In focus: Step by step towards the clean energy transition

Once again we have witnessed a busy week with many exciting developments in the renewable and clean energy sector, including the multi-billion-euro TenneT offshore power cable deals.

Supporting energy transition in Europe, TenneT awarded NKT, Nexans, and a consortium of Jan De Nul, LS Cable, and Denys with contracts to install 525 kV HVDC cable systems for ten offshore wind projects in the Netherlands and Germany.

The total volume of the contracts for the production and installation of the ten cable systems amounts to approximately € 5.5 billion.

Another interesting announcement came from Cerulean Winds regarding their plans to build the North Sea Renewables Grid (NSRG), an offshore integrated green power and transmission system powered by floating wind that oil and gas platforms could plug into for clean power.

With its consortium of partners including NOV, Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy, DEME, and Worley, Cerulean Winds announced that they will deliver one of the country’s largest infrastructure investment projects (approximately £20 billion) and support the sector’s decarbonisation targets.

Next, AW-Energy from Finland has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kaoko Green Energy Solutions for the deployment of WaveRoller wave energy farms offshore Namibia.

The MoU is devoted to the development of renewable energy and aims to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources including wave energy. The initiative supports mutual intention to cooperate and explore knowledge sharing opportunities for the development of clean and sustainable ocean energy in Namibia.

On the other side of the globe, the US Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) has launched funding opportunity for marine energy solutions.

The request for proposals will address two targets identified in Marine Energy Roadmap, published by OESI, which is a consortium of industry, national labs, non-governmental organizations and academia created to develop the technology and workforce needed for increased energy production that is safer, more sustainable and more cost-effective.

Also worth mentioning is the California Senate Bill 605 for wave and tidal energy that has passed two US government committees and is now moving to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

The SB 605 bill passed both the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and the Natural Resources and Water Committee in the past two weeks unanimously, with 15-0 and 10-0 votes, respectively.

Not to forget that European Parliament’s Environment and Industry Committees have voted to bolster the European Union’s efforts to slash the methane footprint from the energy sector by proposing to extend the scope of the methane emissions regulation with a new provision.

This will put fossil energy imports – oil, gas, and coal – in the same boat from 2026, as importers will be required to comply with the regulation to curb the methane menace.

The EU Parliament’s Environment and Industry Committees adopted with 114 votes in favour, 15 against, and 3 abstentions, their position on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector on Wednesday, 26 April 2023.