ScottishPower Renewables has launched an innovative pilot project to further reduce its carbon emissions by using waste vegetable oil to help power crew transfer vessels working on its flagship East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm.
Supporting the company’s commitment to Net Zero, the renewable vessel fuel, HVO30 – made from 30% hydrogenated vegetable oil and a marine gas oil fuel blend – will be used to power two crew transfer vessels provided by Great Yarmouth-based NR Marine Services.
Compared to standard marine gas oil, HVO30 is predicted to result in around a 30% reduction in equivalent CO² emissions from the two vessels. The renewable fuel is created from 100% waste vegetable oils and holds a proof of sustainability certificate from the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.
ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia ONE project director, Charlie Jordan, commented:
“As part of the drive to get to Net Zero, we’ve been working with suppliers across our East Anglia ONE windfarm to reduce CO² emissions throughout the project. Developing low emission vessels for use in operational windfarms is a real challenge for the industry and we’re proud to be leading the way and taking on this challenge to help us operate in a cleaner and greener way.
“As we continue to work towards Net Zero – and with the UK hosting the COP26 UN climate change summit later this year – it’s vital we all do our bit to ensure our operations are as sustainable as possible. Our ambition is to continually work with our supply chain to find ways of reducing our environmental impact across our projects. We’re really pleased to be working with NR Marine Services to deliver this pilot project, which is an exciting milestone on that journey.”
Owen Nutt, director of NR Marine Services, which is operating crew transfer vessels on East Anglia ONE as part of a contract with Turner Iceni, added: “We are really pleased to be paving the way with reducing vessel emissions on two of our vessels, NR Cougar and NR Jaguar.
“East Anglia ONE is an important project for us and it’s great to see ScottishPower Renewables committing to purchase the HVO30 fuel in a bid to further reduce carbon emissions. We are looking forward to analysing the performance of the new fuel and hopefully rolling it out to the entire fleet in the future.”
Located 43km off the coast of Suffolk and completed during lockdown in 2020, East Anglia ONE is one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world. It comprises 102 Siemens Gamesa 7MW offshore wind turbines and the capacity to produce 714MW of clean energy – enough to power the equivalent of more than 630,000 homes – every year.
The £2.5bn project includes:
- £25m invested in a state-of-the-art operations and maintenance base at Lowestoft Port, delivering 100 long-term skilled jobs
- £5m co-invested in Great Yarmouth Port to prepare the facility for construction and assembly of the turbine components
- £70 million committed to local suppliers delivering works across the East of England
- the creation of 3,500 jobs at the peak of construction
Outcomes from ScottishPower Renewables’ programme of work in East Anglia include the sponsorship of 10 engineering masters at the University of East Anglia, the recruitment of several local young people for a new offshore wind apprenticeship, the sponsorship of 26 places to date at the Offshore Wind Skills Centre, with a focus on retraining experienced engineers from the wider offshore or engineering sectors, and ongoing active support for International Women in Engineering Day events across the region.
East Anglia ONE is a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group. It is one of four offshore windfarms ScottishPower Renewables plans to develop in the region.
