The European Commission has officially extended the steel safeguard measures for a further three years. The decision will add to cost pressures for wind turbine and component manufacturers. The steel safeguard measures impact two categories of importance to the European wind industry: heavy plate (category 7), used in the fabrication of steel wind towers, [...]
MEPs will adopt an opinion on offshore strategy at the ITRE Committee meeting on Thursday. The author is Morten Petersen, Member of the European Parliament and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). In a recent special interview with BalticWind.EU, the Danish politician argued that the European strategy for renewable energy [...]
Another step towards supplying wind energy to the German electricity grid has been successfully taken. The land cables have now been installed underground over a distance of three kilometres from the landing point, where the sea cables meet the mainland, to the Lubmin transformer station. Using so-called HDD drilling - also known as horizontal [...]
Belgian offshore wind energy developer Parkwind developing the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm in Germany chose 24Sea as a supplier of systems for monitoring the condition of wind turbine foundations. The offshorewind.biz portal informed about the investor's decision. 24Sea has over 10 years of experience in analysing the dynamics of wind structures, signal processing, [...]
Janusz Czajkowski joins the offshore wind team to strengthen Ramboll’s leading global position and facilitate local growth in the Polish offshore wind market. Operating from Ramboll’s new office in Gdynia, Janusz Czajkowski will act as a key local manager on Ramboll’s offshore wind projects. His main task will be to strengthen Ramboll’s leading global [...]
Norwegian renewable energy sources developer Magnora has announced that it has increased its stake to 24 percent in the Kustvind offshore wind energy project in the Baltic Sea. The project is currently in the process of obtaining permits. Several environmental studies have already been carried out on the population of cranes and bats. Currently, [...]
LOTOS Petrobaltic and Baltic Trade and Invest (BTI) signed a letter of intent to collaborate on offshore wind farm projects. BTI is a subsidiary of Germany’s RWE Renewables (RWER), the world’s second largest offshore wind farm developer and operator. The areas of collaboration set out in the letter of intent include: geotechnical soil investigation, [...]
ENTSO-E, T&D Europe and WindEurope have published a joint report on the development of HVDC systems in the context of offshore wind energy. Technical problems in integrating a large number of, for example, converter stations from different suppliers are a challenge. It is crucial to ensure the interoperability of technologies. At the beginning, it [...]
The representative of the Norwegian Equinor indicates that there are too few sea areas intended for the development of wind energy on a global scale. In order to achieve climate goals, governments should make more of such space available for the development of wind turbines. Anders Opedal, CEO of Eqinor, a global leader in [...]
Ignitis Renewables commissioned the research center "Rinkos tyrimų centras" to conduct an opinion poll on the development of energy in Lithuania. It turns out that, according to the respondents, offshore energy is welcomed, but little known by the inhabitants. Most of the respondents believe that the most developed energy sources in Lithuania should be, [...]
The European Investment Bank and nine other institutions are providing a total of €570 million to build the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm — one of the most innovative wind farm projects in Europe — with EIB funding amounting to €150 million. Also contributing are KBC, Belfius, Helaba, KfW, IPEX-Bank, Rabobank, Société Général, ING and EKF. [...]
In May, the Estonian government presented to the public the offshore development project for evaluation. Mart Undrest, the head of the Estonian Fishermen's Association, referred to the plans for the development of offshore energy in the Estonian media. They are afraid of destroying fisheries. In May 2021, the Estonian Ministry of Finance presented to the [...]
Vestas has secured a firm order for the 257 MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind project from Parkwind, to deliver 27 V174-9.5 MW turbines 19 km north east off the coast of the Island of Rugen, in the German Baltic Sea. The order confirms the fifth collaboration between Vestas (previously through MHI Vestas Offshore [...]
The 2020 Global Offshore Wind Annual Market Report issued from the Renewables Consulting Group (RCG) presents that more than 200 GW of new offshore wind projects have been announced since the beginning of 2020. It accounts for more than 44% of all global capacity at the pre-construction or early development phase. Lots of new [...]
The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH – Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie) has selected two companies, Fugro and Ramboll, to carry out geotechnical investigations of the undersea areas in terms of the development of future offshore wind farm areas. The Dutch company Fugro, specializing in geological research, announced in May that it [...]
European Commission will present the package “fit for 55%” this summer. According to the latest agenda of the Commission it is scheduled on July 14th. All legislative proposals need to provide a framework for delivering increased GHG reduction target for 2030 as well as climate neutrality by 2050. BalticWind.EU has seen a leaked version [...]
