From 27 to 30 September 2022, at WindEnergy Hamburg everything will revolve around wind power. The development of ever larger offshore turbines and matching installation solutions will play a prominent role as well as floating solutions and Power-to-X[ds_preview]
According to the Global Offshore Wind Report 2022 published by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), a total capacity of 21.1 GW was connected to the grid in 2021, a new industry record and three times more than in 2020. This brought the cumulative global offshore capacity to 56 GW by year’s end, equivalent to 7 % of the total installed wind capacity. »We would like to support this development and highlight it at WindEnergy Hamburg. We are expecting more than 1,350 exhibitors from around the world. 45 % of them will showcase products or services that are relevant to offshore wind farms. The spectrum comprises the entire value chain, from project planning and financing to production, equipment transport and installation using specialised ships, through to grid connection, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms,« says Andreas Arnheim, WindEnergy Hamburg Project Director.
GWEC Market Intelligence expects over 315 GW of new offshore capacity to be added by 2031. The cumulative global will then be 370 GW. 29 % of the new volume is expected to be operational by 2026. As for floating project development activities, the GWEC report now believes an installed capacity of 18.9 GW will likely be operating by 2030, with 11 GW in European waters, 5.5 GW in Asia and the remainder in North America.
However, GWEC’s ten-year overall forecast might well need revising upward significantly in the near future after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has kickstarted comprehensive energy system reform packages in Europe and beyond. The EU plans to achieve full independence from Russian oil and gas imports, with a major part of the resulting energy gap to be filled by accelerating the build-up of new offshore wind capacity. Wind would then generate a much higher portion of clean electricity, which would be partially fed into the grid and partially used to produce hydrogen via Power-to-X. In an additional process, green hydrogen could then be converted to e-ammonia and e-methanol as ship fuels.
Wind turbines are the core segment of the wind energy market. A number of leading suppliers will be present at WindEnergy Hamburg 2022. They will showcase their latest 13–16 MW+ »flagships« and explain to visitors why they prefer medium-speed geared or direct-driven wind turbines, what options for Power-to-X integration are available, what other features and benefits their solutions provide, and what their respective roadmaps look like. This year also marks the planned installation of several 14–16 MW prototypes with 236–242-metre rotor diameters.
Powertrain trends and blades
The German engineering consultancy Aerovide has developed 27 full turbine designs since 1983, including the pioneering 5 MW Multibrid design of the 1990’s. The exhibitor currently participates in four international 10 MW turbine development projects: two medium-speed geared and two direct-drive wind turbines.
The wind turbine gearbox suppliers ZF Wind Power and Flender (Winergy) are shifting focus, expanding their roles to include (co-)development and manufacture of semi- and fully-integrated geared powertrains. The use of journal bearings in gearboxes has now become standard practice, helping to propel gearbox torque densities to over 200 Nm/kg.
Fraunhofer IWES will commission its new test bench this summer which can accommodate rotor blade lengths of more than 120 m. Vestas is the first customer to take advantage of Fraunhofer’s new facility, testing a 115.5-metre blade to be fitted on the V236–15.0 MW. The current blade length record is roughly 118 m for Ming Yang’s MySE16–242. Meanwhile well-informed market sources suggest that 17–18 MW wind turbines with 270 m+ rotors are already on the horizon.
Jack-ups for 20 MW+ turbines
Anticipating these developments, leading international offshore installation contractors are ordering new installation vessels for next-generation 20 MW+ turbines. These ships will be fitted with powerful cranes to handle the resulting foundation, nacelle and rotor sizes. For example, in late 2021 the Dutch offshore contractor Van Oord, an offshore wind market leader, ordered a new jack-up vessel capable of installing turbines of up to 20 MW. As a novelty, the engines of this vessel , expected to enter the market in 2024, will be able to run on e-methanol.
DEME Offshore and Barge Master are introducing a high-tech feeder solution for US offshore wind farms. The concept fully complies with the Jones Act, which prohibits the transport of goods and passengers between US ports by foreign companies and ships. The two exhibitors have developed integrated motion-compensation technology for deployment in a feeder concept for the Vineyard Wind 1 project – the first commercial-scale US offshore wind farm. This integrated high-tech solution will allow wind turbine components to be transported from US ports to DEME’s offshore installation vessels. When a feeder arrives alongside an installation vessel, the Barge Master motion-compensation technology will ensure safe lifting operations, increasing efficiency.
Floating turbines and safe transfer
The Dutch company Vryhof has been supporting floating wind developers since 2009. Vryhof will showcase two main innovations at WindEnergy Hamburg. Both solutions have been demonstrated at Stiesdal Offshore Technologies’ industrialised full-scale TetraSpar Demonstrator floater which has been operating off the Norwegian coast since December 2021.
Providing safe transfer of personnel from crew transfer vessels to turbines is essential, with hardware offers ranging from Ampelmann’s motion-compensated walking bridges to transfer-basket solutions. The Danish supplier of davit cranes Seasight Davits will present its innovative »Spider« system in Hamburg. This is an upgrade for their davit cranes mounted at many offshore turbine platforms, combined with a transfer basket enabling the use of the same crane for transferring both personnel and cargo. A remote-control feature allows the crane operator to activate the crane from the ship while approaching the turbine foundation.
Hydrogen in focus
With the H2Expo & Conference taking place in parallel with WindEnergy Hamburg, the city is making room for another future-oriented technology sector. The focal topic of »green hydrogen« expands and develops wind energy and links it via electrolysis processes to the world of hydrogen production, conversion and use. At the H2EXPO, it is all about the generation, transport, storage and use of green hydrogen. ED
