• 2020 June 9 16:14

    The European Commission has set a goal for Europe to become the world’s first carbon-neutral continent by 2050

    The European Commission has set a goal for Europe to become the world’s first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, and wind energy has an important role to play in this transformation, the company said in its release.

    Today, 14% of energy in Europe is produced by wind farms. The potential for this type of renewable energy is much higher, however.

    Europe is already a world leader in the wind energy market, but the plans of the European Commission are even more ambitious.

    Offshore wind power generation is central to its plan for transition to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. The goal to increase the offshore installed capacity from the current 20 GW up to 450 GW by 2050 are achievable, according to WindEurope, an association promoting the use of wind power on the continent. The key factors for success are the right spatial maritime planning along with investments in the offshore and onshore grid.

    Wind farms remain one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of renewable energy available, and they create new jobs in the communities where turbines are installed.

    Technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) promise to make wind energy even more cost-efficient and reduce maintenance costs – an issue that is especially important for offshore farms, according to Alexander Vandenberghe, Research & Innovation Advisor at WindEurope.

    “With IoT, each turbine will be able to communicate with the others, and the operator will be able to identify how to adjust each turbine in order to increase the output on the farm level,” Vandenberghe explains. “We are moving towards real-time, condition-based maintenance, when the condition of every component of a turbine can be measured in real time.”

    This data would enable operators to adjust the workload and performance of any particular turbine and plan the maintenance process, so that a repair crew, once deployed to an offshore farm, could replace several components in different turbines at one time. The ROMEO project, an EU Horizon 2020 venture, is currently testing IoT technologies on several sites in the United Kingdom and Germany to reduce the maintenance costs and increase the overall efficiency of wind farms.

    When it comes to the short-term outlook, a lot depends on the National Energy & Climate Plans of each individual EU member state as well as permitting issues. According to WindEurope, up to 90 GW of new wind energy capacity could be installed across Europe in the next five years, if national plans are extremely ambitious and the permitting processes improve significantly.

    One recent bit of positive news for the wind energy market was Google’s announcement in September 2019 to invest USD 2 billion in renewable energy. About half of the investments will be made in Europe, including large wind energy projects in Finland (255 MW) and Sweden (286 MW). The new wind projects will produce power for Google’s data center in Hamina, Finland.

    “We are glad to see these long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) with Google,” says Marja Kaitaniemi, chairperson of the Finnish Wind Power Association.

    More good news for wind power in Finland is the first domestic power purchase agreement between state-owned energy company Fortum and the refining company Neste, which signed a 12-year contract to purchase wind energy from the Kalax wind farm.

    “It is a good sign. I have been expecting for years that there will be domestic buyers of wind power. In Finland, there is a big domestic energy demand from the industry,” says Kaitaniemi.

    Wärtsilä is positive about these developments in Finland. The company develops technological solutions for data centres powered by renewable energy. In case of a gap between the data centre’s energy demand and wind and solar energy supply, Wärtsilä's flexible gas engine power plant can step in, dynamically adapting to the gap. This mode of operation is called “wind chasing” and it has been used by power plants based on gas engines for years.

    “Our role is to provide flexibility and stability to the grid, which allows for more wind power and renewables,” says Anette Danielsson, Financial Analyst for Market Development at Wärtsilä Energy Business.

    Wärtsilä is also doing modelling for flexible energy generation involving wind energy. This modelling is aimed at optimising power systems and finding the right balance between renewables and flexible gas plants. “By moving technology forward, Wärtsilä is working on making a renewable energy future possible,” says Danielsson.

    Recently published research in the journal Energy Policy shows that Europe has enough space to install new onshore turbines that could theoretically generate enough energy to meet the energy demands of the whole world in 2050. Practically, however, this option has a number of challenges as it would require a huge amount of surface area and a massive expansion of transmissions systems – both of which involve substantial investment. At the moment, the most economical way of achieving carbon neutrality is a combination of renewables, storage, and solutions bringing flexibility. Because renewable sources are variable, the flexible thermal capacity can quickly step in when they are unavailable. Initially, this capacity will come from fossil-based fuels, but in the future, it will rely on renewable synthetic fuels.




2024 March 29

15:41 Wan Hai Lines holds naming ceremony for 13,100TEU newbuilding “WAN HAI A15”
15:10 MOL announces restructuring measures
14:45 Drewry predicts impact on container calls at US East Coast ports after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
14:25 Chevron’s first hybrid electric fueling barge arrives in Singapore
13:40 HD KSOE and Infineon sign MoU to develop ship electrification technology
13:29 NYK and JMU formulate method for evaluating ship performance in actual seas
12:59 HD Hyundai wins US$463 mln warship order in Peru
12:09 COSCO SHIPPING Ports throughput up by 4.4% YoY to 135,808,554 TEU in 2023
11:46 The "Ane Maersk" calls at the Eurogate container terminal in Hamburg for the first time on its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe
11:20 Sallaum Lines and Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding commence construction of Ocean Class vessels
10:43 Oasis Marine develops solutions for offshore hydrogen bunkering
10:03 Petrofac secures contract extension with ONEgas West in the UK market

