A joint venture created to promote floating offshore windfarms in the Iberian Peninsula has announced its first project for Portugal.

IberBlue Wind has unveiled plans for a 990MW floating offshore windfarm off the coast of Figueira da Foz.

Called Botafogo after a 16^th century galleon that became known as the most powerful warship of its time, the windfarm will occupy an area of 359 km² and will have 55 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 18MW.

Figueira da Foz is one of five areas proposed by the Portuguese government for offshore renewable energy exploration.

IberBlue Wind vice-president Adrián de Andrés explained: “Figueira da Foz is a region with great potential.

“Besides the high wind strengths and the existing port infrastructure, it’s located near to the centre of the country where there is significant demand for energy from both industrial and private consumers”.

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IberBlue Wind says the development of the project will create thousands of jobs, most for development and construction and the rest for the operation and maintenance of turbines once oprational.

The Botafogo windfarm will be built on floating platforms anchored to the seabed allowing it to be located 30-50 km from the coast.

2GW of Iberian Peninsula potential

IberBlue Wind is a joint venture between Irish floating offshore wind company Simply Blue Group and Spanish companies Proes Consultores, the engineering division of Grupo Amper, and renewable energy developer FF New Energy Ventures.

It aims to develop at least 2GW of offshore wind capacity off the Iberian Peninsula using floating windfarms, each comprising 500MW or more.

IberBlue Wind announced a project in Spain last November. Nao Victoria will be in the Alboran Sea, off the coasts of Cadiz and Malaga, on an area of 310 km² and also with an installed capacity of 990MW.

The company says it is working on several other projects for the Iberian Peninsula which it plans to announce soon.

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The project is planned for the Hunter‐Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) as part of the NSW Government Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

It will be developed in stages to support the government’s deployment of renewable targets and progressive retirement of coal‐fired power stations in the area.

Project developers Newcastle Offshore Wind Energy Pty Ltd (NOWE) have been working with EDF Renewable on the project for the last 12 months and will continue as a partner to meet project milestones.

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CEO of EDF Renewables in Australia, Dave Johnson, said in a statement: “NOWE, based in Newcastle, has put in a lot of effort to build up their local development expertise and connect with the community and stakeholders, which puts this project in a great position to succeed in the proposed location and especially within the local community.”

Johnson added, “This landmark project will be developed in collaboration with a strong local team based in Newcastle and will require the establishment of an entirely new industry in Australia. I am very confident that this project will play a crucial role in providing new opportunities for employment, establishing new business and the revitalisation of existing business looking to transition from existing industries”.

EDF Renewables operates seven offshore wind farms globally and a further five are under construction including one with floating technology in France.

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The partners are looking to expand offshore wind to contribute to Spain’s energy target of 3GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2030.

According to RWE, Spain is an attractive market for offshore wind. The National Marine Spatial Plan indicates a potential capacity of more than 20GW and the deep waters make floating wind ideal technology for the area.

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Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind GmbH, said: “Floating offshore wind is key to meeting the increasing demand for renewable power in Europe, delivering sustainability solutions, supporting local industries and creating new, future-proof jobs. Together with our partner Ferrovial we are committed to contributing towards Spain’s offshore wind objectives…”

Gonzalo Nieto, CEO of Ferrovial Energy Infrastructure and Mobility said in a statement: “At Ferrovial, we clearly see the growth opportunities that this sector offers, which is why we have decided to partner with another market leader, RWE.”

To date, Ferrovial has submitted expressions of interest for four wind farms in the country with an installed capacity of 1,750MW. The company plans to build these projects off the coast in Lugo, Pontevedra, Gerona and Gran Canaria. All of them would be located between 11 and 30 kilometres from the coast.

RWE’s partnership with Ferrovial in offshore wind builds on a long-established renewables business in Spain, comprising onshore wind capacity of around 490MW, solar capacity of more than 90MWac and more than 150MW under construction.

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Situated in Landkreis Uelzen, Niedersachsen, 100km south-east of Hamburg, the wind farms will have a total capacity of 88MW.

Together, the 3 wind farms will produce enough power to supply electricity to the equivalent of about 90,000 households per year.

GE will supply their 5.5MW turbines with a rotor diameter of 158m and has signed a full service contract for 15 years.

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Two projects, Bankewitz and Müssingen, are expected to be commissioned and operational by the end of 2023 while the third one, Flinten, is scheduled in the first quarter of 2024.

