OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY IN ATLANTIC CANADA - COMPARING THE INNER SHELF GEOLOGY WITH THAT OF THE NORTH SEA AND UNITED STATES ATLANTIC COAST

In this article we examine the legal frameworks for developing oil, gas and wind energy in the North Sea. We discuss whether there are parallels to be seen and lessons to be learned from these different sectors and suggest that experience in the offshore petroleum sector could be used to improve the evolving legal regimes for offshore wind energy. For this purpose, we first examine the legal basis for offshore activities under the international law of the sea. Subsequently, we discuss the regulation of oil and gas exploitation and the regulation of offshore wind energy. We focus in particular on the way in which energy sources are transported to shore via pipelines and cables. We consider whether comparable decisions have been made when establishing a legal regime for offshore wind and whether lessons could still be learned. This is particularly relevant for the future when the production of offshore wind energy and the production of petroleum need to be coordinated, and when sizable amounts of offshore wind energy will be integrated into the (offshore) transmission grid.

Download Full-text

Storm Anatol over Europe in December 1999: impacts on societal and energy infrastructure

Advances in Geosciences ◽

10.5194/adgeo-56-141-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 56 ◽

pp. 141-153

Author(s):

Anthony J. Kettle

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

Storm Surge ◽

North Sea ◽

Rogue Waves ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Forest Damage ◽

Offshore Wind Energy ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Storm Anatol impacted the North Sea and northern Europe on 3–4 December 1999. It brought hurricane force winds to Denmark and northern Germany, and high winds also in Sweden and countries around the Baltic Sea. For many meteorological stations in Denmark, the wind speeds were the highest on record and the storm was ranked as a century event. The storm impacts included extensive forest damage, fatalities, hundreds of injuries, power outages, transportation interruptions, as well as storm surge flooding on the west coast of Denmark. Strongly committed to wind energy, Denmark lost 13 onshore wind turbines destroyed during the storm. An important industry insurer noted that this was a remarkably low number, considering the storm intensity and the large number of turbines (>3500) installed in the country. In 1999, offshore wind energy was just getting started in Europe, and the storm provided an important test of environmental extreme conditions impacting offshore infrastructure. This contribution takes a closer look at the regional met-ocean conditions during the storm. A brief overview is made of the wind field and available wave measurements from the North Sea. An examination is made of water level measurements from around the North Sea to characterize the storm surge and identify possible meteo-tsunamis and infragravity waves. Offshore accidents are briefly discussed to assess if there had been unusual wave strikes on shipping or platforms. At the time of the storm in 1999, there was a growing awareness in the scientific community of possible changes in ambient sea state conditions and the increasing threat of rogue waves. The offshore wind energy community had become aware from the impact of rogue waves from damage at the research platform FINO1 in the southern North Sea during severe storms in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2013. Storm Anatol may have been another rogue wave storm at an earlier stage of offshore wind energy development.

Download Full-text

Large Scale Offshore Wind Energy in the North Sea — A Technology and Policy Perspective

Wind Engineering ◽

10.1260/0309524041211350 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 143-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

H.J.T. Kooijman ◽

M. de Noord ◽

M.A. Uyterlinde ◽

A.F. Wals ◽

S.A. Herman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

North Sea ◽

Large Scale ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Offshore Wind Energy ◽

Policy Perspective ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea

Download Full-text

Storm Anatol over Europe in December 1999: impacts on societal and energy infrastructure

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3427 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Kettle

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

Storm Surge ◽

North Sea ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Forest Damage ◽

Offshore Wind Energy ◽

Large Wave ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea

<p>Storm Anatol impacted the North Sea and northern Europe on 3-4 December 1999. It brought hurricane force winds to Denmark and northern Germany, and high winds also in Sweden and the Baltic states. &#160;For many meteorological stations in Denmark, the wind speeds were the highest on record, and the storm was ranked as a century event. &#160;The storm impacts included extensive forest damage, fatalities, hundreds of injuries, power outages, transportation interruptions, as well as storm surge flooding on the west coast of Denmark. &#160;At the time of the storm, Denmark was strongly committed to wind energy, and approximately 10 onshore wind turbines were destroyed during the storm. &#160;An important industry insurer noted that this was a remarkably low number considering the storm intensity and the large number of turbines (>3500) installed in Denmark. &#160;In 1999, offshore wind energy was just getting started in Europe. &#160;Denmark had just started an environmental monitoring program at Horns Rev off the Danish North Sea coast in advance of an offshore wind farm that would be installed in 2002.&#160; The offshore meteorological mast at Horns Rev survived the storm, but the wave field was significant, and it partially disabled the measurement system.<br>&#160;<br>This contribution takes a closer look at the regional met-ocean conditions during the storm.&#160; A brief overview is made of the wind field and available wave measurements from the North Sea. &#160;A closer examination is made of water level meaurements from around the North Sea to characterize the storm surge and identify possible meteotsunamis and infragravity waves. &#160;Offshore accidents are briefly discussed to assess if there had been unusual wave strikes on shipping or platforms.&#160; At the time of the storm in 1999, there was a growing awareness in the scientific community of possible changes in sea state conditions in the North Atlantic area and the increasing threat of rogue waves.&#160; The offshore wind energy research platform FINO1 near Borkum in the southern North Sea experienced large wave damage during Storm Britta on 1 November 2006.&#160; There was a repetition of the wave damage during storms in 2007 and 2013.&#160; Storm Anatol in 1999 was a major North Sea storm, and this contribution presents a survey to assess if there was unusual wave phenomena during the event.&#160;</p>

