Author: Anela Dokso

CorPower is establishing a research and development, manufacturing and service centre for wave energy converters in Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal, with a €16 million investment plan. The location has been chosen to support CorPower’s demonstration project HiWave-5, and for the long-term development of supply and service capacity for commercial wave energy farms. CorPower’s work complements the Portuguese Industrial Strategy for Ocean Renewable Energies, designed to create a competitive and innovative industrial export cluster for ocean renewable energy. “This is a crucial stage in our pursuit to develop a new class of high efficiency wave energy converters. CorPower’s goal is…

A consortium of maritime companies has revealed the concept design of an Autonomous Guard Vessel set to revolutionize the offshore industry. The Autonomous Guard Vessel is specifically designed for surveillance of offshore structures throughout their life cycle, ranging from wind farms to substation platforms and cable routes. This concept to replace conventional guard vessels came to life in a project group facilitated by LISA, a community for maritime professionals. The project group resulted in a consortium, which includes C-Job Naval Architects, SeaZip Offshore Service, Sea Machines and recently joined by MARIN and eL-Tec elektrotechniek. With any area that needs to…

O3 Energy and UPower Energy are developing a 7.5 MW utility-scale solar portfolio in Texas that is being financed by AVANA Capital. This portfolio of work enables five different Texas rural electrical Co-ops the ability to offer renewable energy via solar power to thousands of residential and commercial customers throughout Central and West Texas. The seven solar farms maximize efficiency by using semi-transparent bi-facial panels combined with Archtech Solar Skyline E-W axis trackers. The combination of these allow for up to a 30% increase in electricity production, the company explained. “This is a massive portfolio of work for O3 Energy and UPower. Not only will…

North Star has appointed Mathew Gordon as its new chief executive. The company has also set up North Star Renewables and is seeking to deliver a new fleet of vessels to support the offshore wind maintenance market. Gordon will take over the CEO position this month from Callum Bruce, who is stepping down as chief executive after 34 years in the business, but who will remain in the short-term to ensure the smooth transition of responsibilities. Gordon has held senior positions in Unique Group, Atlantic Offshore, Viking Seatech and Subsea 7. “We have found the right person to take North Star…

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected seven projects totaling $1.94 million to conduct research and development to accelerate the adoption of performance-advantaged biofuel blendstocks. These fuels are derived from renewable feedstocks, and can deliver exceptional efficiency with low emissions. The seven projects will leverage National Laboratory capabilities as part of the Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative. “When you consider how much U.S. households spend on transportation—second only to housing expenses—even a small boost in fuel economy can have an important impact on families expenses. These projects are designed to help improve energy efficiency for passenger vehicles through the…

Van Oord has selected BAUER Spezialtiefbau to provide piling works for Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, one of the first offshore wind farms in France to obtain all the necessary government permits for its construction and operation. Saint-Brieuc will be built on an area of 75 km2 and comprise 62 turbines with a capacity of 8 MW each. In total, the wind farm will have a capacity of 496 MW. Located approximately 16 km off the French coast, the wind farm will produce 1,820 GWh per year – the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 people including heating. BAUER…

Scottish Government has granted consent for the High Constellation wind farm in Argyll & Bute. The project, being developed by Blue Energy, consists of 10 turbines, each with a tip height up to of 149.9 meters, and an onsite battery storage facility. Arcus has supported Blue Energy through the pre-application and consenting process. Arcus led the planning submission and EIA on behalf of the applicant, and undertook several of the technical assessments in-house including hydrology, archaeology, noise, traffic, socio-economics, climate change and other issues.  High Constellation wind farm is located on the Kintyre peninsula approximately 20km South of Tarbert and 30km…

AAL, global project heavy lift carrier, has delivered two Siemens ‘S-Gen’ generators, weighing close to 350 mt each, for two new clean energy gas-fired power plants in Europe and Maysan, Iraq. The units were built at Siemens’ worldwide energy hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and transported from the Norfolk International Terminals in Virginia, USA, into Europe and Iraq onboard the AAL Singapore vessel. The estimated construction cost of each plant is over $340 million, and both feature a potential power output of 840 MW. On route to discharging the second unit in the Port of Umm Qasr, Iraq, the AAL…

Huisman has been hired by CSBC Corporation to deliver a 4,000mt Offshore Mast Crane (OMC) to be installed on heavy lift vessel Green Jade. The crane will be built at the production facility of Huisman in China and is scheduled for delivery in 2022 for deployment by joint venture CSBC-DEME Wind Energy (CDWE) in the Taiwanese offshore wind market. The crane will be installed on CDWE’s new DP3 heavy lift and installation vessel to be built in Taiwan, Green Jade, that will be deployed for both the Hai Long Offshore Wind Project and at Zhong Neng for Zhong Neng Wind Power…

The Rise Fund, a global impact investing fund managed by alternative asset firm TPG, has acquired approximately 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar PV projects from China-based Trina Solar. The solar PV projects included in the transaction are currently operational, under construction or in late stage development nearing ready-to-build status across Spain, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and will serve as the first solar PV projects within the portfolio of newly created, Madrid-based Matrix Renewables. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. TPG and The Rise Fund are assembling a management team for Matrix Renewables and will leverage the firm’s investing and…