Dr. Hartmut Brösamle, COO at wpd said in a statement: “Our Bankewitz, Müssingen and Flinten wind farms are three further exciting and important projects in the German market for which construction is about to start. We can build on a promising project pipeline with which we will continue to drive forward the expansion of German onshore wind energy.”

Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act states that by 2025, 40-45% of electricity consumed in the country must be generated by renewables.

According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, wind energy is one of the driving forces behind Germany’s expanding renewables. In 2018, onshore and offshore wind energy installations accounted for an installed capacity of 52.5GW and 6.4GW respectively. In total, approximately 110TWh were generated by onshore (90.5TWh) and offshore (19.5TWh) installations.

The share of wind energy in Germany’s gross electricity consumption now stands at 18.6%. According to plans drafted by the Federal Government, offshore wind capacity is to reach 15GW by 2030.

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The agreement is EDPR’s first PPA in Greece and Mytilineos’ first wind energy PPA and will help EDPR speed up the development of three wind projects:

• 23MW located in Voiotia, Greece
• 21MW located in Achaia, Greece
• 35MW located in Voiotia, Greece

All wind farms are expected to enter operation between the end of 2024 and 2025 and under this PPA they are expected to produce annually more than 232 GWh, the equivalent of the consumption of 60 thousand households in Greece.

Dionysios Andronas, general director of EDPR Greece, said in a statement: “This PPA is a milestone for our business activity and demonstrates our commitment to renewable energy and the Greek market”.

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With this new portfolio, EDPR has now 11.2GW out of the 20GW target additions worldwide established in the 2021-25 business plan. This transaction enables EDPR to achieve more than 3.6GW of the 6.7GW target for renewable capacity additions in Europe during 2021-25.

Yiannis Kalafatas, chief executive director of Mytilineos’ Energy Sector stated: “We are excited about this new transaction with EDPR that marks its first PPA and one of the first wind PPAs in Greece.”

With this contract, Mytilineos advances its wider strategy targeting more than 2GW coming from 3rd party PPAs as well as its own assets across the region.

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The 165.3MW project consists of 29 Nordex N163 wind turbines of 5.7MW each and will supply enough power annually to meet the needs of 150,000 homes.

The Atacama wind farm follows the development of the 192.5MW Cabo Leones III wind farm. Both wind farms form part of the Chilean project portfolio of Repsol Ibereólica Renovables, the joint venture between Repsol and the Ibereólica Renovables Group.

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Both wind farms are located in Atacama in the Chilean region of the same name in the province of Huasco.

Together, the partners have more than 1,200MW of assets in operation, construction or development, with the possibility of exceeding 2,600MW in 2030.

Before the construction, both companies signed a 14-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to maximise returns on the generation asset.

João Paulo Costeira, Repsol’s general manager of Low Carbon Generation, said: “This milestone will allow us to meet our growth and diversification goals in Chile, a country that offers us great potential for asset development as a further step towards achieving our goal of 6GW in operation by 2025.”

Repsol has a current portfolio of installed renewable generation projects amounting to more than 1,800MW, including 1,600MW of installed renewable capacity in Spain, 62.5MW in the United States and 3MW from the WindFloat Atlantic floating wind farm in Portugal.

With the addition of this Atacama wind farm, Spanish renewables group Ibereólica Renovables has reached 1GW of installed capacity across Spain and Chile.

According to the World Economic Forum, despite its historical ties to fossil fuels and copper mining, Chile in recent years has accelerated its energy transition through political support, private-public partnerships and innovative green technologies.

Chile plans to convert 70% of its total energy consumption to renewables by 2030 and has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.

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Siemens Gamesa has unveiled plans to ramp up its windpower manufacturing footprint in the US and ultimately “lead the US offshore wind market”.

The strategy hinges on whether New York authorities choose Siemens Gamesa’s turbines in the state’s third offshore wind solicitation.

If it does, Siemens Gamesa has revealed that it will build a major offshore nacelle manufacturing facility at the Port of Coeymans in New York state.

It said the planned facility would create up to approximately 420 direct jobs and represent an investment of around $500 million in the region.

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Siemens Gamesa said it would also commit to localizing several new component supplier facilities, including steel component fabrication, bearings, and composite components, which it added could help double the number of jobs created by the facility.

“The announcement of this proposed facility in New York is a major step forward in our desire to lead the massive US offshore wind market,” said Marc Becker, chief executive of Siemens Gamesa’s offshore business.

