Q FWE Identifies a Total Addressable Market of 50+ Billion USD in CapEx for Floating Wind Energy
Future investment into the Floating Wind market is considerably higher than many realize. Quest FWE has now created an analytical tool which allows the user to investigate numerous market facets of Floating Wind CAPEX. The Q Vision CAPEX module offers 8 distinct lenses from which to navigate this continually updated data system. *For a limited time, this Q Vision Capex module is available for your review at https://questfwe.com/pbi-capexdemo/
Project of the Month
Kincardine
The Kincardine project offshore Scotland has seen some remarkable modifications since its original application in 2016. Project schedule, turbine capacity, and floater all saw significant changes during the project development. Kincardine switches to 9.5 MW turbines
The 1st floater came online this month with a 2MW turbine carried by WindFloat 1 in order to make the project’s ROC (UK Renewables Obligation Certificate) deadline.
The 6 floaters with 8.4 MW turbines were originally planned to be installed in two additional tranches, of which the first three were to be installed in 2019. However, operating company KOWL announced last month a switch to using the MHI Vestas 164-9.5 MW turbine. The higher capacity turbine selection reduces the number of required floaters by one. As the turbines will not be available until late 2019, all units will be installed early in 2020 as Tranche 2.
The revised project raises the expected CAPEX to GBP 350M and OPEX to GBP 150M. Note these costs put the project toward the more expensive end of the Cost Per MW spectrum as shown in the Q Vision market analysis lens below. (See more at https://questfwe.com/q-vision/ )
Q Vision Cost Per MW
Q FWE Introduces
Project Economics Calculators
Quest FWE introduces its Project Economics Calculators designed to verify assumptions, make comparisons and/or simply check variable inputs.
The Q FWE Project CapEx Calculator can be used to determine a CapEx Threshold for your FTU-Floating Turbine Unit Project, based on a 20 year lifespan, allowing user specified inputs for: Turbine Size (MW), Capacity Factor at Location, Electricity Feed-In Tariff, level of annual OpEx, and targeted annualized Pre-tax Rate of Return.
The Q FWE Project FiT Calculator can be used to determine the required FiT (Feed-In Tariff) for your FTU-Floating Turbine Unit Project, based on a 20 year lifespan, allowing user specified inputs for: CapEx, Number of FTU’s, Turbine Size (MW), level of OpEx, targeted annualized Pre-tax Rate of Return, and Capacity Factor at Location.
These can be accessed on our Q FWEconomics Page
Concept of the Month
The Stiesdal TetraSpar
Henrik Stiesdal (Stiesdal Offshore Technologies, or SOT) designed the TetraSpar based on his vision that once a floater goes into commercialization its design will need to facilitate easy, serial production. Therefore, the TetraSpar will be built in standardized, light weight components and brought together first at the assembly stage of the project. This way the fabrication of the components can be spread over a larger number of fabricators, not only preventing bottle necks but also to spread the economic effect over a larger community so that local content can be maximized. Although the design resembles that of a semisub, it features a ‘keel’ that once ballasted, turns the floater into a Spar with attractive dynamic properties.
At the time we chose TetraSpar as the concept of the month, we didn’t know Shell and Innogy would announce that same week to back Stiesdal for the building of the demonstrator planned to come online in 2019 at the Karmoy test site, Norway in 200m deep water. The TetraSpar can also be installed in shallower waters (>50) in a TLP or Semisub configuration.
The TetraSpar technology has also been selected by Magellan Wind and CIP (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners) in the US to position itself for floating projects offshore California.