Offshore Insight: October-December 2017

Below we present a round up of offshore wind activities recorded by WPO Intelligence in quarter 4, 2017.

1 January 2018

Global Activity Report

The winter months have seen new offshore wind capacity coming online, construction continuing, assets changing hands and contracts being awarded. WPO Intelligence gathered the details of 59 offshore wind-related activities in the final quarter of 2017. UK projects accounted for two fifths of these, German projects for one seventh and those elsewhere in Europe for a quarter. Some project activity was also recorded in the USA and Asia-Pacific.

Activities reported by WPO Intelligence in October-December 2017, by region

Activities reported by WPO Intelligence in the last three quarters, by region

UK

In UK waters, the 400MW Rampion and the 353MW Galloper delivered their first power to the grid and the 30MW Hywind Scotland was brought online. Meanwhile, turbine installation was completed at the 573MW Race Bank. Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy) agreed to sell 50% of the 659MW Walney Extension, to PKA and PFA. And Innogy acquired Statkraft’s 50% stake in Triton Knoll, thereby becoming the 860MW development’s sole owner. Statkraft also agreed the sale of its 30% stake in the newly online Dudgeon, in line with its strategy of exiting the offshore wind sector. It also sold its 40% stake in Sheringham Shoal.

Meanwhile, MHI Vestas was announced as the preferred turbine supplier to the Moray East project, NKT signed a Preferred Bidder Agreement for the delivery and installation of the export cable systems and VBMS signed a Preferred Bidder Agreement, for the supply and installation of the inter-array cables. Planned for a site off Scotland’s east coast, the 950MW development would comprise 100 V164-9.5MW turbines. It is jointly owned by EDP Renewables (77%) and Engie (23%).

Germany

In the German North Sea, the 332MW Nordsee One commenced full commercial operations. The 54 turbines have been supplying electricity to the grid since September 2017, but full completion marked the start of the operational phase. The wind farm is owned by Northland Power (85%) and Innogy SE (15%). And all 18 Senvion 6.2M126 turbines at the 111MW Nordergründe became operational. Developed by wpd, the wind farm lies in the Weser estuary. Meanwhile, Ørsted completed the divestment of 50% of Borkum Riffgrund 2 to Global Infrastructure Partners, with the sale having been agreed in August. The 448MW project is under construction in the North Sea. In the Baltic Sea, installation of all 70 Adwen AD 5-135 turbines was completed, at Iberdrola’s 350MW Wikinger project. The wind farm was then grid connected, via the Lubmin onshore substation.

Other Europe

In Denmark, Siemens Gamesa agreed to supply 113 turbines, to the 600MW Kriegers Flak and the up to 350MW Vesterhav Nord and Vesterhav Syd projects. Planned for a site in the Baltic Sea, Kriegers Flak will comprise 72 turbines, while Vesterhav Nord and Vesterhav Syd in the North Sea will comprise 41 turbines between them. Meanwhile, construction work commenced at Vattenfall's 406MW Horns Rev 3.

Elsewhere, the European Investment Bank approved financing for a number of European wind farms, including the 700MW Borssele III & IV. Planned for a site in the Dutch North Sea, it should be online by 2022. And VBMS, in consortium with NKT Cables, was awarded the Borssele Beta contract by TenneT, for the installation of two 67km-long export cables. The cables will connect Borssele III and IV to TenneT's onshore grid in the Netherlands.

In Belgium, the government reached agreement with the developers, regarding a strike price of €79/MWh for the 300MW Mermaid, 246MW Seastar and 224MW Northwester 2 offshore projects. The support will be for 16 years, but can be extended if the wind conditions are less favourable than expected. The agreement clears the way for the three projects to proceed to financial close, with commissioning due in 2020.

In Finland, OX2 commissioned and handed over to IKEA, the 42.4MW Kemi Ajos wind farm: Finland’s first large-scale wind repowering project. Elsewhere, Parkwind agreed a significant investment to become a strategic partner in the 330MW Oriel offshore project. Planned for a site in the Irish Sea, 22km off Dundalk, County Louth, it would become the first fully operational commercial wind farm in Irish waters.

Rest of the world

Across the Atlantic, Statoil named its planned project off Long Island, New York, Empire Wind. Awarded to Statoil in December 2016, the site could host up to 1GW of offshore wind capacity. Statoil is in the early stages of developing it. Meanwhile, Offshore Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners entered into a partnership regarding the continued development of Australia’s first offshore wind farm, the Star of the South. The up to 2GW project is planned for a site off Gippsland, Victoria. It has so far been developed solely by Offshore Energy, but further development will be undertaken jointly by the partnership.