Offshore wind roundup: Vessel newbuilds, floating wind challenges and more
In this news compilation, Offshore highlights the latest contracts and work orders, vessel newbuilds and project updates in the offshore wind sector.
North Sea wind tender attracts zero bids
The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) issued results Feb. 28 of its market dialogue on a 3-GW offshore wind tender in the North Sea, which attracted no bids.
Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities commissioned the dialogue to determine the reasons for the lack of interest. The DEA held meetings with 17 active proposers and subcontractors, also receiving written input from various companies.
Unanimously, they cited a combination of sharply rising costs and the prospect of lower earnings opportunities in the Danish electricity sector. In addition, market uncertainties could lead to increased risk premiums and required returns.
The DEA will incorporate the findings into its preparations for launching new tenders for 2-3 GW of offshore wind.
Consent applications submitted for Cenos floating wind project
Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn submitted a consent application Feb. 26 for their proposed Cenos floating offshore wind farm to regulator Marine Directorate - Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT) in Scotland.
Cenos, with a nominal capacity of up to 1,350 MW, would supply power to offshore oil and gas platforms in the UK central North Sea and the UK grid, from its location 190 km east of Peterhead.
The project comprises up to 95 floating turbines, each up to 320 m tall.
The consent applications cover offshore elements of the project proposals to construct and operate the wind farm, along with associated offshore transmission facilities.
Partners aim to address floating wind challenges
Eight consortia have put together Industry Delivery Plans (IDPs) explaining how key challenges of floating offshore wind (FLOW) in the Celtic Sea offshore western Britain could be addressed, according to a March 3 Celtic Sea Power (CSP) announcement.
These IDPs demonstrate credible ambition to lead delivery of anchors and mooring, operations and maintenance, and logistical services from within the Celtic Sea region.
All were commissioned by CSP, with the support of Cornwall Council in southwest England. The plans are said to have advanced private sector-led investment cases ahead of upcoming FLOW leasing rounds.
The program brought together more than 30 UK companies and helped foster links between ports, yards, infrastructure owners and local stakeholders.
On Feb. 4, CSP announced it secured funding from The Crown Estate’s £50 million (US$63.5 million) Supply Chain Accelerator. The investment aims to accelerate and de-risk development of a new Offshore Coordination Centre in a project led by CSP in partnership with Treveth.
First steel cut for new SOV
North Star and partner Cochin Shipyard cut first steel on EnBW’s new hybrid-electric service operations vessel (SOV) Feb. 25. It is on schedule to begin a 10-year minimum charter to service the He Dreiht wind farm offshore Germany from the end of 2026.
The planning, engineering design and construction work are being carried out at Cochin Shipyard in India.
The newbuild will provide accommodation in field for up to 34 wind technicians as they maintain the development’s 64 wind turbines, located about 90 km northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 km west of Helgoland. The SOV will also act as a logistics hub and warehouse.
The ship is of VARD 407 design, includes Electric Voith Schneider propulsion and is designed to use methanol as a fuel in future. The ship is also fully equipped with a height adjustable motion compensated gangway and 3D compensated crane.
SPIE's wind-focused subsidiary gets new name
SPIE Global Services Energy announced Feb. 28 that Correll Group, its wind power high-voltage specialized entity, has changed its name to SPIE Wind Connect.
This news follows the 2024 acquisition of Correll by the SPIE group.
SPIE Wind Connect is fully focused on supporting the offshore and onshore wind industry, providing a range of high-voltage electrical engineering services across the full installation, operational and maintenance phases of a wind farm. A key part of its services is in connecting the inter-array and export cables to facilitate the energization of the wind turbines, and thereby generate power.
SRC continues HSE work on Sofia offshore wind farm
Steel River Consultants (SRC) secured a third term late last month to provide HSE consultancy services to RWE on its consultants framework.
SRC has spent most of the last five years working on the Sofia offshore wind farm project, which is connected to the National Grid at Lackenby, near Redcar, and has a £3 billion construction cost. It is currently 100% owned by RWE.
