Offshore renewable energy news roundup for the week of Jan. 27, 2025
Cadeler’s latest self-propelled jackup wind turbine installation vessel, Wind Maker, has undergone a naming ceremony at the Hanwha Ocean Shipyard in South Korea.
This is the company’s sixth offshore wind vessel and the first of two commission M-class newbuilds, each engineered to install larger next-generation offshore wind turbines.
Sister vessel Wind Mover is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter. Both vessels are already contracted for multiple assignments, with Wind Maker due to start its first job directly following delivery.
Its 2,600-t capacity main crane can handle some of the heaviest foundations and wind turbine components, and it can operate in water depths of up to 65 m. The vessel itself is above sea level installing and maintaining offshore structures.
The vessel’s DP2 capability should support fast and energy-efficient transit and positioning between locations, the company added.
Related content: Offshore wind vessels
50Hertz, Energinet gain EU support for energy island project
In the Baltic Sea, the EU has awarded EUR645 million (US$669.5 million) in funding for the Danish-German Bornholm Energy Island project, allocated from the Connecting Europe Facility program.
The project, a joint development by grid operators 50Hertz and Energinet, features a power hub on the island of Bornholm with two converters, DC connections to the Danish and German mainland, and further converter systems onshore to transform direct current into alternating current.
The infrastructure will harness 3 GW of power from farms offshore Bornholm.
However, further regulatory clarity is needed before the project’s next phase, which includes the signing of contracts for converters, transformers and other substation technology, can proceed.
Partners proceed with Greece's first offshore wind farm development
Motor Oil and TERNA ENERGY reported on Jan. 27 that they are proceeding with the joint development of the first offshore wind farm in Greece.
The procedures for the participation of the Motor Oil Group, through its subsidiary Motor Oil Renewable Energy (MORE), with a 50% stake in the share capital of Aioliki Provata Traianoupoleos, a subsidiary of TERNA ENERGY Group, have been completed.
Aioliki Provata Traianoupoleos has the right to develop a pilot offshore wind farm with a capacity of 400 MW in the sea area south of Alexandroupolis and north of Samothrace.
This project partners are targeting completion by the end of the current decade.
Baltica 2 offshore wind farm going ahead
Ørsted and Polish energy utility PGE have taken FID on the 1.5-GW Baltica 2 offshore wind farm. This will be located in the Baltic Sea, roughly 40 km from Ustka on the Polish coast, and it should be fully commissioned in 2027. Read more.
Surveying for Bałtyk 2 and 3 offshore wind developments
DeepOcean will perform a subsea survey over both the Bałtyk 2 and 3 offshore wind developments for co-developers Equinor and Polenergia. The program will comprise geophysical seabed surveys of the export and inter-array cable seabed corridors, using the Edda Flora vessel and a survey ROV. Read more.
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT:
Case study: Sampling techniques and collaboration advanced offshore wind farm subsea investigations
About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.