NCL LATEST LINE TO ANNOUNCE ALASKA RESTART PLANS

Posted on 24 May, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian Cruise Line has become the latest brand to announce plans to restart activities in Alaska this summer.

The line will resume itineraries with Norwegian Bliss offering week-long voyages from Seattle from 7 August to 16 October.

NCL joins a number of companies – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, and Holland America Line – in announcing their intentions to return to the region.

The developments follow the US House of Representatives approving a bill temporarily waiving Canada’s Passenger Vessel Services Act, which requires ships to either start itineraries in Canada or stop in a Canadian port during them.

Alaska is currently the first destination in the US to green-light cruising since the pandemic.

All lines are still subject to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) rules, which have not yet allowed sailings to return.

Lines are anticipating the CDC allowing sailings to restart from July.

As part of its programme, NCL will offer seven to 13 hours of port time in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point in Alaska – guests can also benefit from the opening of a second cruise pier in Icy Strait Point.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean will also offer seven-night cruises, round-trip from Seattle, on Serenade of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas, beginning 19 July and 13 August.

Celebrity will deploy Celebrity Summit in Seattle in July offering nine seven-day sailings through to mid-September.

Canada pauses cruise shipping until 2022

Posted on 11 February, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

North American cruise shipping took another beating after Canada extended its cruise shipping ban until 28 February 2022

Interim orders announced by Canada’s ministry for transport (Transport Canada) mean passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Labrador Coast. In addition, cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are also prohibited from operating in Canadian waters.

While the order affects Canada, the extension of the ban is likely to affect Alaska and Seattle in the United States through a combination of geographical proximity and US maritime rules.

The Passenger Vessel Services Act requires that ships not flying the United States flag, and primarily America-operated, stop at a foreign port between US ports, which in this case includes Canadian ports.

Over the last two decades, Seattle’s cruise industry has grown, especially as a departure point for cruises to Alaska. The extension of Canada’s ‘no-sail’ order is another blow to Seattle’s US$7.8Bn tourism industry, of which cruise shipping rakes in US$900M.

Norwegian Bliss in the Port of Seattle

According to the Port of Seattle, which is also the US west coast’s largest cruise ship homeport, cruise shipping supports 5,000 people in the region and each homeported vessel brings in over US$4M to the regional economy, US$14.5M in statewide taxes, and generates nearly a billion dollars in business activity over the whole season.

Responding to the Canadian Government’s decision, the Port of Seattle said: “This impacts our homeported cruises which would stop at a Canadian port, per the Passenger Vessel Services Act, on their Alaska itineraries.”

Transport Canada said new prohibitions will allow public health authorities to continue focusing on “the most pressing issues, including the vaccine rollout and new Covid-19 variants.”

Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said “Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our healthcare systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do.”

“Cruise vessels in Canadian waters pose a risk to our healthcare systems. The Government of Canada will continue to evaluate the situation and make changes as necessary to ensure the health and safety of all Canadians. Should the Covid-19 pandemic sufficiently improve to allow the resumption of these activities, the Minister of Transport has the ability to rescind the Interim Orders” said Transport Canada.

Vestas wins new orders for wind turbines in the US, Canada, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Japan and Vietnam

Posted on 4 July, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Vestas has received an order for 278 MW of V150-4.2 MW turbines for a 302 MW project in the US including previously purchased 4 MW components. The order includes supply and commissioning of the turbines as well as a 10-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to ensure optimised performance for the lifetime of the project. Turbine delivery will begin the second quarter of 2021 with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021. The project and customer are undisclosed.

In Canada, Vestas has received a 151 MW order of V136-3.45 MW turbines delivered in 3.6 MW Power Optimised Mode from Capital Power for the 97 MW Whitla Wind 2 and 54 MW Whitla Wind 3 projects in Alberta, Canada. The order includes supply and commissioning of the turbines as well as a 10-year service agreement, designed to ensure optimised performance for the lifetime of the project. Turbine delivery and commissioning are scheduled for 2021.

Whitla Wind 2 and 3 expand on the 202 MW Whitla Wind 1 Project, installed in 2019 and featuring the same turbine type. Whitla Wind 1 was selected as one of four projects by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in Alberta’s first renewable energy auction, a competition that attracted global participation.

Alberta plans to add up to 5,000 MW of renewable energy to the grid by 2030. The province is the third-largest wind market in Canada, which ranks 9th in the world for installed capacity. The wind has been the number one source of new electricity generation in Canada for more than a decade.

