Floating Wind Farms in North Sea

While our oceans house not only diverse ecologies and possibly the lost city of Atlantis, they now have something else to brag about: serving as prime real estate for some very renewable energy. Norwegian energy group Norsk Hydro is to place giant floating wind turbines in the North Sea that will provide a reasonable, environmentally-friendly and economically feasible alternative to standard energy generation processes. “It’s attractive to have windmills out at sea, out of sight of land, away from birds’ migration routes,” said Alexandra Bech Gjoerv, head of Hydro’s New Energy division at a signing ceremony to develop floating wind turbine technology.

The design by Norsk Hydro uses a three -able tethered system, similar to the ones used in oil rigs, that holds a 200 meter tall steel tube with an attached turbine and three 60-meter-long blades.Norsk Hydro expects to be able to use this technology on sites located 50-100 miles off shore, and with a depth of up to 500 meters. Norsk Hydro’s turbine will be the first large scale prototype of its kind, expected to be installed in the North Sea by 2009. If successful, Norsk Hydro expects a full windmill to be operational by 2012.

Massive offshore wind farm project now underway in the North Sea

Massive offshore wind farm project now underway in the North Sea

Massive offshore wind farm project now underway in the North Sea

Massive offshore wind farm project now underway in the North Sea

New drive concept for wind farms

7th July 2009

Wind power plant manufacturer the Bard Group is further developing the technology of its Bard 5.0 wind turbine, to be used in a commercial wind farm 100 km off the coast of Germany.

With a new and more efficient drive concept that retains the original rotor diameter of 122 m and a hub height of 90 m, wind can soon be used more effectively.

The WinDrive is a variable-speed planetary gear with a torque converter. Its key function is to control and convert the variable-speed input of the wind turbine rotor into a constant output speed for driving synchronous generators. 
Depending on the wind speed, the WinDrive adjusts the wind rotor to its most efficient operating point and its highest efficiency. At nominal power, the WinDrive acts as a backup for controlling torque limitations.

The company states that the development of the Bard 5.0 to an increased output of 30%, or 6,5 MW, is an important step towards the commercial viability of offshore wind power systems.

The central component in the driveline of the turbine, the WinDrive, will be used in a Bard wind turbine for the first time.

Voith Turbo Wind, developer of the Win-Drive system, is working with the Bard Group on this project, which uses WinDrive technology. The delivery of the WinDrive system is scheduled for spring 2010. Bard Offshore 1 
will be the first commercial wind park in Germany.

Voith Turbo Wind reports that the Win-Drive system is quickly meeting the requirements of energy suppliers for power station characteristics of wind parks.

By using WinDrive technology, it has, for the first time, been possible to use synchronous generators that are directly coupled to the grid and power station. 
This has resulted in all the required criteria for feeding electricity into the grid being met.

The upgraded wind power stations are 
expected to enter service in offshore projects of the Bard Group over the next few years. Besides the already approved project, Bard Offshore 1, the company has submitted 
further applications for approval to the German authority (the BSH Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency).

BARD I Offshore Windfarm

Date of entry

13/10/2009

Beneficiary

Ocean Breeze GmbH & Co. KG

Location

• Germany

Description

Implementation and operation of a large-size offshore wind farm (400 MW) situated at 100 km distance from the German coast in the German Exclusive Economic Zone of the North Sea. It will supply electricity to the national transmission grid via a long subsea cable. The investment supports the achievement of the national target for electricity generation from renewable energy sources.

Objectives

The German government has set its objective to increase the percentage of electricity generated from renewable energy sources to at least 20% by 2020 and to 50% by 2050. A major element in achieving this target is to further develop the capacity of the offshore wind energy sector.

Comments

Sector(s)

• Energy

Proposed EIB finance

EUR 700 million

Total cost

EUR 1400 million

Environmental aspects

By virtue of its technical characteristics the project falls under Annex II of EIA-Directive 85/337/EEC (as amended). According to national regulations the project is subject to a full mandatory EIA including public consultation, which has been carried out accordingly. The competent authorities granted a conditional approval after extensive public consultation and confirmed with the permit that significant negative impacts on nature conservation sites can be excluded. Further details of the environmental due diligence procedures applied by the promoter will be assessed by the Bank during appraisal.

Procurement

The project is not subject to public procurement according to the Utilities Directive 2004/17/EC, as the promoter (SPV) is neither a public undertaking in the sense of Directive nor does the project enjoy any special or exclusive rights. The rights to develop an offshore wind in EEZ are granted by the government through the permit approval of the competent authority on objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory criteria according to national legislation.

Status

Under appraisal - 13/10/2009.

more information

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EU to approve recovery funding for CCS and wind

Friday 4 December 2009

The European Commission will formally approve the allocation of over €1.6bn in EU economic recovery funds to a series of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore wind project in the coming weeks, ENDS has learned.