Newsroom: Offshore wind farms Aflandshage and Nordre Flint are part of Denmark’s green transition and Copenhagen’s ambition to become the world’s first CO2-neutral capital by 2025. In total, the two wind farms will result in a CO2 reduction of 75,000 tonnes and cover the power consumption of more than 400,000 households. Ramboll has been [...]
Finnish electricity system operator Fingrid has published a draft grid development plan for 2022-2031. The document raises the forecasts for the growth of wind power energy. The document is based on regional grid plans, prepared in cooperation with the operator's partners and customers. Project feedback and comments can be sent to Fingrid until August [...]
Four Scandinavian transmission network operators - Energinet, Fingrid, Statnett and Svenska Kraftnät - are working on the development plan for the Nordic TSO Strategy until 2030. The document focuses on the development of wind energy in countries and sector integration. Works on the strategy started in autumn 2020. A webinar was organized in March [...]
Newsroom: Sweden plans to reduce grid interconnection costs for offshore wind developers According to the Renewables Consulting Group’s (RCG) Global Renewable Infrastructure Projects (GRIP) database, Sweden has already granted grid connection to 28.9 GW of offshore wind grid connection. Tor Inge Vevatne, Director and General Manager of RCG Nordic, says reduced grid connection costs [...]
New 72 wind turbines of 8.4MW each installed at Kriegers Flak Wind will produce enough green electricity for the annual needs of approximately 600,000 Danish households. According to Jan De Nul Group, the geographical location of the offshore wind farm offers extremely heterogeneous soil conditions with large lateral variability and boulders on the surface [...]
Every year on 21 June we celebrate World Hydrography Day. This year the focus is on autonomous technologies – aerial, surface and underwater survey drones as well as autonomous ships. Hydrographic works are essential for wind offshore development projects, including operation and maintenance of wind farms. Hydrography can play the key role in support [...]
[Download link at the end of article] Leaked revised renewable directive (REDIII) shows that offshore wind will be one of the pillars of RES development in the EU. The leaked document puts strong focus on cross border projects, joint cooperation of MSs within each sea basin by 2050, with intermediate steps in 2030 and [...]
As reported by the Estonian media, Eesti Energia, which plans to build an offshore wind farm with Danish Ørsted, accuses the Estonian operator of partiality in the development of the electricity network. In the opinion of Hando Sutter, the head of Eesti Energia, the operator did not include the wind farm project planned by [...]
In the pages of the Estonian ERR website, Juhan Hellerma writes about development plans for offshore wind energy in Estonia. It turns out that the expected environmental impact of marine installations may be much lower than originally predicted. The Estonian land use plan designates three sea areas for the development of offshore wind farms. [...]
Recently, at BalticWind.EU we informed that the Finnish forestry company Metsähallitus is planning to build the Korsnäs offshore wind farm, which will be located 15 km from the coast of the municipality of the same name in the waters of the Baltic Sea. Environmental research has already started in the farm area. Metsähallitus announces [...]
According to the Swedish media, the wind company Hexicon plans to debut on the stock exchange. On June 4, 2021, it announced its intention to conduct an offer to sell its own auctions. The prospectus has already been approved by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. The entity specializes in the development of floating wind [...]
A new laboratory launched jointly by Wind Denmark and Dansk Energi, Denmark's two largest energy organisations, aims to improve the coexistence of wind turbines, photovoltaic panels and nature through research and testing of new solutions that ensure both biodiversity and green transition. The Coexistence Laboratory, CO-EX Lab, will focus on finding solutions through research [...]
Today, at the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE)’s Annual Congress Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, and Juan Virgilio Márquez, General Director of AEE, today called upon the European Commission to propose a Europe-wide ban on landfilling decommissioned wind turbine blades. The ban should enter into force by 2025 and also apply to other large [...]
Siemens Gamesa, a global technology leader in the renewable energy industry, and Grupa Przemysłowa Baltic, a holding company owned by the Polish state-owned Industrial Development Agency, announced that they have recently signed a Letter of Intent to work together to further the Polish offshore wind power industry. Poland's national legislation currently enables development of [...]
Parkwind, a company that develops, finances and operates offshore wind farms, announced that the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm reached financial close. The project raised about EUR 570m of debt from a group of nine lenders: KBC Bank, Belfius Bank, Helaba, KfW IPEX-Bank, Coöperatieve Rabobank, Société Générale, ING Bank, EKF Danmarks Eksportkredit [...]
According to the Danish analytical centre Aegir Insights, offshore wind energy is a promising solution to Sweden's problem of electricity deficit in the south of the country. According to data from Wind Europe, at the end of 2020, there are 5 offshore wind farms operating in Swedish waters with a total capacity of 192 [...]
