Offshore Insight: April-June 2017

Below we present a round up of offshore wind activities recorded by WPO Intelligence in quarter 2, 2017.

8 July 2017

Global activity report

The early summer has seen additional offshore wind capacity being brought online, construction continuing and contracts being awarded. WPO Intelligence collated the details of 69 offshore wind-related activities in the April-June period. UK projects accounted for around one third of the total, German projects for another third and those elsewhere in Europe for one fifth. Some project activity was also recorded in North America and Asia.

Activities reported by WPO Intelligence in April-June 2017, by region

Activities reported by WPO Intelligence in the latest quarter, by region

UK

In the North Sea off eastern England, first power was delivered to the grid from Race Bank in May. Set to comprise 91 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 turbines, the 573MW project is owned by DONG Energy (50%), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%), Macquarie Capital (12.5%) and Sumitomo Corporation (12.5%). Meanwhile, turbine installation commenced at the nearby Galloper. The 336MW project is due for completion in early 2018.

In the Irish Sea, construction remained on schedule at DONG Energy’s 659MW Walney Extension, with completion due in 2019. And on England’s south coast, construction of Rampion’s operations and maintenance base at Newhaven Port commenced. Due for completion at the end of the year, it will serve the 400MW wind farm, which is under construction 13km off the Sussex coast.

Meanwhile, a Scottish court backed the 450MW Neart Na Gaoithe, 784MW Inch Cape and 1.05GW Seagreen Alpha and Bravo projects, overturning an earlier decision that had backed an appeal by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and reinstating their consents. The projects are planned for sites in the North Sea off Scotland.

Germany

In the German North Sea, the 402MW Veja Mate was completed at the end of May and all of the 67 SWT-6.0-154 turbines began supplying electricity to the German grid. The wind farm is owned by Highland Group Holdings, Siemens Financial Services and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. And by the end of June, installation of the 54 Senvion 6.2M126 turbines at the 332MW Nordsee One project had passed the halfway mark and commissioning was continuing. Meanwhile, Canada’s Enbridge Inc. announced that it was to acquire 49.89% of the shares in the 112MW Albatros project, with EnBW retaining the remaining 50.1%. The partners will co-develop Albatros, alongside the nearby 497MW EnBW Hohe See, with the wind farms due for commissioning in 2019.

Other Europe

In the Belgian North Sea, the 165MW Nobelwind was inaugurated at the end of May. Located 45km offshore, the wind farm comprises 50 MHI Vestas V112-3.3 MW turbines. And in the Baltic Sea, Tahkoluoto’s ten SWT-4.0-130 turbines were installed and the sea cable laid. Commissioning and testing is taking place and the wind farm is expected to be operational by September.

Rest of the world

In the USA, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) sold a 50% stake in 1GW Vineyard Wind project to Avangrid Renewables. Planned for a site off Massachusetts, CIP acquired the project in 2016. And in Taiwan, CIP acquired three under development offshore wind sites. Located off Changhua in the Taiwan Strait, their total capacity is up to 1,500MW. To date, they have been developed Fuhai Wind Farm Corporation and further development of the sites will be carried out by CIP, in collaboration with Taiwan Generations Corporation (TGC).

Contracts

A number of contracts have been awarded in recent weeks. Sif Holding was awarded, in a joint venture with Smulders, a contract to supply all of the monopiles and transition pieces for the 203MW Trianel Windpark Borkum II project. The JV was awarded the contract by EPCI-contractor, Seaway Heavy Lifting. Sif will produce the monopiles and the primary steel for the transition pieces, while Smulders will be responsible for the secondary steel and outfitting of the transition pieces. The 32-turbine project is being developed in the North Sea.

VBMS was awarded an inter-array cables installation contract by EnBW Albatros GmbH, for the 112MW Albatros project. It will install, bury, terminate and test nineteen 33kV inter-array cables and provide an interconnection with the nearby 497MW EnBW Hohe See. The cable installation activities are scheduled for 2019, at the project site in the German North Sea. And Senvion was contracted to supply Beleolico’s 30MW Taranto wind farm with ten 3.0M122 turbines. Planned for a site in the southern Italian city’s harbour, it will become the Mediterranean Sea’s first offshore wind farm. Turbine delivery and installation is planned for summer 2018, with commissioning expected by the autumn. Senvion will also provide full maintenance services for 25 years.