We are leaving what has arguably been the best year for offshore wind so far with a hope that the one ahead of us will be at least as eventful and successful as 2016 was, if not better. The Eurocents This year, we saw several tenders resulting in remarkably low prices. First, there was Borssele [&he
The UK Planning Inspectorate has completed the examination of the application for an order granting development consent for the 1.2GW East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm. The findings and conclusions arising from the examination, together with a recommendation from the Examining Authority (ExA) pan
Kokosing’s Durocher Marine Division installed six miles of subsea cables for America’s first offshore wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island. All of the cables for the 30MW Block Island wind farm were installed by the end of July 2016. The wind farm came online on 12 December, feeding the first po
In yet another first for German offshore wind farms, Ocean Breeze Energy has reported that Bard Offshore 1 generated more than 3.5 TWh of electricity from its commissioning in late 2013 to November 2016. The wind farm generated over 500 GWh of electricity from June 2016 to November 2016. Bard Offsho
Siem Offshore Contractors GmbH ( SOC) has shared a video of two of its vessels, the cable lay vessel Siem Aimery and the installation support vessel Siem Moxie, laying inter-array cables at the 332MW Nordsee One offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Siem worked at the site from June to August 2016. T
Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has issued a set of regulations to minimise the impact of offshore wind projects on local fauna, according to local media. The new regulations, set out in a document titled “Offshore Wind Power Development”, stipulate that the wind farms off the
Offshore marine engineering specialist GeoSea installed the first of fifty-six turbine foundations at the 336MW Galloper offshore wind farm on Wednesday, 28th December. The components are being loaded-out onto the GeoSea installation vessel, Innovation, in Rotterdam and Vlissingen, with the installa
The Netherlands has nearly tripled its installed offshore wind capacity in 2016 due to two major projects coming online during the year. The two wind farms which were hooked up to the grid in 2016 are the 600MW Gemini offshore wind farm in the North Sea and the 144MW Westermeerwind nearshore wind fa
Italy’s renewable energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) has awarded a 30MW near shore wind project off Taranto with a 25-year fixed price tariff. Belenergia S.A., the developer of the Beleolico 30MW offshore wind farm, secured the tariff at a maximum price of EUR 161.7/MWh, a 2% decreas
US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published a guide to help the public understand BOEM’s process for overseeing renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and to highlight opportunities for public involvement. BOEM is the US federal agency responsible for issuing le
Northeast Wind Resource Center has updated the Offshore Wind Hub, a virtual resource library containing federal and state reports and documents on legislation, assessments, and policy related to offshore wind in the United States, from Maine south to Georgia. The Offshore Wind Hub now contains state
Wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power plans to be carbon neutral by 2018, with the fist step on the path to carbon neutrality being sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources, mainly wind, from 2017 onward. Two other main components of LM Wind Power’s carbon neutral progr
Siemens has developed a simulation tool which allows its technicians to practice installing blades on offshore wind turbines prior to heading out on live projects. The company says that practising installing blades in virtual world reduces installation times and costs as the simulation tool eliminat
French cable maker Nexans has awarded its compatriot, Bardot Group, with a contract to supply buoyancy modules for the power cables of Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating wind farm. The 30MW floating wind farm, located 30 kilometres off the coast of Peterhead, will be operated by Norwegian o
