scholarly journals Science in support of ecologically sound decommissioning strategies for offshore man-made structures: taking stock of current knowledge and considering future challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1075-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvana N R Birchenough ◽  
Steven Degraer
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales

Abstract The blue growth agenda has spurred an accelerating exploitation and continued development of the coastal and marine environment. This is also driven by the increasing need to generate renewable energy. In most cases, this has resulted in a large number of man-made structures (MMSs) across several soft sediment environments. The nature of these structures ranges from oil and gas installations to harbour walls, anchored buoys, pipelines and offshore wind farms. These structures host fouling communities that are often new to offshore regions, potentially serving as stepping stones for range-expanding (non-indigenous) species and providing habitat and shelter for a variety of marine species. The altered local biodiversity also affects biological and biogeochemical processes from the water column to the seafloor, either directly (e.g. scouring, organic matter export from piles) or indirectly (e.g. closure or displacement of fisheries) and, hence, ecosystem functioning at various spatial and temporal scales. A proper understanding of the effects of artificial hard substrate and the consequences of its removal (e.g. through decommissioning) to marine biodiversity has yet to develop to maturity. This themed article set contributes to the scientific knowledge base on the impacts of MMSs on marine ecosystems with the specific aim to fertilize and facilitate an evidence-based debate over decommissioning. This discussion will become ever more vital to inform marine spatial planning and future policy decisions on the use and protection of marine resources.

The Experiences From the First Rounds of Offshore Wind Farm Installation in the German EEZ (Both Baltic and North Sea) and Lessons Learnt to Achieve Serial Production Status: A Consultant’s Perspective

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekkehard Stade
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farm ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Near Misses ◽  
Construction Operation

Offshore wind farms present a lesser safety risk to operators and contractors than traditional oil and gas installations. In the post Macondo world this does not come as a surprise since the risks involved in construction, operation and maintenance of an offshore wind farm are by far lower. Even with higher probability of incidents and near misses (due to serial construction) the severity/ impact of those is considerably lower. On the other hand projects are complex, profit margins are what they are called: marginal. Hence there is no room for errors, perhaps in form of delays. If, for example, the installation completion of the turbines and the inner array cabling/ export cables are not perfectly in tune, the little commercial success that can be achieved is rapidly diminishing by costly compensation activities. The paper will try to present solutions to the most pressing challenges and elaborate on the effect those would have had, had they been implemented at the beginning of the projects. How can a sustainable new industry evolve by learning from established industries? Presently, there is a view that offshore wind is a short-lived business. Particularly representatives of the oil and gas industry raise such concern. Apart from the obvious bias of those voices, this controversy is also caused by the fact that offshore wind seems to have a tendency to try and re-invent the wheel rather than using established procedures. Even with a relatively stable commitment to the offshore wind development regardless of the respective government focus within European coastal states the industry suffers from financing issues, subsidies, over-regulation due to lack of expertise within authorities and other challenges. The avoidance of those is key to a successful development for this industry in other areas of the planet. In conjunction with a stable commitment this is essential in order to attract the long lead-time projects and to establish the complex supply chains to achieve above goals. The paper will look at the short but intensive history of the industry and establish mitigation to some of the involved risks of offshore wind farm EPCI.

scholarly journals The ecology of infrastructure decommissioning in the North Sea: what we need to know and how to achieve it

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1109-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M Fowler ◽  
A -M Jørgensen ◽  
J W P Coolen ◽  
D O B Jones ◽  
J C Svendsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Complete Removal ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

AbstractAs decommissioning of oil and gas (O&G) installations intensifies in the North Sea, and worldwide, debate rages regarding the fate of these novel habitats and their associated biota—a debate that has important implications for future decommissioning of offshore wind farms (OWFs). Calls to relax complete removal requirements in some circumstances and allow part of an O&G installation to be left in the marine environment are increasing. Yet knowledge regarding the biological communities that develop on these structures and their ecological role in the North Sea is currently insufficient to inform such decommissioning decisions. To focus debate regarding decommissioning policy and guide ecological research, we review environmental policy objectives in the region, summarize existing knowledge regarding ecological aspects of decommissioning for both O&G and OWF installations, and identify approaches to address knowledge gaps through science–industry collaboration. We find that in some cases complete removal will conflict with other policies regarding protection and restoration of reefs, as well as the conservation of species within the region. Key ecological considerations that are rarely considered during decommissioning decisions are: (i) provision of reef habitat, (ii) productivity of offshore ecosystems, (iii) enhancement of biodiversity, (iv) protection of the seabed from trawling, and (v) enhancement of connectivity. Knowledge gaps within these areas will best be addressed using industry infrastructure and vessels for scientific investigations, re-analysis of historical data held by industry, scientific training of industry personnel, joint research funding opportunities, and trial decommissioning projects.

