U.K. eyes deepwater wind farms

By Hannah K. Strange
UPI U.K. Correspondent
Aug. 3, 2006 at 12:28PM

As Britain's North Sea oil and gas stocks dwindle, the government is seeking new ways of harnessing natural resources to ensure a diverse and secure future energy supply. Now plans are afoot to utilize the North Sea's existing energy infrastructure to install a new generation of deepwater wind farms that could keep the lights on in a sustainable and environmentally benign manner.
      Talisman Energy U.K. Ltd. has teamed up with Scottish and Southern Energy to test the technological and economic feasibility of wind farms installed at an unprecedented water depth of 45 meters. Work is under way to attach two of the world's largest wind turbines to the existing Beatrice oil platform 15 miles off the east coast of Scotland, an area that boasts some of the highest wind speeds on the planet.
      Gordon Edge, head of offshore wind at the British Wind Energy Association, said the Beatrice deepwater wind farm was an "exciting" project that pointed the way to the technology of the future.
      He told United Press International that a variety of factors, such as environmental concerns and space constraints, meant that shallow-water wind farms would eventually become unviable.
      When situated close to the shoreline, wind farms often conflict with other stakeholders, such as the shipping industry, nature reserves and local residents, he said. "The farther out and the deeper they are, the fewer those kind of conflicts."
      The German coastline, for example, was almost entirely given over to shipping lanes and marine preservation areas, meaning offshore wind farms could only be located farther out to sea, he said.
      Deepwater wind farms also have the potential to be far larger projects than their shallow-water counterparts while still maintaining minimum visibility. Airtricity, an Irish wind energy company, is planning a deepwater wind farm in the North Sea that would generate 10,000MW of electricity, enough to power more than 8 million homes. The project is being developed to prove the concept of a European offshore supergrid, which would link wind farms from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea to provide a stable supply of green energy to European Union member states. And with increased generating capacity, offshore wind farms become more economically competitive, Airtricity notes.
      The minimal visual impact of deepwater installations has captured the imagination of environmental campaign groups on the other side of the Atlantic. The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is keeping a keen eye on the Beatrice pilot project as a potential solution to siting issues involved with near-shore proposals like the Cape Wind project, proposed just over five miles from the shores of Cape Cod.
      "This new technology represents a drastic change in siting potential for offshore wind plants -- which have been typically in shallow depths of no more than 10 meters," the group said.
      "These advancements in wind plant infrastructure will greatly affect the design and location of wind plant development in our own coastal waters and allow us to protect our near shore coastlines."
      Deepwater installations also have the potential to generate more energy than shallow-water wind farms, Edge said. Farther out to sea there were fewer obstructions, meaning wind speeds were both higher and more consistent, he told UPI.
      While at present the increase in capacity did not outweigh the costs involved with deepwater sites, it would eventually be a distinct advantage, he said.
      Talisman Energy U.K. eventually wants to install a 200 turbine farm at the Beatrice site, he said. "It will take some time, but it will pay off."
      Another key aspect of the Beatrice project is its utilization of technology and techniques developed in Britain's offshore oil and gas industry, highlighting the potential for workers to transfer their skills to jobs in the renewable energy sector as fossil fuel resources dry up. If successful, the project could generate investment opportunities for companies experienced in the oil and gas sector
      The existing Beatrice oil platform has also been modified to use the electricity generated by the demonstrator turbines, extending its lifespan and helping to maximize oil recovery.
      Talisman Energy Inc. President and CEO Jim Buckee said: "This project is already utilizing many of the project management, engineering and fabrication skills and techniques developed in the U.K.'s offshore oil and gas industry. Such skills are transferable and underline the role the oil and gas sector is able to play in developing offshore wind. An important element of the project is that it will extend the life of the Beatrice platform and help maximize oil recovery from this field."
      Edge said that while much of the existing oil and gas infrastructure was not appropriately situated for wind farms, there were opportunities for hybrid developments combining wind energy generation and oil or gas recovery.
      He pointed to the Ormonde Project off the northwest coast of England, where a pocket of gas had been discovered that in itself would not be economically viable to recover. When combined with wind turbines, however, the operational savings and increased generating capacity enabled the exploitation of a gas field that otherwise would simply not be feasible, he said.
      The $65 million Beatrice project is part of DOWNVInD (Distant Offshore Wind Farms With No Visual Impact In Deepwater,) the EU's largest renewable energy research and development program including 18 different organizations from six European countries. Its backers believe it will enable Europe to take a global lead in offshore wind farm technology.
      Visiting the site last week, Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen said: "The pioneering deepwater wind farm development offers the potential to take offshore wind farm technology to a new level."
      Buckee agreed.
      "During the next few years the results of this project will influence the development of wind turbine technology around the world," he said.
      The first of the two 5 megawatt turbines, which are approximately 85-meters high, will be sailed out to the oil platform in Moray Firth in early August. Energy producers and environmentalists the world over will be watching with interest.