OCEAN SUPPLY VESSELS COVERING ALL AREAS OF SUPPLIES FOR OFFSHORE INSTALLATIONS

Platform supply vessel (often abbreviated as PSV) is a ship specially designed to supply offshore oil platforms. These ships range from 65 to 350 feet in length and accomplish a variety of tasks. The primary function for most of these vessels is transportation of goods and personnel to and from offshore oil platforms and other offshore structures.

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2007, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 94.1 gigawatts.Although wind currently produces about 1% of world-wide electricity use, it accounts for approximately 19% of electricity production in Denmark, 9% in Spain and Portugal, and 6% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland (2007 data). Globally, wind power generation increased more than fivefold between 2000 and 2007.

Most wind power is generated in the form of electricity. Large scale wind farms are connected to electrical grids. Individual turbines can provide electricity to isolated locations. In windmills, wind energy is used directly as mechanical energy for pumping water or grinding grain.

Wind energy is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions when it displaces fossil-fuel-derived electricity. The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand, but it presents extra costs when wind is to be used for a large fraction of demand. However these costs even for quite large percentage penetrations are considered to be modest.

Wind generated electrical power explained

A wind turbine is a rotating machine which enables the conversion of kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as a pump or grinding stones, the machine is usually called a windmill. If the mechanical energy is then converted to electricity, the machine is called a wind generator, wind turbine, wind power unit (WPU) or wind energy converter (WEC).

The first windfarms in the UK were built onshore, and they currently generate more power than the offshore farms. A March 2006 report by the British Wind Energy Association forecast that onshore windfarms will be able to supply 6,000 MW peak, or on average nearly 5% of the national electricity requirement, by 2010. Despite this potential, gaining planning permission for onshore wind farms is proving difficult, with many schemes stalled in the planning system, and a high rate of refusal.[35]

In the year to 31 March 2005, onshore wind farms, according to Ofgem, produced 1,734 GW·h (an average of 198 MW) but this is expected to rise to 2,500 GW·h (an average of 285 MW) in the following year, so there is considerable scope for further growth (16,600 MW peak capacity had been installed in Germany by 2004.[36]

According to DTI figures onshore wind farms in the UK generated 769 GW·h in 2005, while offshore farms generated 204 GW·h. This compares to a total electricity consumption of 407,265 GW·h for the same year, meaning that the combined on and offshore contribution to UK electricity generation was less than 0.25%. In 2007 the planning permission problem was exacerbated by a shortage of spare parts for certain models of generator, which put some turbines out of action for over six months, triggering clauses in planning consents requiring removal of the non-functional turbines.[38]

Offshore UK wind farms

The UK has been estimated to have over a third of Europe's total offshore wind resource, which is equivalent to three times the electricity needs of the nation at current rates of electricity consumption.

The first developments in UK offshore wind power came about through the now discontinued Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO), leading to two wind farms, Blyth Offshore and Gunfleet sands.[6] The NFFO was introduced as part of the Electricity Act 1989 and obliged UK electricity supply companies to secure specified amounts of electricity from non-fossil sources, which provided the initial spur for the commercial development of renewable energy in the UK.

The UK will require 7,500 offshore turbines by 2020 to meet EU targets[8]

In 1998 the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) began discussions with the government to draw up formal procedures for negotiating with the Crown Estate, the owner of almost all the UK coastline out to distance of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km). The result was a set of guidelines published in 1999, and a huge increase in the number of applications submitted. Eighteen of the applications were granted permission to proceed in April 2001, in what has become known as round one of UK offshore wind development.

The first of the round one projects completed, and the first large scale offshore wind farm in the UK, North Hoyle, was commissioned in December 2003. The second, Scroby Sands, was completed one year later in December 2004, followed by the 90 MW Kentish Flats in 2005. The fourth, Barrow Offshore, with 30 turbines, finished construction in July 2006. Seven of the remaining projects have received consent from the planning authorities, while the remaining four are still awaiting consent, including the Shell Flat site off the coast of Lancashire.

Lessons learnt from round one, particularly the difficulty in getting planning consent for offshore wind farms, together with the increasing pressure to reduce CO2 emissions, prompted the department of trade and industry (DTI) to develop a strategic framework for the offshore wind industry. The result, known as Round 2, was announced in December 2003 with 15 projects with a combined capacity of 7.2 GW. By far the largest of these are the 1 GW London Array and the 1.2 GW Triton Knoll.[9]