UK
Scottish & Southern, Fluor team up in wind farm bid
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) (SSE.L) have teamed up with U.S. civil engineering group Fluor to develop new UK offshore wind farms, the British company said on Wednesday.
SSE said its renewable energy development unit Airtricity had joined the UK operating arm of Fluor Corporation (FLR.N), Fluor Ltd, to form a consortium called Seagreen Wind Energy.
The consortium is bidding for rights to build farms under the Crown Estate's round three offshore wind farm development programme.
The 'Seagreen' consortium is in addition to the 'Forewind' joint venture announced in February between Airtricity, RWE nPower renewables and two of Norway's largest companies, Statkraft and StatoilHydro. These collaborations are further evidence of aggressive expansion into offshore wind, after the company recently announced consent to develop a second offshore wind farm in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.
Comment: Whilst the likes of BP, Shell and Centrica feed the national press with column inches to appease the renewables doomsayers, the real goliaths of the offshore wind industry are seizing the initiative whilst they can. The oil and gas super-majors may feel that prudence is the name of the game at the moment or that the profit margins on wind cannot compete (or indeed threaten) with their traditional offerings. However, with the offshore wind revolution developing at a lightening pace, this is one market where where the option of buying in late will incur a very heavy premium.
Wind of change set for Lowestoft
A WIND of change is all set to blow through the port of Lowestoft in the UK, when the port will becomes the operations centre for the Greater Gabbard Offshore Windfarm.
Once completed, Greater Gabbard will be the world's largest offshore wind farm. Its 140 Siemans turbines will give it a 500 MW power rating and will deliver electricity to the South-East of England from 15 miles out at sea.
Greater Gabbard has had a number of stakeholders over recent years, but is now owned by Airtricity (subsidiary of SSE) and npower renewables (subsidiary of RWE).
Lowestoft is one of the key areas set to benefit by the explosion of interest in offshore wind, with Hull and the North-East of Scotland predicted to be other beneficial areas.
Germany
Offshore work on alpha ventus to restart soon
Work on the Alpha Ventus project off Borkum Island, Germany is set to resume this month after weather delayed the 60MW project late last year. The project, a collaboration between Germany's E.ON and EWE and Swedens Vatenfall will continue throughout the rest of the year and should be operational by the end of 2009.
Beluga and Hochtief in joint venture to develop offshore wind
Heavy-lift carrier Beluga Shipping GmbH and German construction giant Hochtief are teaming up in a joint venture to install offshore wind turbines. A Beluga spokesperson told European news sources that the carrier would be signing an agreement to pay approximately $1 billion on four specialized jack-up vessels, probably to be built at German shipyards, which will be used in the venture.
Comment: As in the rest of Europe, Germany is moving its focus from onshore to offshore wind. One of the major problems hampering this transition is the lack of support services (and vessels) available to install and maintain the hundreds of turbines planned for erection over the next decade. This deal is one small step to alleviating this problem and will act as a catalyst for further deals in the near future.
The more service support there is for offshore wind, the more competitive the market will become. This will lead to lower capital expenditure for project developers and will inevitably bolster the business case for offshore wind. Which can only be good news for all involved.
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