2024 March 28

18:05 Jan De Nul, ENGIE and Equans launch a pilot project centred around the use of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries
17:35 Latvian port equipment manufacturer Bleste introduces new bulk handling ‘bucket’
17:05 Investors upgrade Navios Maritime Partners
16:25 DEME reports 22% increase in the orderbook and a record-high turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2023
16:14 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 13, 2024
15:41 AD Ports Group announced the opening of Saadiyat Marina & Ferry Terminal and Rabdan Marina
15:11 Sydney invests $11.5 million in two new operational vessels designed by Incat Crowther
14:55 China’s Jinzhao wins Peru $405m port construction contract
14:13 APM Terminals Moín handled six million TEU
13:48 ClassNK grants Innovation Endorsements for Products & Solutions to two innovative initiatives by MOL
13:37 Konecranes launches its flagship Konecranes X-series industrial crane
12:53 United European Car Carriers UECC spearheads collaboration with industry leaders to advance CNSL as a sustainable marine fuel
12:26 Ocean Network Express announces Transpacific service
11:48 Yang Ming announces 2025 Trans-Pacific service network
11:24 Fincantieri signs contract for the supply of two PPAs to Indonesia
10:42 Maersk transported more than 660,000 TEU using clean fuel in 2023
10:23 Documentation delays push industry costs to $3bn
09:48 PONANT and FARWIND Energy partner to develop green hydrogen refueling solutions

2024 March 27

18:22 Bureau Veritas awards world’s first prototype certification for SolarDuck’s floating offshore solar solution
17:58 The recently converted Allseas's shallow water pipelay barge starts preparations for its first commercial project
17:38 The Port of Rotterdam calls on the European Commission and Parliament to focus on actively promoting green energy
15:23 SEFE to become sole shareholder of WIGA
14:53 Ocean Installer secures yet another SLM contract with Equinor
14:23 Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract for the vessel Wind Scylla
13:42 Carnival Cruise Line orders 5th Excel-class cruise ship
13:11 Maersk and MSC overcharging cargo owners for EU ETS, says T&E
12:52 The Port Authority of Valencia launches the ZAL project in the Port of Valencia
12:11 Clarkson Port Services and Peak Group collaborate to deliver Port Agency services across the North Sea
11:42 Wan Hai Lines holds ship naming ceremony for new vessels
11:24 Consolidated shipping lines EBIT loss was $1.44 billion in Q4 2023: Sea-Intelligence
10:49 Seaspan Shipyards receives long-term contracts for the pre-construction work of the the Canadian Coast Guard's first six multi-mission vessels
10:14 Woodside completes sale of 10% scarborough interest

2024 March 26

18:02 COSCO Shipping Lines introduces new Americas service
17:30 Davie awarded first contract for design of icebreaker fleet under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy
17:04 Sanctions complicate Arctic LNG ship sales, Hanwha Ocean says - Bloomberg
16:57 Terntank places an order for 1+1 additional wind/ methanol-ready hybrid tanker
16:28 BW LNG completes acquisition of two TFDE vessels from Stena Bulk
15:50 Hanwha Ocean develops VR-based special vehicle simulator
15:20 TotalEnergies and SINOPEC join forces to produce sustainable jet fuel at a SINOPEC's refinery
14:52 Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement to guarantee operational reliability of new wind farm installation vessel
14:23 Hudong-Zhonghua launches two LNG carriers
13:51 Cargo ship hits Baltimore’s Key Bridge
13:12 Final sanctioned tanker with Russian Sokol oil to reach China port - Reuters
12:42 Adani Ports acquires 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port from SP Group for $162 million
12:21 IHI and Yara Clean Ammonia agree to jointly assess clean ammonia business collaboration
11:41 Yara Clean Ammonia and Azane granted safety permit to build world's first low emission ammonia bunkering terminal
11:16 Wartsila and Royal Caribbean Group celebrate 15 years of collaboration on digital transformation
10:46 A global carbon tax on shipping is coming, says ABS Chairman and CEO
10:21 Eni, Fincantieri and RINA establish partnership for maritime transport decarbonization

2024 March 25

18:07 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate reports of oil spills off the port of Tuas
17:31 “K” Line, NIPPON HAKUYO and OPT Gate sign an agreement for a new fire detection system for car carriers
17:07 Greek merchant fleet recorded slight decline in January 2024
16:47 Hanwha Ocean Plans to develop green technology and naval ships
16:25 U-Ming Singapore and ITOCHU sign milestone MoU for the joint development of ammonia dual-fuel and de-carbonized vessels
15:34 Svitzer targets methanol-fuelled MAN 175DF-M engine for tug application
15:04 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs contracts for four 9,300 CEU vessels with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard
14:40 Taiwan International Port to upgrade terminal facility at Kaohsiung
13:59 Сruise ship Carnival Freedom catches fire near Bahamas