVs), one of VARD 4 07 and one of VARD 4 19 design, being built for North Star.Vard has previously delivered 12 designs to the Cochin Shipyard. The first hybrid electric SOV to be delivered by Cochin Shipyard is of VARD 4 07 design and is tailored to meet North Star’s specific requirements.The focus has been to develop a competitive…

The US Department of the Interior will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale off southern Oregon on October 15, 2024.The auction will be conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and could generate more than 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy if fully developed, enough to power approximately one million homes.Lease Area P-OCS 0566 (Coos Bay) consists of 61,203 acres and is approximately 32 miles from shore. Lease Area P-OCS 0567 (Brookings) consists of 133,792 acres…

The United States is advancing plans for a second regional offshore wind energy auction in the Central Atlantic.On Wednesday, the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it will issue a Call for Information and Nominations for the Central Atlantic 2 sale. This call invites public input on potential commercial wind energy development in an area spanning 13,476,805 acres off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.This second Central Atlantic Call is an early step in the leasing process.

Norway's Equinor and U.S. power company Dominion were the winning bidders in a U.S. government offshore wind auction of two areas off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, the U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday.The offshore wind lease sale generated less than $93 million in winning bids, making it among the least lucrative of those held by the Biden administration.U.S. President Joe Biden has put the development of offshore wind at the forefront of his climate change agenda…

Early 2024 saw a group of financial deals that have implications, in a broad sense, for how offshore wind projects may be financed. While offshore wind projects might be thought of as being in the ‘utility finance’ basket, they are ultimately high-risk deals that might better suit the portfolios of ‘infrastructure investment’ which, in recent years, has taken a shift towards tolerating more uncertainty when it comes to cash flows.A 2022 article from consultants McKinsey, titled “Infrastructure investing will never be the same”…

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Monday announced the availability of its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed wind project offshore Maryland.US Wind is seeking approval for its proposed Maryland offshore wind project, which includes three planned phases. Two of those phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have received offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland. If approved, this project could generate between 1,100 and 2,200 megawatts of energy for the Delmarva Peninsula, and power up to 770,000 homes.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said on Friday it is seeking competitive bids for offshore wind leases off the coast of Texas after renewable energy developer Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC made an unsolicited bid.The administration of President Joe Biden sees offshore wind power as a vital part of a broader strategy to decarbonize the U.S. power sector to fight climate change, but the nascent industry faces strong local opposition in some areas over concerns about ocean…

Dutch company Huisman has booked an order for the delivery of a Knuckle Boom Crane for a client in the offshore energy market.The 550mt Knuckle Boom Crane will be equipped with Huisman’s proprietary secondary-controlled Active Heave Compensation System, which features the latest technology in load control for various offshore environments and energy management.The crane’s boom is optimized for versatile operations on a pipelay vessel, offering an extended reach for lifting objects onto the pipelay tower.Huisman’s scope of work includes the complete range of engineering…

Washington State Ferries (WSF) has tapped ABB to design and supply the propulsion systems for its new series of five hybrid electric ferries. ABB was previously selected for the project in 2020 after the original build contract was awarded to Vigor, but the competitive bid process was relaunched following disagreements between WSF and the shipyard over price and other contract terms.In May of this year, WSF invited shipyards across the country to bid on construction for the five new ferries.