Latest Wind Power News Global July'21

Latest Wind Power News from around India

1. Holland: Swedish utility Vattenfall AB announced on Monday it has kicked off the construction of the 1.5-GW Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) offshore wind farm project in Dutch waters. HKZ will be located 18 kilometres (11.2 miles) off the Dutch coast, in an area between The Hague and Zandvoort.
2. Worlds Largest floating wind offshore: The fifth and final 9.525 MW floating wind turbine has been connected to its moorings some 15 kilometres southeast of Aberdeen, Scotland. The Kincardine 05 floating platform was connected to its moorings.Once fully completed, the 50 MW Kincardine will comprise one 2 MW and five 9.525 MW Vestas wind turbines, becoming the largest operating floating wind farm in the world.
3. China’s first floating wind offshore: The floating wind turbine will be installed for demonstration purposes at the 400 MW Yangxi Shapa III offshore wind farm developed by China Three Gorges (CTG). The unit comprises a MySE5.5MW typhoon-resistant turbine and a semi-submersible floating foundation.
4. Circular Economy: “The earliest point in a product lifecycle that circular economy strategies can be applied is in the design of products from the ground up—literally,” said Tyler Christoffel, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Technology Fellow at the Department of Energy (DOE). “Wind turbines must be designed sustainably from the concrete base, through the tower and nacelle, all the way to the blade tips.”
5. Rare Earth Metals: Rare earth metals currently power the energy transition, from renewables to electric vehicles. At this time China dominates, producing 85% of the world’s rare earths refined products last year, and the energy transition’s need accounts for about 29% of total global demand. This raises several issues that could impact supply and so the supply of offshore wind turbines.
6. How offshore wind turbine works: But instead of having its tower embedded directly into the ground or the sea floor, a floating wind turbine sits on a platform with mooring lines, such as chains or ropes, that connect to anchors in the seabed below. These mooring lines hold the turbine in place against the wind and keep it connected to the cable that sends its electricity back to shore. Most of the stability is provided by the floating platform itself. The trick is to design the platform so the turbine doesn’t tip too far in strong winds or storms.
7. Losses for Siemens Gamesa: The ongoing failure to keep costs under control might cause Siemens Energy to consider a full takeover of its Spanish-listed subsidiary and end an arm’s length relationship that has limited its influence, two people close to the matter said. At current share prices, the remaining 33% stake would cost Siemens Energy around 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion).
8. Offshore Turbine installation vessels: China Three Gorges (CTG) on 6 July, started construction on the 3,000-ton Wudongde at China Merchants Industry’s shipyard in Haimen. Wudongde is China’s first high-performance deep-sea vessel specifically designed for the transport and installation of wind farm infrastructure, according to CTG
9. Australia Energy Superpower ? More than ten offshore wind farms are currently proposed for Australia. If built, their combined capacity would be greater than all coal-fired power plants in the nation. Offshore wind projects can provide a win-win-win for Australia: creating jobs for displaced fossil fuel workers, replacing energy supplies lost when coal plants close, and helping Australia become a renewable energy superpower.
10. Latest Technical Breakthroughs:The process of harvesting wind energy has been improved through modifications in triboelectric nanogenerators and expanding the range of wind speeds that can be captured through gentle wind-driven TENG. Furthermore, offshore wind turbine foundation design has changed with hybrid monopile foundations that can resist lateral wind displacement. Reducing turbine fatigue is also discussed because this can lessen the lifetime of wind turbines.