scholarly journals Modelling the impact of offshore wind farms on safety radars onboard oil and gas platforms

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1714-1718
Author(s):  
Laith Danoon ◽  
Waleed Al‐Mashhadani ◽  
Anthony Brown
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals A Review of Life Extension Strategies for Offshore Wind Farms Using Techno-Economic Assessments

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1936
Author(s):  
Benjamin Pakenham ◽  
Anna Ermakova ◽  
Ali Mehmanparast
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Financial Model ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas

The aim of this study is to look into the current information surrounding decommissioning and life extension strategies in the offshore wind sector and critically assess them to make informed decisions upon completion of the initial design life in offshore wind farms. This was done through a two-pronged approach by looking into the technical aspects through comprehensive discussions with industrial specialists in the field and also looking into similar but more mature industries such as the Offshore Oil and Gas sector. For the financial side of the assessment, a financial model was constructed to help portray a possible outcome to extend the life for a current offshore wind farm, using the existing data. By employing a techno-economic approach for critical assessment of life extension strategies, this study demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy and looks to inform the offshore wind industry the best course of action for current wind farms, depending on their size and age.

A risk-based method to prioritize cumulative impacts assessment on marine biodiversity and research policy for offshore wind farms in France

2022 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 264-276
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Brignon ◽  
Morgane Lejart ◽  
Maëlle Nexer ◽  
Sylvain Michel ◽  
Alan Quentric ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Policy ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Cumulative Impacts ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms

An Analysis of the Technical Feasibility of Off-Shore Wind Energy in the Philippines

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Lorenz D. Maandal ◽  
Mili-Ann M. Tamayao ◽  
Louis Angelo M. Danao
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Capacity Factor ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Technical Feasibility ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms

Abstract The technical feasibility of off-shore wind energy in the Philippines is assessed. Geographic information system is utilized to integrate the different technical data into a single model. Off-shore wind speed data for five years at elevations 10m, 20m, 80m, and 100m from a local database was used as reference for the wind resource study. Two wind turbines were considered for the energy conversion component, Siemens SWT-3.6-120 and Senvion 6.2 M126. The wind speed data was interpolated to 90m and 95m using standard power law to match the hub heights of the turbines studied. The wind power density, wind power, and annual energy production were calculated from the interpolated wind speeds. Areas in the Philippines with capacity factor greater than 30% and performance greater than 10% were considered technically viable. Exclusion criteria were applied to narrow down the potential siting for offshore wind farms, namely, active submerged cables, local ferry routes, marine protected areas, reefs, oil and gas extraction areas, bathymetry, distance to grid, typhoons, and earthquakes. Several sites were determined to be viable with north of Cagayan having the highest capacity factor. The highest wind capacity factor for the offshore wind farms are located in north of Ilocos Norte (SWT-3.6-120: 54.48%–62.60%; 6.2M126: 54.04%–64.79%), north of Occidental Mindoro (SWT-3.6-120: 46.81%–60.92%; 6.2M126: 45.30%–62.60%) and southeast of Oriental Mindoro (SWT-3.6-120: 45.60%–59.52%; 6.2M126: 45.30%–62.60%). However, these sites are not acceptable due to technical, social, and political constraints. The constraints considered in the study are active submerged cables with a buffer of 5 km, local ferry routes with a buffer of 3km, marine protected areas with a buffer 3 km, reefs with a buffer of 3 km, oil and gas extraction areas with a buffer of 5 km, bathymetry less than 50m, distance to grid of within 120 km, historical typhoon tracks with greater than 250 kph and 50 km buffer, and historical earthquakes with greater than 6.5 magnitude with a buffer of 15 km. Upon application of these exclusion criteria, the potential sites for offshore wind farms are north of Cagayan, west of Rizal, north of Camarines Sur, north of Samar, southwest of Masbate, Dinagat Island, Guimaras, and northeast of Palawan.

