Renewable Energy News

The Australian Government has declared a new offshore wind zone in Bass Strait, north of Tasmania.Tasmania has some of the best wind resources in the world. Bass Strait has been named as one of the top options for offshore wind energy generation in the country by the Australian Energy Market Operator.The new zone could support up to 20GW of renewable energy – more than half of the current electricity demand across southeast Australia. One rotation of a single offshore wind turbine…

Anemoi Marine Technologies has today announced that Clare Urmston has been appointed as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).After holding a number of executive and non-executive positions within the manufacturing, healthcare and fast-moving consumer goods sectors, Clare Urmston joined Anemoi in March 2020 as its Chief Financial Officer and, in May 2024, became Chief Operating Officer as part of the company’s growth into Asia.She replaces Kim Diederichsen who is stepping…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today that it is issuing a Determination of Competitive Interest in two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico. The determination comes after an unsolicited request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC expressing interest in acquiring a commercial wind energy lease for WEA options C and D. On July 29, 2024, BOEM published a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register seeking feedback on Hecate’s unsolicited lease request. Invenergy GOM Offshore Wind LLC expressed interest in WEA options C and D.

Iberdrola has received a production license from the Portuguese Directorate-General for Energy and Geology of Portugal (DGEG), taking another step towards the construction of the largest wind farm in Portugal.Located in the districts of Vila Real and Braga, in northern Portugal, with a total investment of around €350 million, this project reinforces Iberdrola's commitment to environmental goals, being the first to combine wind and hydro energy. This implies sharing of the connection point and the evacuation line of electricity produced…

This week at MarineLink…An Australian Prime Minister once famously (infamously) said: “Life wasn’t meant to be easy.”He could have been talking about the maze of IMO and EU regulations relating to new fuels, especially the concept of well-to-wake emissions.It’s not enough to have a clean-burning engine or even an onboard carbon capture system. Well-to-take emissions, upstream and out of the control of ship operators, will have to be factored in.This week, MarineLink reported that a CMA-CGM vessel bunkered bio-LNG in Rotterdam…

ABL Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Brazil-based naval architecture and engineering consultancy Proper Marine, increasing its expertise in floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) sector.Proper Marine will be merged with ABL’s design and engineering arm Longitude.The company will expand ABL’s design and engineering capabilities with a team of over 90 professionals and a track-record of more than 1,600 projects.The acquisition will strengthen ABL Group’s offering in both Brazil and the wider Americas within vessel design and conversion…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced its approval of the Construction and Operations Plan for the Maryland Offshore Wind project.This is the final approval needed for the project from BOEM following the Department of the Interior’s September 2024 Record of Decision. This significant milestone advances the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.“I am pleased to announce BOEM’s approval of our nation’s tenth commercial-scale offshore wind energy project.

The Rotterdam-Singapore Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) partners have conducted a successful pilot for the bunkering of mass-balanced liquefied bio-methane (LBM) at the Port of Rotterdam.A total of 100 tonnes of mass-balanced LBM was supplied by Shell to CMA CGM’s LNG-powered containership CMA CGM Tivoli.The LBM was produced from waste-based feedstock. Shell issued a Proof of Sustainability certificate for the LBM fuel, verifying its compliance with European Union regulations.

In its sustainability report, Scandlines committed to ferry operations with zero direct emissions by 2040.In support of this, the ferry company has signed an MoU with Caterpillar Motoren to explore the possibilities of converting the current MaK diesel of the Rostock-Gedser hybrid ferries to run on e-methanol. The use of e-methanol produced from renewable energy sources can reduce CO2 emissions by 95% under ideal circumstances.Scandlines already combines three technologies on the Rostock-Gedser route: traditional diesel operation, battery operation and wind power.

This week at MarineLink…A group of people met at the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the end of October to brainstorm a possible new economy for Alaska and a clean energy source for the world: geologic hydrogen.It’s not that new a concept. Villagers in Bourakébougou, Mali, found a source of geologic hydrogen while unplugging an old water well in 2011. Subsequent scientific research confirmed an extensive hydrogen field in the strata below, and it is now used to generate electricity for the village.Other natural hydrogen deposits have been found in Canada…

Finnish green tech company Langh Tech has expanded its portfolio of exhaust gas treatment solutions for ships with an onboard carbon capture (OCC) system.A unique feature of the system is the possibility to sell and utilize the sodium carbonate which results at the end of the chemical process.A pilot test of the system on a vessel of sister company Langh Ship demonstrated capture rates of over 80% from the exhaust gas flow coming into the system. Overall CO2 emissions can be reduced by 20-30%…

Singapore-based shipbuilder Strategic Marine has signed a contract with South Korea’s Yeosu Ocean for the construction of a StratCat 27 crew transfer vessel (CTV) for the country’s growing offshore wind market.Designed by Strategic Marine’s partner BMT, the CTV is capable of incorporating multiple propulsion and engine options, coupled with a larger asymmetric superstructure ensuring ample interior space for a large range of operational requirements.The hybrid-ready designed vessel will be tailored for Korean water conditions…

Fleet performance solutions provider Oceanly warns that the green fuels push may lead to increased global emissions.The challenge with scaling green fuels is the high demand for renewable electricity, with current estimates suggesting that the shipping industry would need a substantial share of the world’s renewable electricity production, which is a target that seems unattainable in the short to medium term.Lerche-Tornoe, General Manager at Oceanly said: “While alternative fuels are part of the future, current infrastructure and energy availability isn’t enough to support a full transition.