Download Full-text

Accelerating deployment of offshore wind energy alter wind climate and reduce future power generation potentials

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-91283-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Naveed Akhtar ◽

Beate Geyer ◽

Burkhardt Rockel ◽

Philipp S. Sommer ◽

Corinna Schrum

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Wind Energy ◽

North Sea ◽

Energy Production ◽

Wind Farm ◽

Wind Farms ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Offshore Wind Energy ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea

AbstractThe European Union has set ambitious CO2 reduction targets, stimulating renewable energy production and accelerating deployment of offshore wind energy in northern European waters, mainly the North Sea. With increasing size and clustering, offshore wind farms (OWFs) wake effects, which alter wind conditions and decrease the power generation efficiency of wind farms downwind become more important. We use a high-resolution regional climate model with implemented wind farm parameterizations to explore offshore wind energy production limits in the North Sea. We simulate near future wind farm scenarios considering existing and planned OWFs in the North Sea and assess power generation losses and wind variations due to wind farm wake. The annual mean wind speed deficit within a wind farm can reach 2–2.5 ms−1 depending on the wind farm geometry. The mean deficit, which decreases with distance, can extend 35–40 km downwind during prevailing southwesterly winds. Wind speed deficits are highest during spring (mainly March–April) and lowest during November–December. The large-size of wind farms and their proximity affect not only the performance of its downwind turbines but also that of neighboring downwind farms, reducing the capacity factor by 20% or more, which increases energy production costs and economic losses. We conclude that wind energy can be a limited resource in the North Sea. The limits and potentials for optimization need to be considered in climate mitigation strategies and cross-national optimization of offshore energy production plans are inevitable.

Download Full-text

A decision support system for assessing offshore wind energy potential in the North Sea

Energy Policy ◽

10.1016/j.enpol.2012.06.056 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 541-551 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Christoph Schillings ◽

Thomas Wanderer ◽

Lachlan Cameron ◽

Jan Tjalling van der Wal ◽

Jerome Jacquemin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Support ◽

Decision Support System ◽

Wind Energy ◽

North Sea ◽

Support System ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Energy Potential ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

Wind Energy Potential

Download Full-text

WRF Model Methodology for Offshore Wind Energy Applications

Advances in Meteorology ◽

10.1155/2014/319819 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Evangelia-Maria Giannakopoulou ◽

Regis Nhili

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

North Sea ◽

Wrf Model ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Stability Conditions ◽

Validation Process ◽

Energy Applications ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Stability

Among the parameters that must be considered for an offshore wind farm development, the stability conditions of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) are of significant importance. Atmospheric stability is a vital parameter in wind resource assessment (WRA) due to its direct relation to wind and turbulence profiles. A better understanding of the stability conditions occurring offshore and of the interaction between MABL and wind turbines is needed. Accurate simulations of the offshore wind and stability conditions using mesoscale modelling techniques can lead to a more precise WRA. However, the use of any mesoscale model for wind energy applications requires a proper validation process to understand the accuracy and limitations of the model. For this validation process, the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model has been applied over the North Sea during March 2005. The sensitivity of the WRF model performance to the use of different horizontal resolutions, input datasets, PBL parameterisations, and nesting options was examined. Comparison of the model results with other modelling studies and with high quality observations recorded at the offshore measurement platform FINO1 showed that the ERA-Interim reanalysis data in combination with the 2.5-level MYNN PBL scheme satisfactorily simulate the MABL over the North Sea.

Download Full-text

The Application of Caisson-Type Solutions to the Current Offshore Wind Energy Market

Volume 1: Offshore Technology ◽

10.1115/omae2018-77508 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Javier Abanades ◽

Javier Ivars ◽

Rafael Molina ◽

Carlos García

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Energy Market ◽

Mixed Solution ◽

Offshore Wind Energy ◽

The North ◽

Grid Connection ◽

Connection System ◽

The North Sea ◽

High Production

The current offshore wind energy market is not only focused on the design of WTG foundations, but also on the design of offshore infrastructures that lead to an improvement in the current grid connection system, such as artificial islands. For all these type of projects, caisson-type solutions can be applied with numerous advantages. The present article present three different projects in which caisson-type solutions were used: the foundation of a WTG (Gravi3® patent) in the Portuguese Coast, the foundation of a meteorological mast installed in Scotland and the design of an artificial island in the North Sea. The main advantage of this solution is the well-developed construction principle to build the caissons, which is based in the employ of a floating dock in a shelter area. As the caissons are cellular elements, the interior is empty; they float, so they are transported to the place in question to be deployed by means of filling with water the cells that comprised the caisson. This technology is rather used in Spain, being most of the kilometres of breakwater built using caissons thank to their high production rates. The three examples that will be presented in the article are proof of the versatility of this solution. Whereas the case of Gravi3® consists in a gravity based solution for WTG, which is comprised of 3 circular caissons connected by means of a steel tripod; the meteorological mast is formed by a rectangular caisson and a steel shaft. Finally, the artificial island is a mixed solution that uses caissons in the perimeter and hydraulic filling in the inner part. Furthermore, these solutions could be also applied in ports, integrating the WTG on the current or future dikes.

Download Full-text