The world is not installing wind power at the pace needed to achieve net-zero, according to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The wind industry’s new campaign for COP26 asks governments, companies, and people across the world one critical question: "Wind. Are You In?" According to recently released roadmap reports on reaching Net Zero by [...]
In a joint statement Corrosion and Amphibious Energy announced the launch of the new ICCP-POD, an environmentally friendly alternative to using diesel generators to supply energy during the construction phase of wind turbines, and sacrificial anodes to protect turbine foundations against corrosion. The ICCP-POD combines two advanced technologies. The EnergyPod, developed by Amphibious Energy, is an [...]
The development of offshore wind energy, like other renewable energy sources, is associated with many challenges. Among them are resources and access to them. According to the report of the International Energy Agency, there is a discrepancy between climate ambitions and the availability of critical raw materials. Set targets for renewable energy on a [...]
An international consortium wants to make Bornholm a green bunker hub in the Baltic Sea. Several Danish companies are participating in the consortium, including Ørsted, Haldor Topsøe, Bunker Holding and Molslinjen. The launch of the Bornholm Bunker Hub comes just a few weeks after the Danish government's growth team on Bornholm recommended that a [...]
Tomorrow the worldwide wind energy community will celebrate Global Wind Day. The event inaugurated as Wind Day in 2007 initially reached 18 countries in Europe, with a participation of around 35,000 people. The main idea behind this celebration was to coordinate events organised by wind energy associations and companies active in the wind energy [...]
The development of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea will not be possible without transmission infrastructure. The Polish power system operator Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne announced that until 2030 it will allocate PLN 4.5 billion (approximately EUR 1 billion) for the construction and modernization of stations and transmission lines in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Until [...]
Decarbonising the energy sector and fighting climate change is perhaps the greatest challenge humanity has faced. Technologies, including wind energy, are to help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The roadmap for the energy sector to climate neutrality until 2050 was presented by the International Energy Agency. While more and more countries declare the goal [...]
On the occasion of the 2021 World Ocean Day, over 70 IRENA members and private sector representatives came together in a Collaborative Framework on Ocean Energy and Offshore Renewables to accelerate the deployment of ocean technologies worldwide. Energy from the sea and through offshore renewables is increasingly recognised as significant climate solution for the power sector [...]
On Friday, the European Council reached a general approach on the revision of the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation. The objective of the revised TEN-E regulation is to modernise, decarbonise and interconnect the EU’s cross-border energy infrastructure in order to help the EU achieve its 2050 climate neutrality objectives. The revised Regulation also [...]
JDR, the global subsea umbilical supplier and servicer, owned by the TFKable Group, has been awarded a contract by Parkwind to supply, test and terminate 33kV subsea cables for the Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm in Germany. The company will supply the 45km of 33kV array cable that will connect the 27 wind [...]
Germany’s Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has blasted German government plans to expand areas of the Baltic and North Seas for offshore wind power development. The new draft plan, presented by the interior ministry, identifies parts of the Dogger Bank, a transnational sandbank in the middle of the North Sea, as an additional priority area for wind power development. The planned “industrialisation” [...]
The Baltic Sea is one of the areas of interest for investors in the offshore wind energy sector, including Danish giant Ørsted. The Danes will develop two offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea in cooperation with the largest electricity producer. How does the company view the Polish market? We ask Rasmus Errboe, Senior [...]
Electrification is the most cost-effective way to decarbonise Europe’s economy according to a report from ETIPWind and WindEurope out today. Wind energy will lead the process: the EU sees it being half of Europe’s electricity by 2050. With the right investments in grids and technology, the combined rate of direct and indirect electrification will [...]
The Baltic Sea, like the rest of the world, will struggle with the challenge of the need for qualified personnel necessary for the development of offshore wind energy sector. Until 2025 alone, 480,000 employees trained globally according to the Global Wind Organization standards are required to meet the targets for the onshore and offshore [...]
Despite the logistical challenges that the Covid pandemic has brought, the schedule for the construction of Vattenfall's Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm has been kept. The 72 offshore wind turbines are now all installed 15-40 kilometres off the east coast of Denmark. "We are pleased to see that the installation of the turbines has been successfully completed. Despite Covid, we have been able to deliver according to plan – actually a little [...]
PSE and Litgrid, transmission system operators of Poland and Lithuania, both have made the final investment decisions on the implementation phase of the Harmony Link interconnector project, a submarine power cable line between Poland and Lithuania. The investment decisions, in accordance with the signed cooperation agreements, start the implementation phase of the project. In [...]
