China Deploys Massive Dual Rotor Floating Wind Power Platform

OceanX is a dual rotor platform and the largest so far deployed (Mingyang)

Published Aug 12, 2024 10:04 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

China’s Mingyang Smart Energy has begun the deployment of a unique floating wind turbine structure. The company is calling the OceanX platform the world’s largest floating wind power platform and the largest single-capacity floating wind platform. 

Positioning of the platform began on Sunday, August 11, and is expected to take 72 hours to travel the 191 nautical miles to its offshore location in the Qinghou IV Offshore Wind Farm in Yangjiang, a city in southern China southwest of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Officials highlight that it is a challenging navigation, maneuvering the platform below major bridges and past busy harbors while transiting the Pearl River Delta's waterways.

 

The platform is maneuvering along the Pearl River Delta toward its position in the ocean off Yangjian in Southwest China (Mingyang)

 

The platform was built at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard and launched in mid-July. The unique arrangement incorporates two towers in a “V” shape, each holding an 8.3 MW MySE hybrid drive offshore wind turbine. The total output from the structure is expected to reach 16.6 MW.

Mingyang highlights that it is also the first use of ultra-high performance concrete that gives the structure a higher compressive strength. The company, which promotes itself as having the largest market share in offshore wind power, highlights as unique the structures airfoil double tower, its double main engine, double rotors, and application of the cable stay system as all being world firsts.

It is designed to be deployed in seas with a depth of 35 meters (115 feet) or greater with a draft of 5.5 meters (18 feet). It uses a single-point mooring system that can withstand extreme typhoons. At its highest point, OceanX is 219 meters (718 feet) and has a maximum width in the air of approximately 369 meters (1,200 feet). The total displacement is about 15,000 tons.

 

The 191 nm voyage is expected to take 72 hours (Mingyang)

 

Mingyang reports it has developed three unique designs for floating offshore wind turbines. It is working in conjunction with China Three Gorges and China National Offshore Oil Company to develop and deploy its offshore wind technologies.

As an example of the advancements in offshore wind turbines, the company highlights that OceanX adopts a downwind design. This reduces the load on the supporting structure by approximately 40 percent. The design also incorporates more than 3,000 sensors to monitor all aspects of the operating status of the platform. It can provide operators with video, audio, and pictures as well as data on the displacement, temperature, vibration, stress, voltage, current, wind speed, and wind direction.

OceanX is expected to reach its operating position on Wednesday, August 14. Once commissioning is completed, the structure is expected to generate 54 million kWh annually.
 

High-Tech “Crawlers” Deployed to Survey Vineyard Wind's Turbine Blades

Recovery teams working around the damaged turbine blade (Vineyard Wind)

Published Aug 12, 2024 3:21 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A month after an embarrassing incident in which one of the turbine blades broke at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm, the developer presented its recovery plan. It is working with the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, and has retained Resolve Marine to assist Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova in the recovery effort. At the same time, residents continue to report finding fragments washed up on the shoreline of Massachusetts.

The project continues to repeat the preliminary assessment that is now completed by GE Vernova which cites a “manufacturing deviation” in the bonding of the composite material used to make the blades. The companies had said it was an identifiable issue with the adhesion that should have been discovered during quality control.

The blade initially broke on July 13 while one of the turbines not in service was undergoing testing. The automated safety controls stopped the individual turbine. Parts of the blade remained attached, while some sections were caught on the base and the remainder fell into the water. Elements of the composite material and the lightweight foam began washing up before the blade broke further in the following days. Work at the wind farm both on the turbines in service and construction was suspended and remains under a stop work order from BSEE.

Hoping to recover and get the project back on track, Vineyard Wind summarized the plan that has been developed and approved. Crews have already inspected the turbine for safety and with Resolve the plan calls for four steps. They will rotate the blade to reduce the hanging pieces and prepare for possible controlled cutting. The root of the blade will be removed from the hub, and debris cleared from the platform. They also plan to address seabed debris.

Vineyard said as part of its commitment that “No blades will be installed or used in operations until thoroughly inspected.” The cutting operation took place on Sunday and Monday taking down large portions of the damaged blade and as of Tuesday BSEE permitted the project to resume the installation of towers and nacelles while the investigation of the blades continues.

