“There are two fundamental drivers behind the decision to collaborate,” says Kjell Eriksson, Director of the Energy Programme in DNV Research and Innovation, “The electrification of both conventional and subsea oil and gas installations, and the growth in offshore wind energy. Both drivers will require new solutions in relation to offshore power transmission.”
The two organisations have highly complementary skills. DNV has more than 40 years of experience in risk management from the offshore oil and gas sector and 30 years of offshore wind experience, and STRI is a leading, independent power system consulting company with an accredited high voltage laboratory in Ludvika, Sweden.
High voltage laboratory
At its laboratory, STRI is able to conduct high voltage tests on products with system voltages up to 1000 kV. Besides several flexible high voltage test halls there is also a large climate hall for testing of pollution, snow, ice, fog and rain as well as several chambers for multiple stress, salt fog and extreme temperatures. In addition, STRI has unique knowledge and experience in system studies for wind power integration and High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) applications, including multi terminal HVDC – VSC technology.
In September last year, DNV acquired BEW Engineering, a US-based specialist consulting firm focusing on integration of wind and solar energy, and transmission and distribution of electrical power. “Collaborating now with STRI forms a natural next step in our drive to support both the oil and gas sector, as well as the renewable energy and power transmission industries,” says Mr. Eriksson.
Integrated solutions
Dan Wikstrøm, President of STRI, adds “Providing megawatts of power to subsea installations, as well as building future offshore DC-grids, will require new ways of combining electrical engineering with offshore engineering and risk management. With this in mind, the joint service offering from STRI and DNV gives us the opportunity to offer integrated solutions to our customers and meet the growing demand in the market place.”
The collaboration comes at a time when activities in the renewable sector are expected to increase significantly in the years ahead according to Mr. Eriksson. “As an example, to accommodate the EU 2020 renewable target, up to 40 GW of offshore wind power could be installed in the North Sea. This will require investments in the transmission grid in the order of 11 – 28 billion Euros. Also, the US Department of Energy has estimated the offshore wind energy potential could be 54 GW within 2030. For this to materialise significant investments and technology development in offshore transmission grids are required.”
( dnv )
[mappress]
Source: dnv, May 06, 2011