Author: Anela Dokso

Vattenfall has taken final investment decision for the construction of Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm proceedings 1-4. With its installed capacity of 1,500 MW, the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm will be the largest of its kind worldwide, when fully operational in 2023. It will have a renewable electricity output equivalent to the annual consumption of over two million Dutch households. Vattenfall was awarded permits for the construction of Hollandse Kust Zuid after winning two subsidy-free tender rounds in 2018 and 2019. The two projects have been combined into one wind farm to optimize the process. “The Hollandse…

American shipbuilding company Vigor Fab has selected ABB as the hybrid-electric propulsion and energy storage system provider for the newest additions to the Washington State Ferry fleet, setting the U.S. ferry system on course for zero-emission operations. The new ‘Olympic Class’ ferries, which will have the capacity to carry 144 cars and 1,500 passengers each. Upon delivery in 2024, the initial vessel of the series will be the first newbuild in Washington State Ferry’s fleet to feature hybrid-electric propulsion and a high capacity energy storage system. The new vessels will be able to fully operate on battery power and will…

Fugro has deployed two vessels off the coast of New York to perform a large-scale site characterization programme for Sunrise Wind, the offshore wind project developed by Ørsted and Eversource. The four-month operation will involve acquisition and analysis of integrated geotechnical and geophysical data to support multiple phases of the Sunrise Wind project, including cable corridor selection and turbine foundation design and installation. Fugro is managing the programme from its US Centre of Expertise for Renewable Projects, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Fugro is utilizing several proprietary technologies, including Back2Base, which enables the remote transfer of large datasets from offshore vessels…

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has signed on as the newest program partner for the Greentown Labs’ Offshore Wind Challenge, developed in partnership with Vineyard Wind. MassCEC will serve as an enabling partner throughout the Challenge and provide grant funding and in-kind support for startup pilot projects in Vineyard Wind’s lease areas in Massachusetts’ waters. Together, Vineyard Wind, MassCEC, and Greentown Labs are working to foster the offshore wind innovation ecosystem in the Commonwealth. The Offshore Wind Challenge is a six-month accelerator program supporting innovations in responsible development of offshore wind energy. The program is focused on fast-tracking entrepreneurs with…

Scout Clean Energy has completed construction and closed tax equity funding for the 180 MW Heart of Texas wind farm (HTX) located in McCulloch County, Texas. Scout started construction on Heart of Texas in September of last year. “Heart of Texas was completed on time and under budget which is quite an achievement given the wide-spread disruption that COVID-19 has caused across the entire US economy. It is a real credit to Scout’s construction management team, our suppliers, contractors and financiers who have worked tirelessly to get to the finish line. Reaching commercial operations at Heart of Texas brings Scout’s operational portfolio of wind energy generation to…

Subsea 7 has secured a contract worth over $750 million by SSE Renewables for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the foundations and inter array cables for the Seagreen offshore wind farm project in Scotland. The Seagreen development will be a 1,075MW offshore wind farm, comprising 114 wind turbines located off the east coast of Scotland. Seaway 7, the Renewables business unit of Subsea 7, will manage the EPCI of the 114 wind turbine generator foundations and approximately 300 kilometres of associated inter array cables. The agreement will immediately secure 30 jobs within Seaway 7’s Aberdeen office where the…

Wärtsilä has joined a consortium of partners to form Zero Emission Services (ZES), an enterprise aimed at making inland waterway shipping more sustainable. The other founders of ZES are ING Bank, energy and technical service provider Engie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The concept is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Within the Netherlands transport sector, inland navigation accounts for 5 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By switching from diesel fuelled propulsion to fully electrically powered transport, an important step can be taken towards realizing the Paris Climate Agreement goals, the company explained. The…

Vestas has secured a 226 MW order for five wind energy projects in Russia from Wind Energy Development Fund (WEDF), a joint investment fund created on a parity basis by PJSC Fortum and JSC RUSNANO. With this fifth order from its framework agreement with RUSNANO and Fortum to supply wind energy solutions in Russia, Vestas increases its footprint in the country to a total capacity of almost 830 MW. Located in the Rostov and Astrakhan region, the projects will consist of V126-4.2 MW wind turbines with 87 meter towers and long-term Active Output Management (AOM 5000) service contracts. “We are…

DEPCOM Power has started construction on the Altavista Solar plant near Lynch Station, Virginia. The 113 MWdc utility-scale solar plant will span across approximately 720 acres and is being engineered and constructed by DEPCOM for Liberty Power. Developed by Apex Clean Energy, Altavista Solar will be the first utility-scale solar project in Campbell County and generate over $1.8 million in local tax revenue over the project’s 35-year lifetime. The project is expected to be completed and powering the grid with clean energy by end of year. Focused on empowering the local community, the solar plant will generate approximately 300 jobs during…

Walney Extension, a joint venture owned by Ørsted (50%), PKA (25%) and PFA (25%), has signed an agreement for the sale of its transmission assets to Diamond Transmission Partners Walney Extension.  Diamond Transmission Partners Walney Extension is a partnership between Diamond Transmission Corporation, HICL Infrastructure Company and Chubu Electric Power. The transmission assets hold an asset value of £447 million (100%). The assets include the onshore substation, export cables, and the offshore substations. The divestment takes place in accordance with the offshore transmission owner (OFTO) regime. In March 2019, following a competitive tender, Ofgem selected Diamond Transmission Partners Walney Extension…