scholarly journals Underwater Noise Monitoring with Real-Time and Low-Cost Systems, (The CORMA Experience)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 390
Author(s):  
Paolo Diviacco ◽  
Antonio Nadali ◽  
Massimiliano Iurcev ◽  
Mihai Burca ◽  
Rodrigo Carbajales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Underwater Noise ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Scientific Organizations ◽  
First Results

Marine life can be severely affected by anthropogenic underwater noise. This latter increased proportionally to the rise of human activities such as maritime traffic, marine civil engineering works, oil- and gas-related activities or offshore wind farms; so much so that, currently, it can be considered a threat to the environment. Assessing underwater noise requires quite some investments both in personnel and instrumentation. If this is affordable by several governmental and scientific organizations, this cannot be extended straightforwardly to all research initiatives or to developing countries. In addition, time and geographic coverage of monitoring can also be significantly limited by the costs of multiple installations. We explore the possibility to use a solution based on off-the-shelf and low-cost technologies combined with a scalable infrastructure developed with open-source tools only. The perspective to avoid proprietary solutions allows great flexibility in extending the current paradigm toward real-time transmission, processing, and web-based data access. Our solution has been deployed at sea in November 2020 and is providing data continuously ever since. First results from the analysis of these data allowed us to highlight several interesting abiotic and anthropogenic temporal patterns.

scholarly journals What’s in My Toolkit? A Review of Technologies for Assessing Changes in Habitats Caused by Marine Energy Development

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Lenaïg G. Hemery ◽  
Kailan F. Mackereth ◽  
Levy G. Tugade
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Energy Development ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Marine Energy ◽  
Daunting Task

Marine energy devices are installed in highly dynamic environments and have the potential to affect the benthic and pelagic habitats around them. Regulatory bodies often require baseline characterization and/or post-installation monitoring to determine whether changes in these habitats are being observed. However, a great diversity of technologies is available for surveying and sampling marine habitats, and selecting the most suitable instrument to identify and measure changes in habitats at marine energy sites can become a daunting task. We conducted a thorough review of journal articles, survey reports, and grey literature to extract information about the technologies used, the data collection and processing methods, and the performance and effectiveness of these instruments. We examined documents related to marine energy development, offshore wind farms, oil and gas offshore sites, and other marine industries around the world over the last 20 years. A total of 120 different technologies were identified across six main habitat categories: seafloor, sediment, infauna, epifauna, pelagic, and biofouling. The technologies were organized into 12 broad technology classes: acoustic, corer, dredge, grab, hook and line, net and trawl, plate, remote sensing, scrape samples, trap, visual, and others. Visual was the most common and the most diverse technology class, with applications across all six habitat categories. Technologies and sampling methods that are designed for working efficiently in energetic environments have greater success at marine energy sites. In addition, sampling designs and statistical analyses should be carefully thought through to identify differences in faunal assemblages and spatiotemporal changes in habitats.

scholarly journals Wind Turbines Offshore Foundations and Connections to Grid

Inventions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro ◽  
Miguel Sánchez-Calero ◽  
Alfredo Alcayde ◽  
Carlos San-Antonio-Gómez ◽  
Alberto-Jesús Perea-Moreno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Synchronous Generator ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Floating Structures ◽  
Wind Generator

Most offshore wind farms built thus far are based on waters below 30 m deep, either using big diameter steel monopiles or a gravity base. Now, offshore windfarms are starting to be installed in deeper waters and the use of these structures—used for oil and gas like jackets and tripods—is becoming more competitive. Setting aside these calls for direct or fixed foundations, and thinking of water depths beyond 50 m, there is a completely new line of investigation focused on the usage of floating structures; TLP (tension leg platform), Spar (large deep craft cylindrical floating caisson), and semisubmersible are the most studied. We analyze these in detail at the end of this document. Nevertheless, it is foreseen that we must still wait sometime before these solutions, based on floating structures, can become truth from a commercial point of view, due to the higher cost, rather than direct or fixed foundations. In addition, it is more likely that some technical modifications in the wind turbines will have to be implemented to improve their function. Regarding wind farm connections to grid, it can be found from traditional designs such as radial, star or ring. On the other hand, for wind generator modeling, classifications can be established, modeling the wind turbine and modeling the wind farm. Finally, for the wind generator control, the main strategies are: passive stall, active stall, and pitch control; and when it is based on wind generation zone: fixed speed and variable speed. Lastly, the trend is to use strategies based on synchronous machines, as the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and the wound rotor synchronous generator (WRSG).

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