New Reports Highlight Path to Net-Zero Windfarm Operations
Offshore charging for both battery-powered crew transfer and service operation vessels could be on the horizon for windfarms of the future, according to two studies commissioned by green energy company ScottishPower Renewables.
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 (GHG) emissions from offshore windfarm operations.
The studies consolidated initial findings that the electrification of offshore operations was technically feasible using battery-powered Service Operation Vessels (E-SOVs), which stay out at sea for extended periods.
They also looked at the potential to decarbonise offshore operations using electric crew transfer vessels (CTVs) that could be used for windfarms located closer to shore, with findings confirming that it is technically and operationally feasible.
In both scenarios, windfarms would also benefit environmentally and economically, with a significant reduction in both GHG emissions as well as fuel costs.
Ross Ovens, ScottishPower Renewables' Managing Director for Offshore, said:
'These latest studies have the potential to help the industry take a step closer to a new era for offshore windfarm operations – not just here in the UK, but right across the globe.
'The valuable depth and insight this research offers – regardless of whether you're considering an SOV or CTV operating model – could help inform future windfarm operations as the country continues to build the green generation we need to meet the expected doubling of electricity demand.
'Our thanks to MJR Power & Automation and Oasis Marine, who have helped shine a light on the potential to decarbonise marine operations and how that could help support a cleaner, greener and better future.'
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 at shore-based quay sides. It also identified that operations and maintenance electric vessels will become cheaper than their Marine Gas Oil (MGO) alternatives within the next few years, with operating expenses already competitive with MGO-powered equivalents for SOVs, and fully competitive for CTVs in a couple of years.
Paul Cairns, Managing Director, MJR Power & Automation said:
'We were delighted to be commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables to support its Operation Zero project, which represents a major step forward in advancing offshore charging solutions. Working with such a forward-thinking team to help shape the future of sustainable offshore operations has been a fantastic experience. At MJR Power & Automation, we're proud to contribute our expertise toward accelerating the industry's journey to net zero and we hope that our findings are helpful to both ScottishPower Renewables and the wider offshore wind sector in its push to further decarbonise.'
The Oasis Marine study identified that using electric CTVs, 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.
George Smith, Chief Technical Officer of Oasis Marine, said:
'We're pleased to have worked with ScottishPower Renewables to conduct this study into the technical and operational feasibility of installing Oasis Power Buoys as an offshore windfarm charging solution. The study has concluded that the operations and maintenance activities of windfarms can be conducted by electric vessels. This is not only feasible, but can deliver strong environmental and economic benefits. The report summarises and generalises the findings and gives an excellent snapshot of where Oasis Marine's offshore charging technology is today and the potential emission and cost savings it unlocks.'
The findings are being shared through the Operation Zero initiative, which was launched at COP26 in Glasgow and brings together developers and supply chain companies committed to making zero-emission operations and maintenance vessels a reality.
Leo Hambro from the Operation Zero Steering Committee, added:
'It's great to see developers and the supply chain working together to develop the solutions and best practice that will be a game changer for the industry as a whole. Through studies like these, we will be able to learn, innovate and accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vessels and technologies to achieve a sustainable maritime future.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The AI bloodbath tearing through the middle-class
Elon Musk and hundreds of other tech mavens wrote an open letter two years ago about how AI was coming to 'automate away all the jobs' and upend society. It looks like we should have listened to them. Layoffs are sweeping America, nixing hundreds of thousands of jobs at Microsoft , Walmart , and other titans. The newly jobless speak of a 'bloodbath' on the scale of the pandemic. This time, it's not blue-collar and factory workers getting whacked — it's college graduates with white-collar jobs in tech, finance, law, and consulting. Entry-level jobs are vanishing the fastest — stoking fears of recession and a generation of disillusioned graduates left stranded with CVs no one wants. College grads are now much more likely to be unemployed than others, official data show. Chatbots have already taken over data entry and customer service jobs. Next-generation 'agentic' AI can solve problems, adapt, and work independently. These 'smartbots' are already spotting market trends, running logistics operations, writing legal contracts, and diagnosing patients. The markets have seen the future: AI investment funds are growing by as much as 60 percent a year. 'The AI layoffs have begun, and they're not stopping,' says tech entrepreneur Alex Finn. Luddites who don't embrace the tech 'will be completely irrelevant in the next five years,' he posted on X. Procter & Gamble, which makes diapers, laundry detergent, and other household items, this week said it would cut 7,000 jobs , or about 15 percent of non-manufacturing roles. Its two-year restructuring plan involves shedding managers who can be automated away. Microsoft last month announced a cull of 6,000 staff — about 3 percent of its workforce — targeting managerial flab , after a smaller round of performance-related cuts in January. LA-based tech entrepreneur Jason Shafton said the software giant's layoffs spotlight a trend 'redefining' the job market. 