Power being generated from the wind farm will be sufficient to be supplied to 350,000 UK households, per year, which is about half of the homes in Sussex.

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm project director Matthew Swanwick said: “We’re delighted to have now reached the point where all of the wind turbines are up and running and contributing yet more clean power, adding to the UK’s growing renewables fleet and its ability to help meet the UK’s energy needs.”

The wind farm, which is located about 13km off the Sussex coast, is owned by E.ON, Canadian energy infrastructure company Enbridge and a consortium that includes Green Investment Group, Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 and the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

The offshore wind farm will generate 1,400GWh of clean electricity per annum which can meet the power consumption needs of 350,000 households while offsetting 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum.

The electricity produced by the wind turbines of the Rampion offshore wind farm will be transported to an offshore 33kV substation through array cables of a total of 140km that are buried underneath the seabed.

E.ON said that further work on the offshore wind farm will be completed in the coming months.

Swanwick said: “We still have a number of activities to complete, for example at the onshore and offshore substations and landfall, so people will continue to still see ongoing activities offshore and onshore over the coming months. Full reinstatement of the onshore cable route back to its former condition is another top priority for us this year.”

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The work includes installation of process equipment as well as related civil and structural, piping, electrical and instrumentation and control systems.

SNC-Lavalin has already commenced work with completion scheduled in late 2019.

SNC-Lavalin Oil & Gas president Christian Brown said: “SNC-Lavalin has an impressive track record of successful project delivery during our 40-years of working with Saudi Aramco and we are pleased to continue our long-term relationship on another important project.

“Not only does this contract further demonstrate our industry-recognized onshore construction solutions, it also emphasizes our commitment to supporting Saudi Aramco’s IKTVA localization program to increase the employment and skills development of local Saudi talent.”

Located north of Jubail Industrial City, the Wasit gas plant has increased the country’s gas processing capacity by 20%.

The plant is equipped to process 2.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bscfd) of nonassociated gas. The resulting 1.7 Bscfd of clean sales gas, or methane, will be supplied to Master Gas System (MGS). The plant also produces 4,800 metric tons per day of molten sulfur.

In turn, the MGS supplies natural gas to electrical power and desalination plants which provide power and water required for the Kingdom’s industrial and domestic needs.

Additionally, WGP also has a capacity to process 250,000 barrels per day of gas to produce feedstock such as ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline for the petrochemical industrial sector.

The gas plant, which is expected to be an enabler to the country’s Vision 2030 economic roadmap, will receive the nonassociated gas from Hasbah and the Arabiyah fields.

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Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “In 2017 we confirmed our record performance in terms of safety with 0.33 cases per million hours worked (Total Recordable Injury Rate), a 7% improvement compared with 2016.

“In terms of our environmental performance, we reduced the emissions intensity of our upstream activities by 3% compared with 2016 and by 15% compared with 2014, making significant progress towards the target of a 43% reduction by 2025 compared with 2014.”

Presenting the company’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan to the Italian financial community, Descalzi discussed about a new industrial requalification initiative, Progetto Italia, which involves creation of facilities for the production of renewable energy on some of Eni’s reclaimed industrial sites.

For the scheme, Eni has identified 25 projects with a total potential capacity of 220MW, which is equal to 0.4 terawatt/hours per year of electricity. The projects are planned to be commissioned in 2021.

Descalzi added: “From 2009 to 2017, we spent €1.7bn on research and development, building a portfolio of technologies in a wide range of areas, in the upstream and downstream sectors, as well as in renewables, environmental protection and safety, with a total of over 6,000 patents. Over the course of the next Plan we will spend more than €750m.”

Descalzi noted that the firm will focus on research mainly in solar power, energy storage, advanced biofuels, biomass and wind power, and in the development of technologies for the production of energy from nuclear fusion.

Additionally, in the downstream sector, the company intends to focus on the research into products and processes with a low environmental impact.

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According to Caterpillar, the diesel engines will provide electricity to custom-made GSG cooling water pumps manufactured by Swiss pumping solutions specialist Sulzer.

The company, in a statement, said: “Cat 3500 Series industrial diesel engines offer unsurpassed performance and durability for industrial applications through high power output, proven reliability and excellent fuel efficiency.”

The US firm said that the pump packages will be installed as part of an independent core cooling system that would be put into use if an emergency occurs at the three reactors of the Forsmark nuclear plant.

