Having accumulated extensive experience in the production of bulky equipment parts for global offshore renewable energy cable manufacturers as well as in cable manufacturing, storage, transportation and installation sectors since 2015, PASSER SIDC Group companies have a strategic objective to maintain their well-earned reputation as a reliable manufacturer, to increase the volume of production and at the same time offer customers the possibility to incorporate innovative solutions developed by our engineers in products they order.
Below is a review of strategic areas where we work hard and strive for a breakthrough:
Wind power
Wind power produces 6.59% of electricity globally, and this use keeps increasing; it more than trebled between 2011 (2.04%) and 2021 (6.72%); by the end of 2023, the global wind energy market is expected to pass the one-terawatt (TW) threshold. Wind turbine capacity is increasing too: in 1985, the rated capacity of wind turbines was 0.05 MW compared to today’s ability of 3-4 MW onshore and 8-12 MW offshore. The latter is taking the spotlight:
-Bottom fixed offshore wind energy: this market consists of offshore wind farms that require steel structures such as towers, foundations and frames. These structures must be built to withstand harsh weather conditions, large waves and strong winds. We are working on a range of products in this sector, including transition pieces/ connecting elements, offshore substations or blocks, and secondary steel structures.
-Floating offshore wind energy: this market is a new step in the offshore wind energy sector. Almost 90 prototypes of future floating wind structures are currently in the scientific testing phase; it is realistic to expect 10-15% of them to be implemented in real projects. “Our aim is to be as close as possible to real structures of the future – we can and have the capacity to produce foundations for floating structures. Floating wind turbines, similarly to the bottom fixed wind turbines, are connected to electricity transmission circuits and require offshore substations – we can offer our services to construct them”, comments Darius Edvardas Anužis, our Head of Business Development.
Floating wind turbines
Tidal energy
Tidal turbines generate more energy than wind turbines; they produce 3,000 GW of energy globally. The Orbital Marine Power’s O2, located in Scotland, is the most powerful tidal turbine in the world. This type of energy converts around 80% of the kinetic energy into electricity, while coal converts only 30%.
This market segment covers the development and building of tidal turbines generating tidal wave energy. They require large size and weight basic steel frames and support structures manufactured to withstand high pressures, waves and corrosion.
Wave energy
Wave energy is the largest untapped source of energy globally, with the potential to become the largest power source from the seas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates the potential annual global production at 29,500 TWh (this is almost ten times Europe’s annual electricity consumption). Today testing of full-size wave energy prototypes at sea is taking place – the Ocean Energy 35 is the largest-capacity wave energy device based in the US Navy test site. First multi-device wave energy farms are planned around Europe, including UK, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Global wave and tidal energy market is expected to grow to around $10 billion by 2031.
The wave energy market includes the construction of buoys, platforms and energy conversion systems. Darius Edvardas Anužis adds: “These are bulky steel products that we have the experience and capacity to manufacture both in Klaipeda and with our partner MS Steel Oy in Hanko, Finland.”
Floating solar energy
Floating solar panels are on the rise around the world. The capacity of this energy has grown from 70 MWp in 2015 to 1,300 MWp in 2020; 268 GW of new solar capacity was installed in 2022 and annual installations during 2023 are expected to reach 315 GW. The market for this technology is predicted to grow by $24.5 billion by 2031. The Netherlands is taking this development one step further by combining floating solar panels (180 units) with Sun-tracking technology (in Ostvoornse Meer) which helps maximise the quantity of clean electricity it can produce.
This market segment consists of photovoltaic panels and floating support structures; their size is the same as floating wind structures.
Floating solar panels plant
Subsea structures
The global market for subsea systems is projected to reach $15.1 billion by 2028. The market growth in the region is expected to be driven by increasing deep water drilling activities along with increased spending for safety and security in Norway and the UK.
“All of the above renewable energy parks are connected to substations underwater or onshore by cables laid on the seabed. This is a separate world, invisible to us, full of various underwater steel structures, the manufacturing of which requires precision. By providing our services in this market segment, we offer our customers the possibility to get a full range of manufacturing solutions for their energy parks from one hand”, says Darius Edvardas Anužis, Head of Business Development.
As a member of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance and in cooperation with scientists from the Faculty of Marine Technology and Natural Sciences at Klaipeda University, we are considering green hydrogen as the fuel of the future for service vessels we are designing to operate in marine renewable energy parks.
