Odense (Denmark) (AFP) – The countries bordering the North Sea meet in Denmark on Thursday to seal commitments to boost offshore wind power, a sector that is suffering from stiff competition from China.
At the gathering, eight countries -- Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Ireland -- and the European Commission are expected to reach an agreement on the installation of some 20,000 wind turbines in the North Sea by 2050.
China currently accounts for 82 percent of orders for new wind power, according to analyst firm Wood Mackenzie.
"The EU cannot lose momentum, we need to ensure that we choose the right path," Danish energy minister Lars Aagaard told AFP.
In Denmark, which inaugurated its first wind power farm in 1991, more than 40 percent of electricity originates from wind power.
In the port of Odense, where the discussions are being held, port director Carsten Aa told AFP turbines are produced for farms all over Europe, the US market and the Philippines.
In 2011, the first nacelle -- the casing that houses the components needed to operate the wind turbine, including the generator and transmission -- was produced by turbine maker Vestas at the Lindo shipyard, used by global shipping giant Maersk to build its vessels until 2009.
Since then, some 1,500 offshore wind turbines have been assembled at the site.
"We are world-leading at the moment, but the Chinese are knocking on our front door," Aa said.
'Political ambitions'
Most of the port's surface area is devoted to wind power, and Vestas produces nacelles, masts and foundations, among other things.
The parts are too bulky to be built elsewhere and transported by land before being loaded onto ships and installed at sea.
"If we shall fulfil all the political ambitions, we need to see even more production in European seaports," Aa insisted.
He hopes that Odense will lead the way in countering Chinese competition.
"We have changed from an outdated industry area to a top modern facility and production facility by using old shipyard workers... to produce windmills," the port director explained.
In France, Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port recently presented a project to develop a platform for the deployment of future offshore wind farms.
The port of Odense is also expanding. The shipyard employed 2,700 people when it closed in 2009, and more than 3,200 are now working on the site, which has grown by 18 percent in the last two years.
"What makes us unique is that the area is very large... we have the area around the old shipyard to be able to develop new products and new production halls," Soren Rask, the head of port security who began his career as a blacksmith at the shipyard, told AFP.
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Additional Blades Require Reinforcing as Work Proceeds at Vineyard Wind
GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind, a joint venture project between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, detailed the next phase of their recovery effort after the offshore wind farm experienced a blade failure more than three months ago. Problems at the project continue to place financial pressures on GE Vernova which last month reported in the face of continuing financial losses it would be scaling back its efforts tied to offshore wind power generation.
Installation offshore was well underway at Vineyard Wind south of Martha Vineyard in Massachusetts when one of the approximately 330-foot-long blades on one of the 24 installed turbines fractured. Pieces of the blade fell into the water with some parts sinking while other shards began washing up on Massachusetts’ beaches causing an outcry from residents and critics of offshore wind. The damaged blade further broke in the following days.
GE Vernova is now reporting after an extensive review of more than 8,300 ultrasound images per blade and physical blade inspections with “crawler” drones, it has found additional issues in the manufacture of an unspecified number of the blades and if they have been installed. Company CEO Scott Strazik told Bloomberg that defects similar to the failed blade were found on “a low-single digit percentage of its blades.”
The company previously blamed the failure on problems in the bonding process at its manufacturing plant in Canada. Speaking to investors today, Strazik repeated that it was a “manufacturing deviation,” that he previously said should have been detected by quality control.
“Out of an abundance of caution, GE Vernova intends to remove some blades from the Vineyard Wind farm while strengthening other blades as needed to support the safety and operational readiness of this project,” the company said in its announcement. The work will be done either at the plant or in the field but no timeline was specified for how long it would take.
After the incident, regulators suspended work on the project but later permitted some work to proceed. Following authorization in mid-August to resume certain activities, eight new towers and nacelles were installed the companies reported. They were also granted approval on October 22, to return to installing new blades on turbines at the project once stringent safety and operational conditions are met. Power generation however remains suspended.
They also reported that the recovery effort tasks including blade rotations to reduce blade debris, the removal of the hanging portion of the blade, and the clearing of debris from the platform have been completed. Resolve Marine was retained and the removal of seabed debris began on October 13 and will be completed this week. The final task, the removal of the root of the blade from the rotor hub, is expected to occur in the coming weeks.
GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind reported they are focused on these critical pathways, the final step in the action plan, and operations and power production will resume only after additional progress is made and all requisite approvals are granted. The approved construction plan calls for a total of 62 turbines generating 800 MW of power.
The update came as GE Vernova reported third quarter financial results. While the company reduced its financial loss from operations, the loss was higher than projected by analysts. Company executives cited the continuing issues in the wind power business saying that it was being offset by stronger results in its energy and electrification sectors. The company however reaffirms its financial guidance for 2024.
The partners in Vineyard Wind have been undeterred by the problems and delays for the first project. It had become the largest operating offshore wind farm in the United States and they are confident the project will get back on track. They have also submitted proposals for additional projects as states continue to move forward with their solicitation process for offshore wind power generation.
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