In France, international renewable energy developer Valeco has placed a 42 MW order for three wind projects, consisting of the supply and installation of eight V100-2.0 MW wind turbines delivered in 2.2 MW Power Optimised Mode and eight V117-3.45 MW wind turbines in 3.0 MW operating mode, as well as Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreements, designed to maximise energy production for the sites.

The name and location of the projects are undisclosed. Turbine delivery and commissioning are scheduled for the first half of 2021.

Vestas has over 5.1 GW capacity installed and over 2,300 wind turbines in France. These numbers place the company as the main contributor to the expansion of wind energy in France, where last year the company had a 40 per cent market share.

Also in France, Elicio has placed a 32 MW order for the Le Haut Plateau wind project, consisting of the supply and installation of nine V136-3.45 MW wind turbines delivered in 3.6 Power Optimised Mode, as well as an Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement for at least the next 20 years.

Turbine delivery will begin in the third quarter of 2021, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of the same year.

Vestas to deliver 46MW Dutch delight - reNews - Renewable Energy News

In The Netherlands, Vestas has won a 36 MW repowering order with Vattenfall for the Jaap Rodenburg II project. The wind project will be installed in the Province Flevoland, near Almere and will feature ten V117-3.45 MW turbines with 91.5-metre towers delivered in 3.6 MW Power Optimised Mode to maximise energy production in the site’s medium to high wind conditions, while meeting the local tip height requirements. This repowering project will replace the 10 V66 turbines and will more than double the installed capacity at the location.

The project will feature a VestasOnline Business SCADA solution, lowering turbine downtime and thus optimising the energy output. The contract further includes supply, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, as well as a 10-years Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement.

Deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021, while commissioning is planned for the second quarter of 2021.

In Italy, the company has received a 49 MW order for two projects located in the Campania region, consisting of six V110-2.0 MW wind turbines delivered in 2.2 MW Power Optimised Mode and ten V117-3.45 MW wind turbines in 3.6 MW operating mode.

The supply and installation contract also includes a 5-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement.

Turbine delivery and commissioning are planned for the first half of 2021. The names of the wind parks are undisclosed as per customer request.

With a 70 per cent market share in 2019 and with over 4.3 GW total capacity installed, Vestas leads the market as the main contributor to the expansion of wind energy in Italy.

In Japan, Vestas is working with Tokyu Land Corporation and Japan Wind Development, having secured a 76 MW order for Chitose Wind Farm and Noheji Mutsuwan Wind Farm in the Aomori prefecture.

Due to the typhoon and earthquake-prone environment of the region, an extended collaboration between all project partners was required when designing a turbine solution to maximise wind capture in the sites’ challenging wind and weather conditions.

The order includes the supply and supervision of four V117-3.45 MW and six V105-3.45 MW turbines that are all delivered in 3.6 MW Power Optimised Mode at Chitose Wind Farm, as well as eleven V105-3.45 MW turbines in 3.6 MW Power Optimised Mode at Noheji Mutsuwan Wind Farm.

With a robust design for tough wind sites, the turbine variants are well-suited for the sites’ challenging climatic conditions and all turbines will feature customised 94m towers to accommodate seismic loads, high turbulence and extreme wind speeds.

Vestas will also provide multi-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreements for both wind farms. With an energy-based availability guarantee, the agreement will ensure optimised performance and long-term business certainty.

Delivery of Vestas’ turbines will begin in the first quarter of 2021 with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021.

MHI Vestas Secures Order in Japan for 139 MW Offshore Wind Projects

Vestas installed its first turbines in Japan in 1995 and has since then installed a total of 650 MW, making Vestas the leading wind energy provider in the Japanese market.

In Vietnam, Vestas has won an 84 MW order to supply, transport, install and commission a total of 20 V150-4.2 MW wind turbines, in which it worked closely with the customer to customise a solution featuring V150-4.2 MW turbines at a hub height of 145 metres to help optimise the wind energy production for the project.

The order takes Vestas’ firm order intake for the V150-4.2 MW in Vietnam to over 600 MW since its first order win in March of last year, underlining the turbine variant’s excellent fit to deliver high and efficient energy production in Vietnam’s low to medium wind speeds.

The project and customer are undisclosed, but the construction of the project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021, ahead of the current wind feed-in tariff deadline in Vietnam.