POWER October 2021 - 12

GLOBAL MONITOR
The possibility of integrating thermal
storage for solar hybrid gas turbines,
meanwhile, may require designing
unique cycles that would separate " the
combustion system of the gas turbine
unit to allow thermal input from the
heat storage, as well as managing the
balance between solar and chemical
energy in transient operations. " Overall,
the report notes, all energy storage
schemes are limited in terms of turndown
or operational flexibility.
Promising systems that combine
different energy conversion systems,
meanwhile, include one using fuel cells
in different parts of a conventional energy
conversion plant. " Even though
scale is still limiting overall power output,
fuel cells can be used to work as a
surrogate 'combustion' system for gas
turbine derived technology, as they work
(especially the Solid Oxide Fuel Cells)
at high temperature, " it says. A big challenge
here, however, is the transient
management-the two conversion systems
have very different reaction times,
gas turbine being the most reactive, the
report notes.
-Sonal Patel is a POWER senior
associate editor.
Dynamic Export Cables Help
Unlock Potential of Offshore
Wind Power
The need to boost renewable energy
production and infrastructure has never
been higher. Offshore wind power is a
crucial part of achieving net-zero emissions
and has tremendous potential. As
more and larger wind farms are installed
across the world, the deployment of
more powerful turbines has established
the offshore wind sector as a modern
giant of the energy sector.
The offshore and ocean wind industry
has experienced dramatic growth
in Europe, and the U.S. sector appears
poised for substantial growth as well. The
dynamic export cable, also known as an
umbilical, is an essential subsea power
transmission component. The cables are
an integral part of bringing energy from
ocean and offshore wind turbines to
where it's needed onshore, and a technology
critical to the success of the industry.
While Europe, in particular the UK and
Germany, continues to lead the way with
the largest offshore wind markets, China
and the U.S. are driving strong growth in
the sector. The World Forum for Offshore
Wind recently said China currently has a
3. Growth in the offshore wind industry is
dependent on the ability to install turbines in
deep water locations, further offshore where
wind speeds are greater. Up to 80% of the
world's best resources are in areas where
water is much deeper. Floating wind turbine
designs are helping the power industry gain
access to these resources. Courtesy: Nexans
market-leading 4.4 GW of offshore wind
under construction, as well as more then
7 GW in operation-and as recently as
2019 was targeting having more than 40
GW installed by next year.
American Clean Power, an advocacy
group for the U.S. sector, said more than
9 GW of new offshore wind is planned
off the nation's coastlines in the next
five years. The Department of Energy's
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
in late August said the pipeline for U.S.
offshore wind energy projects grew to
more than 35 GW in the past year, a 24%
increase over the previous year.
The UK, meanwhile, has a goal of
40 GW of installed offshore wind by
2030, up from its current total of about
10.5 GW. Germany has about 8 GW of
installed capacity, although officials recently
said no new offshore installations
are expected this year.
Most wind farms currently are being
developed in prime shallow-water
locations
with a depth of up to 50 to 60
meters. The fixed-bottom wind turbines
anchored to the seafloor used in these
projects is well-established technology.
Yet, up to 80% of the world's best
wind resources can be found in areas
where the water is much deeper, meaning
a major chunk of offshore wind potential
remains untapped. But this is
changing thanks to the advancement of
floating wind technology (Figure 3), including
dynamic export cables.
Floating wind farms and accompanying
transmission technology enable the
energy industry to expand into deeper
waters where winds are stronger and
more consistent, such as the Mediterranean,
the U.S. West Coast, offshore of
Japan and Korea, and in the Norwegian
North Sea. Installing the foundations for
offshore wind farms in deeper waters
is difficult-not only is it prohibitively
12
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POWER October 2021

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