Norwegian seismic research company SeaBird Exploration Plc will execute its first contract in the offshore wind energy sector. The contract covers the charter of the Petrel Explorer vessel, i.e. a floating hotel [PR1]. The contract was implemented at the end of April 2021 and will last 4 months in the waters of the Baltic [...]
Not long ago, Eesti Energia started cooperation with the Danish tycoon Ørsted to build an offshore wind farm in the waters of the Gulf of Riga. The Estonian company stands by its plans, but would like the state to provide investment guarantees. The head of Eesti Energia, Hando Sutter, told the ERR portal about [...]
The Danish government, together with the majority in the Parliament have agreed to strengthen the role of local influence on coastal green energy projects development such as offshore wind. According to Wind Denmark, it may stop the possibility of market-driven offshore wind development and leaves the question of how Denmark will secure enough green [...]
In the German waters of the Baltic Sea, the Spanish developer Iberdrola will build the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm. The developer has signed a contract with the manufacturer Vestas for the supply of turbines and their service. Their installation is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm will [...]
On the pages of BalticWind.EU, we quoted the results of the analyzes of the IHS Markit center, according to which the current fleet of ships in the world is not adapted to the installation of new generation wind turbines. Analysts estimate that 15 MW wind turbines will appear on the offshore wind energy market [...]
Estonian energy group Eesti Energia announced on Wednesday that it will discontinue producing electricity from oil shale by 2030 and will focus on developing offshore wind farms, energy storage systems and producing oil from waste based on the principles of circular economy in the future. Eesti Energia CEO Hando Sutter said at a presentation [...]
The European Commission has received the Finnish government's approved national recovery and resilience plan. The document includes support for offshore wind development in the Åland Islands region. According to the EC, Finland has requested financial assistance in the form of grants under the plan amounting to EUR 2.1 billion. The Finnish plan is part [...]
This morning, Ørsted announced the approval of the new strategic ambition and financial guidance by the company's Board of Directors. The announcement was made during the company's Capital Markets Day event. One of the highlights of the event is the offshore presentation held by Martin Neubert, CCO & Deputy Group CEO of Ørsted. Over the [...]
Removal of obstacles especially in relation to permitting is one of the recommendations published by an Electrification Alliance. Members of the alliance, including WindEurope and Eurelectric, released its priorities for “fit for 55%” package. Recommendations for the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive indicates that removal of obstacles to solar, wind and electricity grid deployment [...]
A port strategy and investments of EUR 6.5 billion until 2030 are needed, according to the latest WindEurope report. The goal of climate neutrality until 2050 requires a 25-fold increase in the currently installed capacity in offshore wind energy sector. Only until 2030, the capacity of offshore wind turbines will increase to 110 GW. Such [...]
The Baltic Sea will be enriched with another service port - according to the announcements of Polish decision-makers and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Poland, it will be Łeba. The Norwegian Equinor has announced that it has purchased a plot of land in this city, on which a maintenance and service base will [...]
In May 2021, the European Commission proposed a new approach to the blue economy, which is of key importance in the EU's climate policy, in particular in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal. The maritime economy has grown in importance in recent years in the era of EU decarbonisation policies. It covers [...]
IHS Markit analysts estimate that 15 MW wind turbines will appear on the offshore wind energy market within the next three years. Unfortunately, the current fleet of ships used to assemble wind turbines is not adapted to work with next-generation technologies. This poses a great risk to the global goals of the offshore wind [...]
The biggest wind power seminar in Finland gathers over 200 people from more than 10 countries to network and learn from the latest winds in the industry. As we are moving closer to the era of new normal, event organizers work hard to make safe events happen – and so are we.
The biggest wind power seminar in Finland gathers over 200 people from more than 10 countries to network and learn from the latest winds in the industry. As we are moving closer to the era of new normal, event organizers work hard to make safe events happen – and so are we.
Vestas, the largest producer of wind turbines, is entering the Latvian energy market. The Danish company will deliver turbines to the construction site of the Targale onshore wind farm in Latvia. Vestas opened its first office in Latvia in April 2021. The plan is also to launch a service hub near the port of [...]
Electricity Transmission System Operators in Latvia and Estonia, AS Augstsprieguma tikls (AST) and Elering AS, have signed a cooperation agreement to investigate possible ways to evacuate power from planned offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea and connect them to onshore transmission systems in both countries. Operators informed that preliminary analysis of the route [...]
The Baltic Sea will play a key role in the development of offshore wind energy in Europe. The European Commission estimates that the potential of this sea is 93.5 GW. The Baltic Sea gives the Baltic states a chance for an effective energy transformation [...]
