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Big fossil fuel producers’ plans exceed climate targets – UN report


Worldwide Climate change Despite efforts to strengthen climate targets, most major oil and gas producers plan to increase production until 2030 or beyond, according to a new UN report published on 20 October.


Major economies will produce more than double the amount of coal, oil and gas in 2030 than is consistent with meeting climate goals set in the 2015 Paris accord to curb global warming.


The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) annual production gap report measures the difference between governments’ planned production of fossil fuels and production levels which are consistent with meeting the temperature limits set in Paris. Under the Paris agreement, nations have committed to a long-term goal of limiting average temperature rises to less than 2 degC above pre-industrial levels and to attempt to limit


them even further to 1.5 degC.


The report, which analysed 15 major fossil fuel producers, found they plan to produce, in total, around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting the degree of warming to 1.5 degC, and 45% more than is consistent with 2 degC. The size of that gap has not reduced much since UNEP’s 2020 report, it added. The countries analysed in the report are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


Representatives from nearly 200 countries will meet in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November for climate talks to strengthen action to tackle global warming under the 2015 Paris Agreement. The plans of the 15 countries analysed


envisage fossil fuel production increasing until at least 2040. This would lead to about 240% more coal, 57% more oil, and 71% more gas in 2030, than the levels required to curb the rate of global warming to 1.5C. Of the three fuels, gas production is projected to increase the most between 2020 and 2040. The International Energy Agency reported in May that investors should not fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects if the world is to hit net zero emissions by mid-century. “The research is clear: global coal, oil, and gas production must start declining immediately and steeply to be consistent with limiting long-term warming to 1.5C,” said Ploy Achakulwisut, a lead author of the new report.


The report was produced by UNEP, the Stockholm Environment Institute, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and think-tanks E3G and ODI.


World’s largest floating wind farm is operational Scotland Wind power


The 50 MW Kincardine offshore windfarm, the world’s largest floating array, is now fully commissioned and delivering electricity to the grid. The wind farm is located 15 km off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in water ranging from 60 m to 80 m deep, and consists of five Vestas V164-9.5 MW and one V80-2 MW turbine, each installed on WindFloat semi- submersible platforms designed by Principle Power. The WTGs are the highest capacity wind turbines ever installed on floating platforms.


The project was started in 2014 by Allan MacAskill and Lord Nicol Stephen, now both


directors of Flotation Energy plc. In 2016 Cobra Group became the main investor in Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Ltd, KOWL.


Cobra Wind, a subsidiary of Cobra Group, has been responsible for delivery of the project, including engineering, construction, installation and commissioning. Cobra’s senior manager, Jose Antonio Fernández, commented: “The Kincardine project is not only the world’s largest, it has also been a fantastic foundation for other joint venture projects between Cobra and Flotation Energy. Our Round 4 success with the 480 MW Morecambe project, our 7GW of bids into the Scotwind leasing round and our White Cross


100 MW floating project in the South West are all signs of our confidence in Scotland and the UK. Floating wind is set for massive growth in the future – and we want to do more.” The Kincardine team has also announced the selection of Aberdeen as its operations and maintenance base, which will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project. Nils de Baar, president, Vestas Central & Northern Europe, said: “The Kincardine project shows how boundaries of offshore wind technology are constantly being pushed forward. We have once again demonstrated that the world’s most powerful turbines can be installed on floating substructures.”


Major step for Vineyard offshore wind farm USA Wind power


Notice to Proceed with the approximately €200 million contract to supply a submarine power cable system for the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm in the USA has been issued to the contractor Prysmian Group. The first large scale offshore wind farm in the USA, Vineyard will consist of an array of 62 wind turbines and generate 800 MWe. The submarine cable contract was awarded in 2019 by Vineyard Wind, LLC, a US offshore wind development owned by Copenhagen


Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables (part of the Iberdrola Group). Prysmian is responsible for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of an HVAC cable system consisting of two 220 kV three-core cables utilising extruded XLPE insulation. The project requires a total of 134 km of power cables, which will be produced in Prysmian’s centres of excellence for the production of submarine cables in Pikkala, Finland, and Arco Felice, Italy. Installation operations will be performed by


4 | October 2021 | www.modernpowersystems.com


Prysmian’s cable laying vessels Cable Enterprise and Ulisse. Delivery and commissioning of the project are scheduled for Q4 2023.


Prysmian will also provide PRY-CAM permanent monitoring solutions, described by the company as a breakthrough technology that allows on-line, accurate and reliable in-depth information that helps asset owners to increase uptime, asset longevity, and safety, while reducing maintenance costs and risks.


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