CSL OWL Subsea Rock Installation, a newly formed partnership between the CSL Group and Offshore Wind Logistics (OWL), has ordered two newbuild subsea rock installation vessels tailored for the offshore wind sector.Each vessel will have a cargo capacity of 17,500 metric tonnes and will be equipped with dynamic positioning (DP2).They will be able to operate on marine gas oil (MGO) and/or methanol, providing a pathway to zero emission operations.Purpose-built for optimal flexibility…

MSE International has won funding from TRIG 2024 to lead a new project, PRIMET; Port Recharging Infrastructure for Maritime Energy Transition.The project will accelerate the roll-out of port and harbor infrastructure needed to support the rapid expansion in vessel recharging and shore-powering facilities which are essential to realize the government’s Clean Maritime Plan. PRIMET will develop outline solutions for supplying energy to shore power/recharging facilities in three ports/harbors using in-port flow batteries to reduce the peak grid load and optimize utilization of in-port renewable energy, thereby strengthening the case for investment.

Australia will partner with India to boost investment in renewable energy, including solar manufacturing, battery and mineral processing, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a meeting with his Indian counterpart on the G20 sidelines.Australia and India will also look to enhance defense and maritime security cooperation, Albanese said in a meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.The two countries, along with the United States and Japan, are members of the Quad, which has sought to balance China's rising military and economic clout in the Indo Pacific r

Soaring costs, project delays and limited investment put targets out of reachAfter a year of canceled projects, broken turbines, and abandoned lease sales, the global offshore wind industry no longer has much chance to hit the lofty targets set by governments in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere ... with the exception of China.Reuters spoke to 12 offshore wind companies, industry researchers, trade associations, and government officials in six countries to come up with a global picture of the state of the industry and its outlook…

Eco Wave Power has received the final Nationwide Permit (NWP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its wave energy project at AltaSea’s premises at the Port of Los Angeles.The milestone marks a significant step forward in the development of Eco Wave Power’s pioneering wave energy project, which is set to become the first onshore wave energy installation in the United States.The permit, authorizes Eco Wave Power to install eight wave energy floaters on the piles of an existing concrete wharf structure.The system will also include an energy conversion unit…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for the joint development of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) system for green ammonia. The FPSO process has been widely used in the oil and gas industries, but its application for ammonia is relatively new. The unit will use renewable energy to provide power for electrolysis of seawater to produce green hydrogen, which will be combined with nitrogen and synthesized to produce green ammonia…

The French government has selected winning proposals for a hydrogen import terminal, a renewable fuels facility and a lithium production factory to be built at the state-run port of Le Havre as part of an effort to attract industrial investment, the finance ministry said on Thursday.The land around the port was labelled a turnkey investment site under the 30 billion euro "France 2030" plan, allowing Haropa Port — the public entity that manages the ports of Rouen, Le Havre and Paris — to launch a tender for green projects.The three winners will benefit from accelerated approval procedures…

Seaway7, part of the Subsea7 Group, has secured a ‘substantial’ contract from ScottishPower Renewables for the transport and installation of the inter-array cables of the East Anglia TWO offshore wind project.Seaway7’s scope of work for East Anglia TWO includes the engineering, supply and installation of the 64 inter-array cables.Execution of the scope will be led from Seaway7’s Aberdeen office in the UK, with offshore activities scheduled to commence in 2027.Although the exact value of the contract has not been specified…

The designated European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, will play a pivotal role in securing supply chains and decarbonising the shipping sector, and the World Shipping Council (WSC) welcomes the opportunity to continue its dialogue with the EU Commission.The WSC says Commissioner-designate Tzitzikostas’ list of priorities should include protecting maritime supply chains against illegal trafficking and geopolitical dangers, integrating renewable energy into the transportation system…

Driven by a “massive step change in offshore wind turbine technology” premised on growth of the per unit size and output, Menck – an Acteon brand – last month unveiled what it touts as a “game-changing” MHU 6000W Wind Hammer, the largest hammer in its repertoire and a continuing a legacy of innovation since 1868 from this north Germany industrial company.We recently visited with Fabian Hippe, Marine Foundations Sales Director, Acteon, for a discussion on the new pile driving unit and the markets it will serve.