 

One of the wind turbine blades installed at Vineyard Wind broke apart in mid-July (VIneyard Wind)

 

Advanced remote-controlled robots called “crawlers” are being inserted into the manufactured blades to allow for a visual inspection. The crawler is equipped with a video camera to assist with the visual inspection of critical areas of the blade and assists with photos and videos.

GE Vernova previously said that all the blades manufactured at its facility in Canada would be undergoing inspection to determine if the error was isolated to more widespread. This process also includes re0examing over 8,300 ultrasound images that were made of each blade during the manufacturing process. They are measuring bonding widths in the blade and looking for any other anomalies.

A new algorithm is also being prepared by GE Vernova to use with the existing sensors in each blade. The goal is to better detect issues to avoid a similar failure. 

The project, which is being developed in a partnership between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, had already been slowed by construction challenges. BSEE permitted limited onshore work to proceed but until the integrity of the blades can be confirmed, power generation and further installation remain delayed. Opponents of the offshore wind sector have also used the incident in an effort to rally support for blocking the development of further offshore wind farms

Germany Selects RWE and Luxcara to Develop More Offshore Wind Capacity

Germany awarded three more sites as it seeks to continue the buildout of offshore wind energy (RWE)

Published Aug 13, 2024 7:53 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesnetzagentur or BSH) announced the results of its newest round of offshore wind auctions. With the potential to provide 5.5 GW of capacity, the three sites were awarded to Luxcara, an institutional asset money manager, and RWE.

The project sites in the German North Sea near the border with the Netherlands hold significant potential as the could strives to reach a goal of 30 GW and a renewable energy share of 80 percent of the country’s power mix by 2030. The three sites have been pre-investigated with BSH setting a total target of 5.5 GW. The projects represent a nearly two-thirds increase of Germany’s 8.5 GW of capacity in operation. Germany currently has over 1,500 offshore turbines in service having grown from just 35 MW in 2009. Several previously awarded projects are also in the pipeline to increase the operational capacity with a total of a further 8.8 GW designated in 2023.

BSH closed the auctions on August 1 and reports it received a total of five proposals. They were judged on elements such as efforts to reduce decarbonization of the projects and use of environmentally-friendly foundation technologies as well as the price the bidder was willing to pay. BSH said the total price would not be released for confidentiality reasons but highlighted that most of the proceeds go to lowering electricity costs. Successful bidders make small contributions in the first year to marine nature conservation and to promote sustainable fishing, but the bulk of the payments are over 20 years once the wind farm starts operation and goes to the transmission system operators.

RWE however announced it bid a total of €250 million for two sites it was awarded. They are located approximately 70 miles northwest of Borkum island in the German North Sea. Combined they have a potential for 2 GW each with one expected to reach a final investment decision in 2027 and the other in 2028. Construction could begin in 2029 and 2030 with the farms operational in 2031 and 2032. 

RWE will explore the development of the sites with TotalEnergy. They will receive the data developed by BSH to accelerate the planning and decision-making process. The leases have a 25-year term and can be extended to 35 years.

The bids are part of RWE’s strategy to triple its global offshore wind capacity from 3.3 GW to 10 GW by 2030. The company highlights it already operates a total of 19 offshore wind farms, including six off the German coast. It had 1.6 GW of capacity under construction in the Nordseecluster.

Money manager Luxcara was awarded the other site which has a capacity of 1.5 GW. It is located in the German North Sea approximately 50 miles northwest of Helgoland. Luxcara highlights using the data from BSH the project could be developed and connected to the grid possibly as early as 2029.

Luxcara in August 2023 successfully participated in another German offshore wind auction. It won the right to build a 270 MW offshore wind farm located approximately 55 miles from Borkum. Both projects will be part of a portfolio that Luxcara manages on behalf of institutional investors.

The company recently caused a stir in Germany when it announced it selected China’s Mingyang Smart Energy as its preferred turbine supplier. The news was immediately met with opposition that accused China of unfair competition while seeking to block its entry into the German market. The government said it would review the proposal while the EU has said it might slap China with tariffs for unfair pricing and competition in the offshore energy market.