Caterpillar added that the new system will be installed in stages with the work likely to be completed in 2019.

Forsmarks Kraftgrupp project manager Patrik Lundgren said: “Nuclear power provides about 40 percent of all the energy used in Sweden, so it is important to have systems in place that ensure the safe operation of nuclear reactors.

“We selected Caterpillar and Zeppelin Power Systems due to their long histories and strong reputations for quality products that perform when they are needed most.”

Made up of three boiling water reactors reactors that generate nearly 25 billion KWh per annum, the Forsmark nuclear power plant meets almost 17% of all the power consumed annually in Sweden.

Built on the Swedish east coast in the Uppland region, the Forsmark power plant was commissioned between 1980 and 1985 and is considered to be youngest of all the Swedish nuclear plants.

Forsmark is owned 66% by Vattenfall, while E.ON and Mellansvensk Kraftgrupp hold stakes of 8.5% and 25.5% respectively.

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Esco’s global business includes 10 manufacturing facilities, 6 foundries and 22 service and supply centres in 19 countries around the world. The company earns 52% of its total revenue from North American markets.

The Scottish firm said the combined entity will provide a range of premium brands focused on increasing productivity and reducing total cost of ownership for global mining customers.

Esco chairman and CEO Cal Collins said: “This merger is exciting for Esco. It combines two premium brands and positions us to better serve customers around the world. The merger of Esco into Weir is a great fit, both culturally and strategically.”

During 2018 period, Esco will operate as a standalone business as part of Weir. The firm will later be merged into Weir in 2019.

Esco’s headquarters in Portland, however, will continue to serve as a global center of excellence for Esco products, which will also continue to be marketed and sold under the Esco brand.

Weir CEO Jon Stanton said: “Together, Weir Minerals and Esco will create a unique customer proposition as the premium provider of mission critical surface mining solutions from extraction to concentration, built on proprietary technology, superior wear life and supported by an unrivalled service network.”

Upon completion of the deal, the combined business will have operations in over 70 countries and will have approximately 18,000 employees.

Esco’s GET comprise wear parts such as teeth, shrouds, adaptors, blades and locking systems, which are installed on the lip systems of mission critical mining equipment.

The transaction, which is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2018, is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Founded in 1871 in Glasgow, Scotland, Weir is a key player in mining and upstream oil and gas with facilities in over 70 countries, employing nearly 15,000 people.

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EverSource Capital will arrange funds with the financial and strategic resources of the two partners with an objective to create green energy businesses in partnership with local management teams.

Lightsource BP Group CEO Nick Boyle said: “India is one of the fastest and most dynamic markets for clean energy in the world. We know the market well through our renewable projects and we’re delighted to be teaming up with Everstone Group which complements our skill-set in the country.”

Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) will be the name of the first launched fund of the JV, which has been given a £500m fundraising target. It has the backing of the UK government and India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which will become the fund’s joint anchor investors with a commitment of £120m each.

Everstone Group co-founder and CEO Sameer Sain said: “By using a pooled investment vehicle and a Public plus Private Partnership approach global investors will get the opportunity to be part of this exceptional investment platform.

“Everstone and Lightsource BP via their joint venture EverSource Capital are proud to have been selected as the Investment Manager for this fund, and will also be making a significant investment along with the UK government and NIIF.”

GGEF has been established as an alternative investment fund (AIF), said Lightsource BP. The company also said that more funds are likely to be raised under the EverSource Capital JV in the future.

Lightsource BP is jointly owned by Lightsource Renewable Energy and BP. It was established after BP made a deal last December to acquire 43% in Lightsource Renewable for $200m, in a move to return to the solar industry.

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The financial terms of the contract weren’t disclosed by the Texas-based engineering company. Fluor said that it had booked the contract value into backlog in the first quarter of this year.

The STAR program is expected to boost the efficiency and reliability of the Galveston Bay refinery by expanding the residual oil processing capabilities, upgrading the crude unit and also through integration of facility logistics. The program is slated to be completed in 2022.

Fluor’s energy & chemicals Americas president Mark Fields said: “This project will continue the development of MPC’s Galveston Bay refinery into a world-class refining complex.

“Fluor and MPC have a proven track record of delivering similar programs, most recently in Detroit and Garyville, Louisiana. Fluor values its strong working relationship with MPC and is excited to be part of the STAR program.”

