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Cerulean Winds names NOV as delivery partner for massive floating wind scheme
Green infrastructure developer Cerulean Winds has named NOV as the first of its delivery partners for the fabrication of its proposed 200-turbine floating wind and green hydrogen development off the coast of Scotland
The arrangement would establish NOV as the exclusive provider of floating and mooring systems in support of the venture which, it is claimed, would have the capacity to accelerate the decarbonisation of oil and gas assets in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) by more than halving the 18M tonnes of CO2 they currently produce by 2025.
NOV, one of the largest providers of marine equipment and wind vessel designs in the world, has more than 20 years of experience in the offshore wind sector and expertise in the installation and maintenance of floating structures. Cerulean said its participation as a delivery partner “confirms the viability of Cerulean Winds’ proposal.”
Cerulean Winds co-founder Mark Dixon said, “We are very pleased to announce NOV’s involvement with the project.
“As the largest and most qualified provider of marine equipment and wind vessel designs working in this space, the experience and knowledge they will bring to a project of this magnitude is second to none. Having them on board brings the scheme a step closer to reality.
“We have a number of Tier 1 delivery stakeholders signed up. We can’t disclose who they are at this stage, but they are some of the largest providers in the world, with the scale and capacity to deliver and we look forward to making further announcements over the coming months.”
NOV rig technologies president Joe Rovig said, “We are very excited to partner with Cerulean on this ground-breaking proposal, which will leverage NOV’s core competencies as well as our UK and European infrastructure and personnel in a key energy transition project, which will drive major progress in the goal of decarbonising the offshore UK sector. NOV is eager to demonstrate our abilities as one of the key partners and household names in the global energy transition, just as it has been for decades in the traditional oil and gas industry.”
Targets set out in the recently published North Sea Transition Deal call for a reduction in offshore emissions by 10% by 2025 and 25% by 2027. To achieve that, preparatory work must begin now if those targets are to be met. Failure to do so undermines the objectives of the Deal.
If it gets the go-ahead, the £10Bn (US$14Bn) Cerulean Winds project has the capacity to generate enough power to electrify the majority of assets in the UKCS to meet and exceed those targets within the timescale, but the company says the timing involved in gaining approvals for the project is critical.
Cerulean Winds has submitted a formal request to Marine Scotland for seabed leases, and these must be granted by Q3 in 2021 to target financial close in Q1 2022 and to begin construction soon after so that the infrastructure is in place by 2024-2026.
To support this, the venture is calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to make an ‘exceptional’ case to deliver an ‘extraordinary’ outcome for the economy and the environment.
As previously highlighted by OWJ, the proposed development involves more than 200 of the largest floating turbines at sites west of Shetland and in the central North Sea with 3 GWh of capacity, feeding power to the offshore facilities and excess 1.5 GWh power to onshore green hydrogen plants; the ability to electrify the majority of current UKCS assets as well as future production potential from 2024 to reduce emissions well ahead of abatement targets; and 100% availability of green power to offshore platforms at a price below current gas turbine generation through a self-sustained scheme with no upfront cost to operators.
It also includes the development of green hydrogen at scale and £1Bn hydrogen export potential; and would not need subsidies or a contract for difference. Cerulean Winds said it would also generate hundreds of millions of pounds in government revenue via leases and taxation through to 2030 and beyond.
Cerulean has undertaken the necessary infrastructure planning for the scheme to ensure the required level of project readiness, targeting financial close in Q1 2022. The company is being advised by Société Générale, one of the leading European financial services groups, and Piper Sandler, corporate finance advisors to the energy industry.
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