Specialist vessels that provide crew transfer and service operation for offshore wind farms could battery powered in future, two studies commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables have concluded.
The two reports – by MJR Power & Automation and Oasis Marine – are the last in a series of three commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) to explore options for decarbonising and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from offshore windfarm operations.
The studies consolidated initial findings that the electrification of offshore operations was technically feasible using battery-powered vessels that stay out at sea for extended periods.
They also looked at the potential to decarbonise offshore operations using electric crew transfer vessels that could be used for windfarms located closer to shore, with findings confirming that it is technically and operationally feasible.
The MJR study found that electrical solutions are particularly suitable for offshore windfarm operations, due to the possibility of regular charges directly at offshore energy production sites and onshore at quayside. It also identified that operations and maintenance electric vessels will become cheaper than marine gas oil alternatives within the next few years.
The Oasis Marine study identified that using electric crew transfer vehicles, enabled by installing Oasis Power Buoys in the windfarm, provides protection from volatile fossil fuel price and the high costs of alternative green fuels; enabling costs to be predictable and in line with the operator’s business model. Its findings were based on the use of three electric CTVs instead of diesel-fuelled vessels at a case study windfarm. The study identified potential savings of 140,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and fuel saving costs of around £15 million over the windfarm’s anticipated 25-year lifetime.