Transocean Spitsbergen goes Hybrid with AKA supplied Energy Storage Systems
Aspin Kemp and Associates Inc. (AKA) has successfully installed and tested Energy Storage Systems (ESS) that transfer power to the thrusters of Transocean’s Spitsbergen drilling vessel. The project not only demonstrates safe installation of Lithium-Ion batteries on an Offshore drilling rig but also enables safer operation and increased reliability for station keeping. Additional benefits lie in the optimization of how the diesels are run which saves fuel and reduces environmental impact.
AKA’s full scope of supply for the Spitsbergen Hybrid System includes the conversion to DP3 closed-bus operation and the addition of 5.6 MW of Hybrid Power. The thrusters can operate completely independently of the main generators and distribution system allowing the main generators to be fully optimized to the load and simultaneously reducing DP station keeping risk.
From Transocean’s press release:
STEINHAUSEN, Switzerland, Oct. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) announced today that it has successfully deployed the world’s first hybrid energy storage system aboard a floating drilling unit. The system is now operational on the Transocean Spitsbergen, engaged in drilling operations at the Snorre field in Norway.
Transocean’s patented hybrid power technology, developed in partnership with Aspin Kemp and Associates, reduces fuel consumption and increases a dynamically positioned rig’s station-keeping reliability by capturing energy generated during normal rig operations that would otherwise be wasted, and storing it in batteries. This energy is then used to power the rig’s thrusters. This important operational and safety enhancement targets a 14% reduction in fuel use during normal operations, leading to a significant reduction in NOx and CO2 emissions.
Read the complete press release here: Transocean Ltd. Announces World’s First Hybrid Floating Drilling Unit