2024's top stories in Offshore Wind Journal

To read each story in full, click on the headline, the image or the link at the end of the text.

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1. Singapore-based Cyan Renewables to acquire vessel operator MMA Offshore

Seaway 7 said a fault occurred on the installation vessel Seaway Alfa Lift, leading to a ’significant’ incident. The company said the incident took place at approximately 0200 hours GMT on 13 November 2023, while the vessel was transiting in the North Sea. Seaway 7 said the vessel was operating on reduced power and a tow vessel was mobilised to assist it.

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2. Progress on world’s first artificial energy island revealed

Construction of the world’s first artificial energy island, that will serve as an energy hub for collecting and distributing renewable energy from offshore windfarms, is well underway in the Belgium North Sea.

Milestones in building the massive Princess Elisabeth Island, some 45 km off the Belgian coast, were discussed by expert panellists during a session at IPF 2024 In New Orleans held in April. The first construction contract for the EU-funded artificial island project was awarded last year to TM Edison, a consortium made up of the Jan De Nul Group and Deme Group.

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3. Japan ‘faces important decisions’ regarding cabotage rules and offshore wind

Japan’s offshore wind industry is growing quickly, but as experts at law firm Watson Farley & Williams note, as the scale and pace of projects picks up, the country faces important decisions regarding cabotage rules.

Counsel at Watson Farley & Williams Christian Orton, partners Simon Collins and Shusuke Fukanaga, and associate Akira Obuchi say rapid development of Japan’s offshore wind sector may be affected by cabotage rules designed to protect domestic shipping. 

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4. Vattenfall’s first Swedish floating wind project moves a step closer to implementation

Swedish developer Vattenfall has secured regional approval for a floating windfarm in the country’s EEZ that could provide much-needed green power for industry in Gothenburg, the country’s second-largest city. The Poseidon project has been approved by the authorities in the Swedish province of Västra Götaland, and they have advised the government to approve the project. If the Swedish government also approves the Poseidon project, it could become Vattenfall’s first floating windfarm, providing 5.5 TWh of electricity annually.

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5. Replacing Russian gas with Chinese wind turbines: the challenge faced by Europe’s energy sector

Recent weeks have seen a spate of announcements about huge offshore wind turbines being developed in China. Dongfang Electric Corp has unveiled a 26-MW offshore wind turbine and three other Chinese companies – Goldwind, Shanghai Electric and CSSC Haizhuang – announced plans for 25-MW offshore wind turbines, not long after Sany Renewable Energy put into operation a facility capable of testing turbines of up to 35 MW. So how serious is the challenge posed to European supply chains by Chinese offshore wind turbines, and how should the manufacturers and policymakers react?

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