Since 2013, Fluor has been associated with the STAR program, conducting the feasibility studies and early engineering work.

Currently, the engineering firm is also delivering engineering, procurement and construction management services on reconfiguration at the Galveston Bay refinery under a contract awarded in April 2017.

The reconfiguration will enable the refinery to achieve the latest US Environmental Protection agency Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standards. Fluor’s scope in the contract includes a new unit, modernizing a number of existing units and modifying utilities and offsites.

According to Marathon Petroleum, the integration of the Galveston Bay and the Texas City refineries under the STAR program will result in a processing capacity of 611,000 barrels per calendar day and grow its residual oil processing capabilities to 142,000bpcd.

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It will also implement high-efficiency P-Series solar panel manufacturing technology at the facility.

SunPower CEO and board chairman Tom Werner said: “We are thrilled to announce this agreement to acquire SolarWorld Americas, one of the most respected manufacturers of high-quality solar panels for more than 40 years.

“The time is right for SunPower to invest in U.S. manufacturing, and SolarWorld Americas provides a great platform for us to implement our advanced P-Series solar panel manufacturing technology right here in our home market.

“P-Series technology was invented and perfected in Silicon Valley, and will now be built in SolarWorld Americas’ factory, helping to reshape solar manufacturing in America.”

The company also stated that it plans to increase SolarWorld Americas’ operations to capitalize on strong demand in the US solar market. It will invest in factory improvements and increase working capital, while retrofitting a portion of the facility to produce its P-Series solar modules.

Besides, SunPower plans to continue the production of SolarWorld Americas’  legacy products.

SolarWorld Americas CEO Jürgen Stein said: “SunPower is the solar industry technology leader. We are delighted that SunPower has agreed to inject fresh capital and their industry leading P-Series technology into SolarWorld Americas operations here in Hillsboro.”

The transaction is subject to approvals from the US and German regulatory authorities and other closing conditions. Closing of the acquisition is expected to take place in the coming months.

In October last year, SunPower announced a partnership with True Green Capital Management (TGC) to launch a new fund to financially support commercial solar projects in the US. The $140m fund is expected to finance about 50MW of SunPower’s solar projects.

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As part of a contract awarded earlier, Tideway BV will be responsible for the cable lay of the first section using Ocean Yield’s cable lay vessel Connector.

Scope of the work includes cable installation, engineering, boulder removal, pre-trenching, pulling in cables to substations, crossing installation, offshore jointing and cable burial.

Tideway BV project manager Ken Swaegers said: “This is a very exciting job for us, and an amazing opportunity to work on the biggest construction project in offshore wind. Due to its scale we have several vessels operating at the Site, and over summer, the Connector will be accompanied by our own brand new cable laying vessel Living Stone.

“The Living Stone will be equipped with an innovative dual-lane cable installation system, consisting out of two cable highways – one for laying the cable and one where the next cable can be simultaneously prepared, significantly improving production rates.”

Planned to be commissioned in 2020, the Hornsea Project One project is expected to generate clean power required to power more than one million UK homes.

Hornsea Project One director Duncan Clark said: “We are pleased that Tideway has been able to mobilize the Connector to meet our specific requirements for this project, and we look forward to Living Stone coming to site to help build this remarkable wind farm project.”

The wind project is also expected to create 2,000 jobs during construction phase and 300 additional jobs during its operational phase.

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The financing required for the acquisition will be provided by Enel’s subsidiary Enel Americas, which is Enel Brasil’s controlling shareholder.

This acquisition is part of the Enel Group’s strategic plan to strengthen its presence in the Brazilian distribution market.

It is subject to approval from Brazilian antitrust authority, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) and Brazilian energy regulator, Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL).

Eletropaulo said in a statement: “Eletropaulo will use the resources to reinforce its capital structure, improve its indebtedness profile, as well as to invest in operational improvements, which are already set in its investment plan and restructuring that is being implemented.”

Eletropaulo has also received an offer from Neoenergia, the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola’s subsidiary.

Neoenergia placed an offer to buy minority stake of 26% in Eletropaulo for BRL25.5 (€6.05) per share.

Headquartered in Barueri, Electropaulo is one of the largest power distribution companies in the country. It serves more than 18 million customers across 24 municipalities in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.

A majority of Electropaulo’s shares are owned by Energisa, an electric services company based in Rio de Janeiro.

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