'If AI saves each person 10 percent of their time (and let's be real, it's probably more), what does that mean for a company of 200,000?' he wrote. Retail titan Walmart, America's biggest private employer, is slashing 1,500 tech, sales, and advertising jobs in a streamlining effort. Citigroup, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, Disney, online education firm Chegg, Amazon, and Warner Bros. Discovery have culled dozens or even hundreds of their workers in recent weeks. Musk himself led a federal sacking spree during his 130-day stint at the Department of Government Efficiency, which ended on May 30. Federal agencies lost some 135,000 to firings and voluntary resignation under his watch, and 150,000 more roles are set to be mothballed. Employers had already announced 220,000 job cuts by the end of February, the highest layoff rate seen since 2009. In announcing cuts, executives often talk about restructuring and tough economic headwinds. Many are spooked by US President Donald Trump's on-and-off tariffs, which sent stock markets into free-fall and prompted CEOs to second-guess their long-term plans . Others say something deeper is happening, as companies embrace the next-generation models of chatbots and AI. Robots and machines have for decades usurped factory workers. AI chatbots have more recently replaced routine, repetitive, data entry and customer service roles. A new and more sophisticated technology — called Agentic AI — now operates more independently: perceiving the environment, setting goals, making plans, and executing them. AI-powered software now writes reports, analyses spreadsheets, creates legal contracts, designs logos, and even drafts press releases, all in seconds. Banks are axing graduate recruitment schemes. Law firms are replacing paralegals with AI-driven tools. Even tech startups, the birthplace of innovation, are swapping junior developers for code-writing bots. Managers increasingly seek to become 'AI first' and test whether tasks can be done by AI before hiring a human. That's now company policy at Shopify. It's how fintech firm Klarna shrank its headcount by 40 percent, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC last month. Experienced workers are encouraged to automate tasks and get more work done; recent graduates are struggling to get their foot in the door. From a distance, the job market looks relatively buoyant, with unemployment holding steady at 4.2 percent for the third consecutive month, the Labor Department reported on Friday. But it's unusually high — close to 6 percent — among recent graduates. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently said job prospects for these workers had 'deteriorated noticeably.' That spells trouble not just for young workers, but for the long-term health of businesses — and the economy. Economists warn of an AI-induced downturn, as millions lose jobs, spending plummets, and social unrest festers. It's been dubbed an industrial revolution for the modern era, but one that's measured in years, not decades. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, one of the world's most powerful AI firms, says we're at the start of a storm. AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs — and spike unemployment to 10-20 percent in the next one to five years, he told Axios. Lawmakers have their heads in the sand and must stop 'sugar-coating' the grim reality of the late 2020s, Amodei said. 'Most of them are unaware that this is about to happen,' he said. 'It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it.' Young people who've been culled are taking to social media to vent their anger as the door to a middle-class lifestyle closes on them. Patrick Lyons calls it 'jarring and unexpected' how he lost his Austin-based program managing job in an 'emotionless business decision' by Microsoft. 'There's nothing the 6,000 of us could have done to prevent this,' he posted. A young woman coder, known by her TikTok handle dotisinfluencing, posts a daily video diary about the '[expletive] massacre' of layoffs at her tech company as 'AI is taking over,' she says. Her job search is going badly — one recruiter appeared more interested in taking her out for drinks than offering a paycheck, she said. 'I feel like [expletive],' she added. Ben Wolfson, a young Meta software engineer, says entry-level software jobs dried up in 2023. 'Big tech doesn't want you, bro,' he says. Critics say universities are churning out graduates into a market that simply doesn't need them. A growing number of young professionals say they feel betrayed — promised opportunity, but handed a future of 'AI-enhanced' redundancy. Others are eyeing an opportunity for a payout to try something different. Donald King posted a recording of the meeting in which he was unceremoniously laid off from his data science job at consulting firm PwC. 'RIP my AI factory job,' he said. 'I built the thing that destroyed me.' He now posts from Porto, in Portugal — a popular spot for digital nomads — where he's founded a marketing startup . Industry insiders say it won't be long before another generation of AI arrives to automate new sectors. As AI improves, the difference between 'safe' and 'automatable' work gets blurrier by the day. Human workers are advised to stay one step ahead and build AI into their own jobs to increase productivity. Optimists point to such careers as radiology — where humans initially looked set to be outmoded by machines that could speedily read medical scans and pinpoint tumors. But the layoffs didn't happen. The technology has been adopted — but radiologists adapted, using AI to sharpen images and automate some tasks, and boost productivity. Some radiology units even expanded their increasingly efficient human workforce. Others say AI is a scapegoat for 2025's job cuts — that executives are downsizing for economic reasons, and blaming technology so as not to panic shareholders. But for those who have lost their jobs, the future looks bleak.
