Wind Energy News

Poland is planning to assign new areas for offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea and is drafting additional measures to boost the security of its critical energy infrastructure, government officials said on Wednesday."Maritime offices will submit analyses any moment, which will give grounds to make a decision on designating new areas for offshore wind farms," Deputy Infrastructure Minister Arkadiusz Marchewka told an industry conference.Poland is boosting its offshore ambitions in the Baltic Sea…

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…

There’s plenty to go around for everyone, no matter it comes from.I will admit that attending the 2024 Workboat Show in the Big Easy just ten days after settling into the MarineNews Editor’s chair (for this, the second time around) had my full attention. The event typically evokes the specter of drinking from the proverbial fire hose in routine times, but attending and digesting all it has to offer, right out of the gate, makes the task just little bit edgier. Ultimately, last week’s trade show exuded terrific energy, from exhibitors to attendees alike.

Danish firm Cadeler has signed firm contracts, valued up to $415 million, for the transport and installation of turbines and foundations for East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm, being developed by ScottishPower Renewables, part of Iberdrola Group.The contracts, valued between $390 million and $415 million, are for the transportation and installation of 64 turbines, each rated at 15 MW, along with their foundations.The offshore works are set to commence in 2027 and will see the use of one of Cadeler’s newbuild A-class vessels…

A subsidiary of Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA (KCC) has finalized an agreement with Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. to incorporate its first-ever Wind Assisted Propulsion System (WAPS), featuring two bound4blue eSAIL suction sails, on the third CABU III newbuilding.Slated for delivery in Q3 2026, the newbuild will be among the first tanker/dry bulk ships to utilize bound4blue’s WAPS technology, and the two eSAIL units will be the tallest suction sails installed to date…

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.

With clean energy projects maturing in U.S. waters, the nation’s offshore wind industry is poised to grow substantially, requiring a robust industrial base. A feedering model using domestic tugs and barges to transport turbines to offshore wind sites, is positioned at the heart of this emerging growth.Currently, the entire global fleet of wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV)—except for Dominion Energy’s Charybdis currently under construction at the Seatrium AmFELS yard in Brownsville, Texas—is flagged, owned and operated outside of the U.S.

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…

Working in partnership with Strategic Marine, BMT has introduced its latest addition to the offshore wind industry - the StratCat35 Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV).The vessel, which made its debut at WindEnergy Hamburg, is designed to meet a wider range of operator requirements while placing sustainability at the forefront of the offshore wind sector.As part of Strategic Marine’s range of CTV vessels, the 35-meter long StratCat35 offers an expansive deck area, improving storage capacity…

A group of industry specialist companies has achieved a world first for the wind industry, with a major component exchange (MCE) being performed on an offshore floating wind turbine while it remained on site at the Scottish Kincardine offshore wind farm, located south east of Aberdeen.The new, more cost-effective, process was delivered through a collaboration of technologies and expertise from LiftOff, Vestas, Dragados, Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Limited (KOWL) and Cobra Wind…

The U.S. Interior Department on Monday announced an offshore wind energy lease sale on Oct. 29 for eight areas on the Outer Continental Shelf off Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.If fully developed, these areas have a potential capacity of about 13 gigawatts of clean offshore wind energy, which could power more than 4.5 million homes.Earlier this month, Interior 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 Department has held five offshore wind lease sales…

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…

TotalEnergies has launched a pilot project consisting of a floating wind turbine to supply renewable power to the Culzean offshore platform in the UK North Sea.Culzean is a high-pressure, high-temperature gas condensate field located in Block 22/25a in the East Central Graben area.The 3MW floating wind turbine will be located 2km west of the Culzean platform, 220km off the eastern coast of Scotland. This turbine, expected to be fully operational by end 2025, will supply around 20% of Culzean’s power requirement…

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.

On release of its interim financial report 2024 Cadeler reports that it has delivered results in line with expectations and achieved a record high order backlog.The world’s largest operator in offshore wind installation, operation, and maintenance services also states that in addition to progress on the integration of the Eneti business has achieving synergies above expectations.Cadeler has also added projects in Asia and the US – as well as Europe – to its order book.The renewed O-class cranes were delivered on time and on budget.

An incident at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind energy project this week that scattered shards of fiberglass across Massachusetts beaches was the latest in a series of failures involving wind turbines built by GE Vernova.At least one other GE Vernova offshore wind turbine came apart this year, at the massive Dogger Bank A project off the UK coast, and several onshore wind turbines in Germany and Sweden have also broken in recent years, according to a Reuters examination of recent…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District (SWG) on Monday awarded a $104 million contract to Galveston-based dredging contractor Callan Marine for the deepening of the Brazos Island Harbor (BIH) Ship Channel in South Texas.In partnership with the Port of Brownsville, USACE will deepen a 13-mile stretch of the ship channel by 10 feet, bringing the authorized depth to 52 feet. This phase of the project is referred to as BIH Segment B.Callan Marine will remove approximately 7 million cubic yards of material using a pipeline dredge…

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has signed a contract with Wind Energy Construction for the design and construction of a new energy construction vessel (ECV), securing also an option for one additional vessel.Wind Energy Construction is a Norwegian company partly owned by the founders and owners of Norwind Offshore. The most recent order marks the sixth vessel the owners of Norwind Offshore have contracted with Vard since October 2021. The five previous vessels were CSOVs.The parties…

JERA’s Parkwind has installed a vessels charging system, supplied by UK-based MJR Power & Automation, at its Noblewind offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea.The boat charging station system at sea has been designed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from maintenance vessels and promote sustainable operations.This system, operational for the first time at the Nobelwind wind farm, enables vessels to use green, locally generated energy directly by connecting to the charging cable while staying in place during charging…

Classification society ABS announced it has awarded approval in principle (AIP) to Houston-based CLS Wind for its innovative wind turbine assembly system.The patented elevator style assembly system promises easier, safer and faster wind turbine and nacelle installation and maintenance, without the use of large cranes and heavy-lift barges or vessels.ABS said it completed design reviews based on class and statutory requirements.“This is an exciting milestone for CLS Wind and domestic renewable energy production. ABS is committed to supporting the U.S.

Heavy lift and transport services firm Mammoet has entered into agreement to become the exclusive contractor for the provision of heavy lift and transport services at Steel River Quay, which lies at the heart of the Teesworks industrial zone in Teesside.Teesworks is a 2,600-acre site, located on the banks of the River Tees in the Northeast of England, and is central to the Teesside Freeport – the largest freeport in the UK.Steel River Quay will help to serve the UK’s fast-growing offshore wind energy market…

A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony was held to signal the start of construction at the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal in Massachusetts.The Crowley Wind Services-led project involves transforming a former oil- and coal-fired power plant into Massachusetts’ second wind port, to support the construction of offshore wind farms in New England and future floating turbines in the Gulf of Maine.Crowley also announced it has awarded Massachusetts-based joint venture DW White JF White to be the project’s general contractor.