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Published Jan 12, 2023 5:53 PM by The Maritime Executive

Oceans of Energy, the Dutch developer of a floating solar farm system for rough seas, has won approval in principle (AIP) from Bureau Veritas for their unique system design.

Oceans of Energy's solar farm floats directly on the water, without heavy steel framing or support structures, and it has flexible elements that allow it to move with the waves. Though not as indestructable in appearance as a conventional offshore platform, it has proven robust in testing. A grid-connected prototype was installed off Scheveningen in the Dutch North Sea in 2019, and it has withstood nearly four winter seasons of the toughest conditions that the region has to offer, including Storm Eunice in February 2022 - one of the five biggest North Sea storms in the last 50 years. 

The current prototype has a capacity of about 0.5 megawatts, or five percent of a conventional offshore wind turbine. It is designed to take waves of up to 45 feet and has survived real-world wave conditions exceeding 30 feet. 

The newly-announced AIP covers all aspects of the system, including the design, floats, panel mounts and mooring system. The evaluation drew on the years of data gathered from the North Sea prototype.

“Oceans of Energy is very proud to receive this Approval in Principle as we realize it is a testimony of sound engineering, a feasible and sound concept choice and a recognition as a leading technology with a promising future,” said Allard van Hoeken, founder and CEO of Oceans of Energy. “It is of great reassurance to our stakeholders that the design of the floating farm and mooring system have been reviewed and approved by Bureau Veritas.”

For its next steps, Oceans of Energy plans to expand its prototype to 1.0 MW of capacity. The company is also putting about $1 million into environmental monitoring to evaluate the impact of its installation. 

In addition, the company is a partner in the EU-SCORES connected offshore energy project, which will pair offshore solar with offshore wind in the same development. The idea is to maximize the efficiency of offshore energy development by installing multiple sources of power in the same place, with the goal of achieving levelized cost of energy of about $55 per MWh. For Oceans of Energy's part of the trial, a 3.0 MW grid-connected offshore floating solar power system will be installed in between wind turbines off the coast of Belgium, with deployment scheduled for 2023.

Published Jan 15, 2023 2:32 PM by Blake Earle

Maine lobster fishermen received a Christmas gift from Congress at the end of 2022: A six-year delay on new federal regulations designed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The rules would have required lobstermen to create new seasonal nonfishing zones and further reduce their use of vertical ropes to retrieve lobster traps from the seafloor. Entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with many types of ships are the leading causes of right whale deaths. Maine’s congressional delegation amended a federal spending bill to delay the...

Published Jan 15, 2023 2:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

As demand for energy has risen in the last several decades, industrial exploitation of the deep ocean has intensified. The continued rise of the offshore oil and gas industry, and the emergence of new marine renewable energy technology, all points to an increasing dependence on the deep ocean (depths greater than 200 meters) as part of the solution to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. In light of the imminent ecological impacts that the deep ocean could face as more energy companies...

Published Jan 15, 2023 1:50 PM by Chad Fuhrmann

They cut striking figures, at the same time remaining stalwart in their objective to provide dynamic power to the marine industry. The beastly-looking workhorses of the past have given way to sleek, modern designs that combine both beauty and power. These are not your grandfather’s tugs. Like every type of vessel and every sector across the maritime world, however, they’re subject to the shifting tides of industry and impacted by the same regulatory changes and market fluctuations as the specific...

Published Jan 15, 2023 1:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

On Friday, the Environmental Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD) launched its first ever research vessel to boost ongoing oceanographic research efforts in the Emirate. The vessel - named Jaywun, a term that refers to one of the finest and most valuable types of pearl - is the first and the most advanced marine research vessel in the UAE. The Freire Shipbuilding Company in Vigo, Spain built the vessel in partnership with Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding Company. The 50-meter long ship can accommodate...

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