According to Wind Europe data, at the end of 2020, the installed capacity in offshore wind farms in Europe amounted to 25 GW. There were 5 offshore farms in operation in Sweden with a total capacity of 192 MW. The country's authorities approach the development of offshore wind installations in a balanced way, its [...]
The investor Svea Vind Offshore plans to build two wind farms Långgrund 1 and Långgrund 1 in the waters of the Baltic Sea. Swedish media reports that the armed forces continue to refuse to approve the projects. Långgrund 1 (1,395 MW) and Långgrund 2 (capacity unknown) are offshore wind farm projects that Swedish investor [...]
Metsähallitus is a Finnish state-owned forestry company with the ambitious goals of developing the Korsnäs offshore wind farm, which will be located 15 km from the coast of the municipality of the same name, in the waters of the Baltic Sea. The company announced its intentions already in 2020, and more specifically about the [...]
In February, the Swedish Ministry of Infrastructure proposed to reduce the costs of connecting offshore wind farms to the electricity grid, which are borne by electricity producers. On February 2, 2021, a proposal for regulations announced four years ago was published on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure, aimed at reducing the costs [...]
Ten years ago a breakthrough was made in the offshore wind energy sector in Germany - the energy group EnBW commissioned the first commercial offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. Baltic 1 is a 48.3 MW wind power plant located 16 km off the German coast. The foundations were installed at a depth [...]
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO) is the basis for the payment of money from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility for projects to revitalize the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Polish project also includes support for offshore wind energy projects, including the construction of port infrastructure. Consultations of the National Recovery [...]
The Polish company LOTOS Petrobaltic from Grupa LOTOS is the only Polish mining company that deals with the exploration and production of oil and gas deposits on the Polish shelf of the Baltic Sea. The company wants to join the plan to build offshore wind farms by providing the necessary fleet of ships - [...]
The consulting company UAB Ardynas, commissioned by the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy, will prepare a plan for some areas in the Baltic Sea where offshore wind farms are to be built. Lithuania has already preliminarily identified places where wind farms will be built in the Baltic Sea. In March 2021, the tender for a [...]
The Baltic Sea has enormous potential for the development of offshore wind farms. In the opinion of one of the producers of wind turbines, Poland may play the leading role in this respect. According to the estimates of the representative of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for Poland, Paweł Przybylski, presented in an interview with [...]
The European Commission approved the Danish support scheme for the development of renewable energy sources, in particular onshore and offshore wind farms, hydropower plants and photovoltaic installations. In this way, the Danes will accelerate the development of the renewable energy sector. State aid will be granted through auctions to be carried out in the [...]
Polish offshore wind investor PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna has established cooperation with the Danish Technical University (Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Gdańsk University of Technology. The aim of the cooperation is [...]
In just a few years, Poland will join the countries producing electricity in offshore wind farms. For this purpose, the necessary regulations have been created that provide support for projects in the Baltic Sea. The Polish energy market regulator has already made important decisions as part of the first phase of support for offshore [...]
One job in the offshore wind energy sector can generate nearly 2.5 new jobs in the supply chain, according to a report prepared by the German Ministry of Economy. The offshore wind sector is the driving force of the labor market and the economy. The analysis "Maritime added value and bn in Germany" was [...]
The fiftieth turbine was installed at the Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm. The project is carried out by Vattenfall in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea. According to the industry media, thanks to the installation of the 50th turbine with a capacity of 8.4 MW, the total capacity of the installation already exceeds [...]
Seven European transmission system operators have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the launch of Eurobar, an initiative for interconnecting offshore wind platforms across Europe. The aim of Eurobar is to efficiently and securely integrate offshore wind power into the European power grid, starting from current regulation and projects (e.g. point-to-point connections) and prospectively evolving [...]
Estonia has ambitious plans to develop offshore wind energy. On the other side of the Baltic Sea is Denmark, which today is one of the leaders in the development of the offshore wind sector. In April 2021, the wind giant Ørsted and company Enefit, one of the largest energy companies in the Baltic countries, [...]
Ørsted has started the onsite construction work on the H2RES project in Copenhagen.H2RES will have a capacity of 2 MW and will be situated on Ørsted's premises on Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen. The project will investigate how to best combine an efficient electrolyser with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using Ørsted's two 3.6 [...]
The European Commission approves €22.5 billion Polish scheme to support offshore wind farms. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This Polish scheme is a very good example of how competition policy can enable Member States to support green energy projects, such as offshore wind farms. It gives the incentive to companies [...]