Corvus Energy has announced that it has been selected by shipbuilder Vard Electro to supply the lithium ion battery-based energy storage systems for the new vessel being built in Vard Vung Tau, Taiwan, to service Greater Changhua wind farms.
The offshore wind market is expected to grow due to an accelerating global shift toward renewable energy. With this increasing environmental focus, Corvus notes that owners of wind farm support vessels will need to consider hybrid electric solutions and alternative fuels to meet requirements.
The Service Operation Vessel (SOV) is a newly developed ship design tailored for the complicated and harsh environment found in the Taiwan Strait. The vessel will be the first SOV to be built according to Taiwanese flag and class. Vard has developed three cost-effective SOV designs that it says feature the latest propulsion technologies and hull forms developed for offshore renewables. One of these is the 84.4m long and 19m wide VARD 4 19 SOV, which has accommodation for 89 people, and will form the basis for the Corvus-equipped vessel.
The company will supply its air-cooled Orca ESS for the SOV. “Vard is at the absolute forefront when it comes to designing and building specialized vessels, as well as sophisticated electrical system design,” said Christian Søvik, senior vice president of sales at Corvus Energy. “The potential for fuel and emissions savings in offshore operation is high due the vessel’s high variation in load and high demand for redundancy. We expect that the growing wind market will be an important arena for energy storage solutions and further development of green technology in the years to come.”