Business News Wales
7 hours ago
- Business News Wales
New Reports Highlight Path to Net-Zero Windfarm Operations
Offshore charging for both battery-powered crew transfer and service operation vessels could be on the horizon for windfarms of the future, according to two studies commissioned by green energy company ScottishPower Renewables. 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 (GHG) emissions from offshore windfarm operations. The studies consolidated initial findings that the electrification of offshore operations was technically feasible using battery-powered Service Operation Vessels (E-SOVs), which stay out at sea for extended periods. They also looked at the potential to decarbonise offshore operations using electric crew transfer vessels (CTVs) that could be used for windfarms located closer to shore, with findings confirming that it is technically and operationally feasible. In both scenarios, windfarms would also benefit environmentally and economically, with a significant reduction in both GHG emissions as well as fuel costs. Ross Ovens, ScottishPower Renewables' Managing Director for Offshore, said: 'These latest studies have the potential to help the industry take a step closer to a new era for offshore windfarm operations – not just here in the UK, but right across the globe. 'The valuable depth and insight this research offers – regardless of whether you're considering an SOV or CTV operating model – could help inform future windfarm operations as the country continues to build the green generation we need to meet the expected doubling of electricity demand. 'Our thanks to MJR Power & Automation and Oasis Marine, who have helped shine a light on the potential to decarbonise marine operations and how that could help support a cleaner, greener and better future.' 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 at shore-based quay sides. It also identified that operations and maintenance electric vessels will become cheaper than their Marine Gas Oil (MGO) alternatives within the next few years, with operating expenses already competitive with MGO-powered equivalents for SOVs, and fully competitive for CTVs in a couple of years. Paul Cairns, Managing Director, MJR Power & Automation said: 'We were delighted to be commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables to support its Operation Zero project, which represents a major step forward in advancing offshore charging solutions. Working with such a forward-thinking team to help shape the future of sustainable offshore operations has been a fantastic experience. At MJR Power & Automation, we're proud to contribute our expertise toward accelerating the industry's journey to net zero and we hope that our findings are helpful to both ScottishPower Renewables and the wider offshore wind sector in its push to further decarbonise.' The Oasis Marine study identified that using electric CTVs, 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. George Smith, Chief Technical Officer of Oasis Marine, said: 'We're pleased to have worked with ScottishPower Renewables to conduct this study into the technical and operational feasibility of installing Oasis Power Buoys as an offshore windfarm charging solution. The study has concluded that the operations and maintenance activities of windfarms can be conducted by electric vessels. This is not only feasible, but can deliver strong environmental and economic benefits. The report summarises and generalises the findings and gives an excellent snapshot of where Oasis Marine's offshore charging technology is today and the potential emission and cost savings it unlocks.' The findings are being shared through the Operation Zero initiative, which was launched at COP26 in Glasgow and brings together developers and supply chain companies committed to making zero-emission operations and maintenance vessels a reality. Leo Hambro from the Operation Zero Steering Committee, added: 'It's great to see developers and the supply chain working together to develop the solutions and best practice that will be a game changer for the industry as a whole. Through studies like these, we will be able to learn, innovate and accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vessels and technologies to achieve a sustainable maritime future.'