“We’re excited by the opportunity presented by the State of New York to further develop our manufacturing footprint.

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“The numerous economic, employment, and environmental benefits that offshore wind presents are enhanced by solid policies and frameworks, which are critical for financial success.”

The proposed facility and supplier network in New York would supply components for all Siemens Gamesa offshore wind power projects along the US east coast. 

Siemens Gamesa plans to localize its offshore wind power supply chain on the east coast.

In 2021 it unveiled plans for an offshore wind turbine blade finishing facility in Portsmouth, Virginia.

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A floating Lidar system designed to gather offshore wind data continued to successfully operate while deployed during a typhoon.

Details just released reveal how the buoy containing the Lidar (light detection and ranging) device continued working while in the midst of extreme conditions during typhoon Hinnamnor, which hit Japan and South Korea last September and became the first category-5 storm of 2022.

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The Floating Lidar EOLOS device was deployed off Jindo, on the southern coast of South Korea, and recorded wind gusts of 125km/hr and wave heights of 11m.

The EOLOS FLS200 – developed by Spanish firm EOLOS and ZX Lidars from the UK – was deployed in support of offshore wind developments in the region.

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The buoy features an integrated ZX 300M wind Lidar has been purposely designed exclusively for the needs of the offshore wind industry, which the companies state ensures proper dynamics for wind measurements up to 300m above sea level even in the most challenging conditions.

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The 2022 installation was completed by technicians from hemmerschütz GmbH on behalf of windfarm owner Offshore Windpark RIFFGAT GmbH and follows the trial application of the custom-made erosion shields in 2020.

Riffgat offshore wind farm was commissioned in 2014. The wind farm includes a fleet of thirty Siemens 3.6 -120 turbines installed on monopiles 15 kilometres off the island of Borkum, Germany.

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According to Edge Solutions, the shields were developed using a bespoke version of INEOS’s ultra-tough Luran SC thermoplastic material, created specifically for wind turbine blades.

Each shield is up to one metre long and is custom formed to the blade type and then bonded into place.

Edge Solutions’ managing director David Urch said: “We’ve used feedback to improve the Armour Edge system with end-to-end flush joints to further simplify application and enhance performance. This has been proven at Riffgat, where last summer’s installation was carried out in a third less time than the previous edge protection used by the farm.”

Dirk Warnecke, managing director of Offshore-Windpark Riffgat GmbH, said: “The learning curve concerning handling and installation of the shields, which Edge Solutions made from the first tests in 2020 to today’s product is impressive. After a very smooth application, we are looking forward to see the product’s performance in the upcoming operation years.”

Leading edge erosion

Leading edge erosion describes the erosion of a wind turbine blade’s leading edge by rain, hail, UV, sand, dust, insects and other airborne particles.

Erosion of the wind turbine blade can negatively impact the blade’s aerodynamic efficiency, reducing reliability, decreasing performance and increasing maintenance costs. Study results have shown that a heavily eroded wind turbine blade can reduce annual energy production by up to 5% for a utility scale wind turbine.

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With the signing of this framework agreement, Siemens Gamesa and Doosan agreed to engage in technology cooperation, such as the assembly of nacelles, construction and operation & maintenance of ultra-large offshore wind turbines, foster the growth of local parts suppliers to promote a domestic offshore wind power ecosystem, and exchange knowledge and training related to offshore wind turbine technology.

The two manufacturers began exploring the potential for cooperation in June 2022 with the signing of an initial memorandum of understanding. The signing of the latest framework agreement marks the next step in the partnership aimed at boosting local assembly and job creation.

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Marc Becker, CEO of Siemens Gamesa’s offshore business, said: “We are eager to bring our market-leading offshore skills including our unique offshore Direct Drive nacelle technology to South Korea. We will also greatly benefit from Doosan’s deep understanding of the Korean market to accelerate the country’s energy transition.”

Hongook Park, CEO of Doosan Enerbility’s Power Services Business Group, added: “…We aim to cooperate on broadening our participation in the Korean offshore wind power market and actively pursue promotion of the domestic offshore wind power ecosystem.

“Through this partnership, Doosan looks forward to boosting its competitiveness across the overall offshore wind power sector through measures, such as the upgrading of existing products and diversification of models.”

Doosan Enerbility started its wind power business in 2005 and participates in the South Korean offshore wind market with projects such as the 60MW Southwest Offshore Wind Power Phase 1 development.

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