SRC has eight consultants working on the Sofia project and is also supporting RWE on future development and decommissioning projects.
Australia grants feasibility licenses for two offshore wind projects
The government of Australia has granted feasibility licenses for two offshore wind projects with a total planned capacity of 3.2 GW, to be developed off the coasts of New South Wales and Victoria.
The feasibility licenses have been awarded for the Southern Ocean and Hunter zones. In Hunter zone, offshore New South Wales, Novocastrian Wind, owned by Equinor and Oceanex Energy, plans to develop a floating wind project with the capacity of 2 GW. Once fully operational, it is expected to power 1.2 million homes and meet 10% of New South Wales’ annual electricity needs.
In the Southern Ocean zone, offshore Victoria, Alinta Energy and Parkwind, part of JERA Nex, are planning to develop the Spinifex offshore wind farm, with a capacity of 1.2 GW. It would cover 265 sq km and be capable of meeting 10% of Victoria’s electricity needs.
Over the next seven years, the feasibility of licensed project proposals will be tested. Before any offshore wind farms are constructed, the feasibility license holders must develop management plans, undertake environmental assessments, obtain environmental approvals and consult with marine users, the community and First Nation groups.
Blue Mackerel offshore wind project takes another step forward
The Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR) has approved Blue Mackerel North Pty Ltd.'s feasibility stage management plan for the Blue Mackerel offshore wind project off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria.
The approval allows Blue Mackerel to begin feasibility activities, including metocean and geotechnical investigations, to assess the potential for harnessing renewable energy. The management plan is a legally binding document that details how activities are to be carried out under an Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act (OEI Act) license.
Before an OEI Act license holder can begin with activities that involve the construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance or decommissioning of infrastructure in the Commonwealth offshore area, they must have their management plan approved by the OIR. Once approved, the license holder is required to submit a summary of the management plan to the OIR within 30 days.
The proposed Blue Mackerel offshore wind project is located off the coast of Brataualung and Tatungalung Country, about 10 km from Seaspray in Victoria. The project includes the installation of about 60 wind turbines and associated infrastructure, capable of generating 1 GW of renewable electricity. The project is planned to be operational by 2032.
Cadeler inks contract for deployment of newbuild vessel
Cadeler signed a firm contract Feb. 28 for the deployment of its Wind Pace newbuild offshore wind vessel at an offshore wind farm located in the US.
This will be the first time Cadeler’s second P-Class newbuild vessel will be deployed following its anticipated delivery later in 2025.
The work is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2025, and the Wind Pace will be committed under this contract until the first quarter of 2026.
The value of the contract to Cadeler is estimated to be between $70 million and $79 million.
New wind projects offshore Colombia a possibility
Companies from around the world have proposed to develop 69 offshore areas in Colombia's first offshore wind energy auction, the South American country's National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) said on Feb. 27, according to a Reuters report released last week.
The preliminary list of companies showing interest in the wind energy auction includes groups from Belgium, Britain, China and Spain, as well as Colombian companies, such as Ecopetrol.
The Colombian government aims to award projects that can lead to a minimum installed capacity of power generation of 1 GW from the auction, with each project requiring a minimum installed capacity of 200 MW.
The broader goal from Petro's administration is to reach 7 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity by 2040.
While a deposit for offers can be submitted through the end of May, a date for when projects will be awarded has yet to be made public, according to Reuters.
ABS approves FEED documents for floating wind platform design
ABS has approved the front-end engineering design (FEED) documents for a deepwater floating offshore wind platform design from ECO TLP Inc. and MOCEAN-Offshore BV.
The design aims to support the largest wind turbines on the market and utilize slip-formed cylindrical concrete hulls and a variety of anchor types. When combined with a hybrid spar tension-leg mooring system, the unit is designed to offer a smaller footprint than traditional floaters using catenary mooring.
With FEED documents approved, the design moves into commercialization for site-specific projects.