Geeky Gadgets
7 hours ago
- Geeky Gadgets
Claude 4 Opus and Composer Agent AI Coding Development Workflow
What if your development workflow could think ahead, anticipate your needs, and eliminate the most tedious parts of coding? With the rise of AI-powered tools like Claude 4 Opus and the Composer Agent, this vision is no longer a distant dream but a tangible reality reshaping how developers approach their craft. These tools promise more than just incremental improvements—they aim to redefine productivity by blending intelligent automation with human creativity. Whether you're navigating sprawling codebases or fine-tuning a single feature, the ability to work smarter, not harder, has never been more accessible. World of AI provides more insights into the fantastic potential of these innovative tools, exploring how they streamline complex workflows and empower developers to focus on innovation. From context-aware code suggestions to conversational debugging, the features of the Composer Agent and Code LM are designed to meet the demands of modern development. But how do these tools balance automation with control? And what role do advanced AI models like Gemini 2.5 Pro play in this ecosystem? As we unpack these questions, you'll discover how these innovations can elevate your coding experience and redefine what's possible in software development. Abacus AI Development Tools Enhanced Features of the Composer Agent The Composer Agent now incorporates smarter and faster autocomplete capabilities, allowing you to write code more efficiently. With improved context-awareness, the tool ensures that its suggestions align with your specific coding environment, minimizing errors and saving valuable time. Additionally, it has been optimized to handle large codebases, allowing for seamless navigation and better memory management in complex projects. Key improvements include: Intelligent code suggestions tailored to your coding context. Tap-to-autocomplete functionality for faster implementation. Enhanced performance for managing intricate and large-scale tasks. These features allow you to focus on creativity and problem-solving by reducing the repetitive aspects of coding. Whether you're working on a small project or a large-scale application, the Composer Agent adapts to your needs, making sure a smoother and more efficient workflow. Code LM: A Smarter AI-Powered Code Editor Code LM introduces a robust suite of features designed to boost your productivity and simplify complex coding challenges. One of its standout additions is the conversational AI mode, which enables you to interact with the tool for debugging, refactoring, and step-by-step logic explanations. This conversational approach makes it easier to identify and resolve issues, even in the most intricate codebases. Other notable features include: Multimodel routing for seamless integration of AI models like Cloud 4 Opus and Gemini 2.5 Pro. Inline editing and manual validation options for greater control over AI-generated code. Support for debugging and refactoring through natural language queries. These enhancements empower you to refine and implement code with confidence. By combining AI-driven insights with manual oversight, Code LM ensures that your final output is both accurate and aligned with your project goals. Composer Agent Development Workflow Watch this video on YouTube. Advance your skills in Claude 4 by reading more of our detailed content. Advanced Model Integrations The integration of advanced AI models is a cornerstone of these updates, offering tailored solutions for diverse development needs. Each model is designed to address specific challenges, making sure optimal performance across various coding tasks: Cloud 4 Opus: Optimized for front-end development, delivering precision and speed for UI/UX-focused projects. Optimized for front-end development, delivering precision and speed for UI/UX-focused projects. Cloud 4 Sonet: Specially designed for back-end development, providing robust and scalable solutions for server-side applications. Specially designed for back-end development, providing robust and scalable solutions for server-side applications. Gemini 2.5 Pro: A versatile model capable of handling a wide range of coding applications, from simple scripts to complex systems. These models work in harmony to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of your development workflow. Additionally, support for MCP configurations allows you to customize the tools to meet your unique project requirements. Whether you're developing a small-scale app or a large enterprise solution, these integrations ensure that you have the right tools for the job. Streamlined Development Workflows The updates also bring significant improvements to the overall development workflow, allowing you to work smarter and more efficiently. Features like file uploading, tagging, and inline editing simplify file management, while intelligent code suggestions and tap-to-autocomplete reduce cognitive load. These enhancements allow you to focus on higher-level tasks, making sure that your code is clean, efficient, and easy to maintain. Highlights of the workflow improvements include: Efficient execution of multi-step tasks through the agent composer. Streamlined file management within the editor for better organization. Reduced manual effort through AI-driven suggestions and automation. By automating repetitive tasks and providing intelligent insights, these tools free up your time and energy for more strategic and creative aspects of development. This streamlined approach not only improves productivity but also enhances the overall quality of your work. Real-World Applications The practical applications of these tools are extensive, catering to developers of all skill levels. For instance, the Composer Agent can guide you through building a functional app, such as a wallpaper app, by offering step-by-step guidance, intelligent suggestions, and debugging assistance. This makes it an invaluable resource for beginners exploring new possibilities and experienced developers tackling complex projects. For those who prefer manual oversight, the tools provide options for validating AI-generated code, making sure that the final output meets your standards. This balance between automation and control makes Abacus AI's tools versatile and adaptable, capable of supporting a wide range of development scenarios. Cost-Effective Solutions One of the most appealing aspects of these updates is their affordability. For just $10 per month, you gain access to a comprehensive suite of features, including Code LM, Chat LLM, and the Composer Agent. This pricing model ensures that developers at all levels can benefit from advanced AI-driven tools without exceeding their budgets. By offering powerful features at an accessible price point, Abacus AI makes innovative development tools available to a broader audience. This affordability, combined with the tools' robust capabilities, positions them as a valuable asset for modern developers seeking to enhance their workflows and achieve their goals efficiently. Media Credit: WorldofAI Filed Under: AI, Guides Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
