WIND POWER AT SEA REDUX
Startup Supported by Bill Gates Demonstrates Folding Floating Wind Platfom
Startup floating wind technology company Aikido Technologies is ready to launch the first demonstration of its unique folding floating wind platform. The company promotes its technology as providing a faster and more cost-effective solution to the deployment of floating offshore wind turbines.
Aikido Technologies was founded in 2022 with the support of Breakthrough Energy Fellows an accelerator, incubator program launched in 2021. Bill Gates of Microsoft fame announced the program saying that unlike others it would focus on the particular needs of climate innovation. In September 2024, the effort reported it had surpassed 100 fellows as it welcomed its Fourth Cohort and opened applications for the fifth wave.
In June 2024, Aikido reported it had raised $4 million in seed financing as it continues to develop its technology and prepare for its first demonstration which is underwritten by the Gates initiative. New investors included Azolla Ventures which led the round along with participation from Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, and Anthropocene Ventures. The U.S. Department of Energy is also supporting the project.
Chet Morrison Contractors and Morrison Fabrication in Harvey, Louisiana were awarded in April 2024 the contract to build the first 1:4 scale 100 kW floating wind platform. Aikido reports the company completed the assignment in less than 40 working hours, which it says is a new standard in the industrialization of floating platforms.
Among the unique features of the design, Aikido highlights the platform uses pin joints that enable serialized production of its 13 major steel components. The design allows the structure to fold up during assembly and transport occupying two-thirds less space in a shipyard or port. The design was reviewed by the American Bureau of Shipping which granted the concept an Approval in Principle.
The platform’s unique design also permits it to be transported on traditional barges. The company highlights it is compact and can dramatically reduce construction times. They also note that the smaller size reduces the requirements for ports and makes it possible to employ smaller ports as the onshore base.
Aikido says the platform design is well suited for domestic U.S. production and especially in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, where there exists an ecosystem of supplying, building, and transporting offshore structure.
Port Pascagoula in Mississippi has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aikido to provide space for the testing of the Aikido One platform. The company has it will be off Singing River Island Pier. They report the project will prove the concept in realistic conditions and demonstrate the potential to open up the floating offshore wind sector.
U-Ming to Add Anemoi’s Rotor Sails to Giant Ore Carrier
Taiwan’s U-Ming Marine is becoming the latest in a growing list of shipowners to adopt wind-assisted propulsion. Bulkers are a popular category for the technology which is now planned for a broad range of vessel sizes.
U-Ming plans to add rotors made by the UK’s Anemoi to one of the largest bulkers in the world. Under the agreement announced today, November 28, they plan to retrofit four of Anemoi’s rotors to one of the line’s largest bulk carriers. The illustration shows Grand Pioneer (324,963 dwt) fitted with rotors. The vessel was built in China in 2020 and is 1,115 feet (340) meters in length and registered in Singapore.
Each of the rotors will stand 115 feet (35 meters) off the deck with a diameter of approximately 16 feet (5 meters). The installation is to be completed at the end of 2025. Anemoi reports an anticipated 10 to 12 percent fuel savings for the vessel operating on deep-sea routes between China, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia.
The system includes Anemoi’s technology so that the rotors can be folded down when not in use. This addresses concerns for air draft and also ensures they do not interfere with port operations.
The rotors fold down to provide clearance for port operations (Anemoi Marine Technologies)
“These state-of-the-art rotor sails will play a key role in our decarbonization strategy and will complement our portfolio of existing emission-reducing technologies, including a fleet of LNG dual-fuel vessels,” said CK Ong, President of U-Ming. “In addition, we will continue to research other emission-lowering pathways such as carbon capture systems and retrofitting conventional vessels to Methanol dual-fuel.”
The first of the rotor installs on large bulkers was reported by Anemoi completed in June 2023 on the TR Lady (82,000 dwt) Kamsarmax bulker. The retrofit took place on the vessel operated by Tufton in China. It received three 24-meter (79-foot) rotors on rails so that they could be moved to permit cargo operations. Anemoi reported it expected more than 10 percent fuel savings.
Berge Bulk also worked with Anemoi on a retrofit adding four of the larger rotors to its Valemax ore carrier Berge Neblina (388,000 dwt). The vessel began its first voyages with the rotors in the summer of 2023.
The installations on the biggest bulker will be carried out with Vale. Last year the company agreed to install five of the large rotors on its 400,000 dwt Valemax ore carrier Sohar Max. It also reported in October 2024 that Vale along with NS United Kaiun Kaisha (NSU) agreed to install five Anemoi rotor sails on the 400,000 dwt VLOC NSU Tubarao. Built in 2020, the massive vessel is expected to complete its retrofit around September 2025.
The rotors are competing with other sail technologies that are also being fitted on bulkers. Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. is proceeding with its rigid sail on bulkers. The company has also reported plans to combine the rigid sails and rotors on a vessel. The 62,900 dwt vessel they reported would be built by Oshima Shipbuilding and would be chartered by ENVIVA to transport wood pellets. By combining the two systems on one vessel they expected to increase the reduction in fuel consumption by up to 20 percent.
TotalEnergies Pauses US Offshore Wind Due to Political Uncertainties
TotalEnergies has reportedly decided to pause its U.S. offshore wind energy projects citing political uncertainties after the U.S. presidential election. The move comes as many in the industry are waiting for the new Trump administration’s policy toward wind energy and renewables.
Reuters is reporting that Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies announced the company’s position to the audience at the Energy Intelligence Forum taking place this week in London. On Tuesday they reported Pouyanne said, "In offshore wind, I decided to put the project on pause, because all the offshore wind projects are in Democratic states ... we'll see better in four years."
TotalEnergy has been active in the U.S. offshore wind market since 2018 and is in partnership with Corio Generation. They launched Attentive Energy and in February 2022 TotalEnergy was part of a winning bid of $795 million for a lease area in the New York Bight. The lease covers 132 square miles and is located up to 47 nautical miles from the coast south of New York and east of New Jersey.
Attentive Energy has said the site could have a capacity of at least 3 GW and subsequently split it into two projects. The company was selected in New York’s third-round solicitation, which was later canceled citing changes in the finances. Attentive Energy chose not to rebid the project in New York’s fifth solicitation round reporting in October 2024 that it had withdrawn a proposal.
In New Jersey, regulators awarded a contract for Attentive Energy Two, an offshore project that would provide up to 1,342 MW. The lease area is still in environmental review with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Attentive Energy has not yet filed a Construction and Operations Plan for approval.
TotalEnergy’s pause comes as others in the industry wait for clarity on the new administration’s approach to renewable energy. Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of offshore wind energy but the industry has sought to lay the groundwork to continue its progress.
The American Clean Power Association issued a statement after the election saying that diverse energy sources are essential to national security and global power. They noted that the clean energy industry grew by double digits each year under the first Trump administration and said it is committed to working with the new administration and Congress.
The Biden administration will end up having approved more than 15 GW of clean energy from ten offshore wind projects, enough to power nearly 5.25 million homes. It also held six offshore wind lease auctions, including the New York Bight and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. The Department of Energy mapped a timeline for sales to continue at least till 2028.
No comments:
Post a Comment