Offshore wind production has soared in value by 37 times in the last decade

The economic value of the UK’s coastal waters has been put at more than £200bn amid growing recognition of the sea’s importance for renewable energy and as a barrier against global heating. In an official estimate for the value of marine natural assets, the Office for National Statistics said offshore wind production had soared in value by 37 times in the past decade.

Innovation: The life blood of the sectors we serve

Last week we touched on the highly welcome announcement from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy (BEIS) confirming additional funding to support the UK’s association to Horizon Europe and their commitment to increase investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. Research, leading to innovation, is the very life blood of the sectors served by All-Energy helping to bring about an ever-decreasing LCOE.

Just a glance at some of the innovations we picked up during the past week tells the tale of exciting results of long-term research at home and overseas:

• Equinor and SSE Thermal have unveiled plans to jointly develop two first-of-a-kind, low-carbon power stations in the UK’s Humber region, comprising one of the UK’s first power stations with CCS technology, and the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power station.
• TechnipFMC and Bombora have formed a strategic partnership to develop a floating wave and wind power project in support of a more sustainable future. The relationship brings together TechnipFMC’s unique technologies and experience delivering complex integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (iEPCI™) projects offshore with Bombora’s patented multi-megawatt mWave™ technology that converts wave energy into electricity. The partnership will initially focus on TechnipFMC and Bombora’s InSPIRE project.
• Nekkar has been awarded a Nkr21m (over €2m) grant from Innovation Norway to progress with the development of SkyWalker, a technology that could significantly reduce the cost and environmental footprint associated with wind turbine installations.
• Vattenfall, steel firm SSAB and mining group LKAB have started building an underground rock cavern storage facility for ‘fossil-free’ hydrogen gas in Sweden. The HYBRIT project aims to decarbonise iron and steel production and create a completely ‘fossil-free’ value chain from mine to finished steel.
• Who can fail to be impressed by what Orbital Marine Power described as “it’s like nothing this world has seen before“. Yes, we featured it last week too, we can’t get enough of it!
• And here’s an invitation to rise to a challenge: The UK Government has launched the application window for the Floating Offshore Wind (FOW) Demonstration Programme and set the deadline for submitting interest by noon 18 June. The government issued its call at the beginning of March for what is a new funding scheme to support the development of technologies and products for the floating offshore wind industry.

What more can you add? We are always interested in hearing from you and are eager to publish blogs on topics that reflect your organisation’s achievements, aims and objectives

Fossil free construction? Is it a myth?

Obviously, there are still challenges in plenty. The Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN), for example, sees the biggest unchallenged obstacle as the energy consumed by construction.

“It’s strange to see something described as ‘fossil-fuel free’ when it is made of concrete, steel and glass,” says Joe Giddings, coordinator of the ACAN campaign group. “The production of these materials entails burning a huge amount of fossil fuel. The climate emergency is not a game, and we can’t just spin our way through it. We need to think about where our materials come from, how they’re made and interrogate the whole supply chain – from construction to demolition and reuse.”

How can this be solved? Yes, scope for another blog if you have the solution – indeed, we’d also be interested in asking you to speak about it in the Dcarbonise conference programme; so, do please get in touch.

Virtual introductory offshore wind course from SUT

The Society of Underwater Technology (SUT) All-Energy’s Learned Society Patron has launched a virtual introductory offshore wind course featuring acknowledged industry and academic experts as presenters and in association with Cranfield University. It is designed with two specific groups in mind: professional non-engineering staff, who would benefit from understanding the offshore wind energy industry; and for engineers and technical staff new to the sector or making the transition from another industry. The first course, comprising two mornings of presentations and Q&A, will be held on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th May 2021.