Renewable Energy

Keystone provided project management, engineering, design, laser scanning, controls and automation, and procurement support for the rebuild and upgrade of biodiesel facility that has experienced a major fire. The project included demo, redesign and upgrade of a 5-level process structure, piping, and equipment. Keystone participated in specification / inspection of the damaged structure, equipment, instrumentation, and piping. Keystone also handled the specification of the new remote I/O rack for damage instrumentation and provided control and automation revamp of the DCS system. The piping system was revaluated from ground up, including metallurgy specification, hydraulics, pipe stress analysis, and increased automation. Hydrogen recovery was added to the system to reclaim spent Hydrogen used in the process. The Hydrogen is cleaned and recycled in the process increasing green credits for the final product.

Projectimplemented a battery energy storage system addition to an existing solargeneration facility. A dedicated MV electrical overheadtap was implemented with pole mounted recloser and primary meter for batterystorage system. Local PQM and SCADA system to provide monitoring, control andremote shutdown capabilities of battery storage modules. Keystone engineeringsupported development of sites with civil, structural, and electricalengineering support.

Additionally,our constructionmanagement team provided support through construction of two battery storageplants.

Solar system designs that were incorporated into commercial buildings approximately 30kW in size and utilized a local inverter system to tie directly into site electrical distribution system and implemented a utility net meter for when solar system produced more power than building electrical demands.

Projectimplemented 7 individual solar farm facilities in Northeast, Texas.  The site developments totaled 130+ acres ofsolar farm development producing 16MW of power. Solar generated power utilizedlocal LV inverters, power collection network, step up transformer, and tieddirectly to MV overhead utility. Pole mounted recloser and primary meterinstallation were implemented at each utility connection point. Local PQM andSCADA system were implemented for remote owner monitoring. Keystone engineeringsupported development of sites with civil, structural, and electricalengineering support.

The project consists of a $4.5 billion blue hydrogen clean energy complex to be built in Louisiana and the world’s largest instance of carbon capture.  The complex will produce 750MMscfd of blue hydrogen in Ascension Parish that will be delivered through 700+miles of pipelines.  The clean energy system will tie into 25 existing production facilities providing customers more than 1.6 billion cubic feet of hydrogen per day making it one of the largest producing hydrogen systems in the world.  With a 95% CO2 capture rate, it will be compressed to 2,160 psig and transported safely by pipeline 35 miles east of the new clean energy complex to multiple inland sequestration sites located along a pipeline corridor.  The complex will generate more than ten million metric tons per year (MTPY) of carbon dioxide which will be permanently sequestered in geologic pore space secured from the State of Louisiana approximately one mile below ground.  The clean energy complex will also produce 2.8 million metric tons per year of blue hydrogen that will be transported around the world.  Injection facilities will be installed in shallow water (10ft).  Pipelines will be constructed in predominately swamp terrain (shallow water areas) and will have complex horizontal direction drills that will need to engineered.   

Keystone is providing engineering, design, hydraulic analysis, automation & controls, SCADA, project management, survey, procurement, permit support, project scheduling, project controls,  cathodic protection & AC mitigation, geotechnical investigations, environmental support, and right-of-way support for all pipelines (Hydrogen, CO2 Mainline, CO2Distribution Lines and Natural Gas), measurement and regulation facilities, CO2 injection facilities, and tie-in locations along the system. 

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KEYSTONE ENGINEERING AND NATURAL POWER ESTABLISH OFFSHORE WIND PARTNERSHIP

Leading renewable energy consultancy and service provider, Natural Power; and Keystone Engineering, the pioneer offshore wind engineering firm in the US, have agreed to an official partnership to pursue and collaborate on technical consulting and advisory business opportunities in the U.S. offshore wind market.

The partnership will enable both parties to benefit from each other’s experience and expertise, and collectively ensures an even broader level of qualification for provision of services to project developers and investors alike.  

Jim Adams, Natural Power’s President of North American operations, said: “At Natural Power, we’re well-suited to support utility-scale offshore wind projects with our track record in the successful delivery of due diligence and experience in technical analysis. Coupled with Keystone’s knowledge and expertise in offshore wind foundation and structure design, development and construction, we have the basis for a really strong partnership to serve the needs of the market.”

Keystone and Natural Power will be able to collaboratively offer a wider range of technical services to offshore wind clients, including but not limited to: desktop review and feasibility studies, site and technology selection support, resource characterization and energy yield estimation, owner’s engineering services, front end engineering and design, lenders technical advisory services, M&A due diligence, Independent Engineering, as well as federal and state permitting support.

Adam Rogge, Keystone Engineering’s CEO said: “Keystone Engineering has been engaged in the international offshore wind market for nearly 20 years and from the early days of Cape Wind in the US. Keystone spearheaded the engineering development of the offshore wind industry in the US and designed the foundations for Block Island Wind farm. Now that offshore wind has finally come to fruition in the US, we are excited to partner with Natural Power in providing a wider array of services and helping clients to minimize contractor interfaces.”

Natural Power recently reported delivering technical advisory services on more than 100GW of renewable energy projects in North America with 2021 being the firm’s biggest year to date. From its three US offices in New York, Seattle and the Denver area, the team supports a range of clients including institutional investors and banks, developers, asset owners, power producers and utilities, as well as government organizations, delivering services throughout the region and beyond.

Keystone Engineering has unparalleled experience in the US offshore wind industry having worked on nearly every advanced-stage US offshore wind project to-date in addition to technology demonstration projects in Europe. Keystone’s extensive experience with US regulations and CVA interface along with providing innovative engineering solutions provide a key advantage in the development, pre-FEED, detailed design, and construction support stages of offshore wind farms by focusing on constructability, efficiency, and reduced CAPEX and OPEX.

About Natural Power

Natural Power is an independent consultancy and service provider that supports a global client base in the effective delivery of a wide range of renewable projects including onshore wind, solar, renewable heat, energy storage and offshore technologies.  It has a global reach, employing more than 400staff across 14 international offices.  Its experience extends across all phases of the project lifecycle from initial feasibility, through construction to operations and throughout all stages of the transaction cycle.

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Keystone provided fabrication support and loadout engineering for Block Island Wind Farm jackets that were fabricated at Gulf Island Fabrication Yard in Houma, LA.

The Keystone team worked closely with the fabricator and installation contractor to provide an efficient design for the support structure which were made in two parts, jackets, and decks.

Keystone provided engineering and detailed design for the support structure and lattice tower for the meteorological tower for a 268 MW offshore wind farm in Maryland. The intricate steel lattice tower is approximately 330 feet (100.6 meters) in height and is supported with a braced caisson foundation. Keystone’s scope of work included conceptual and detailed design of the substructure and tower, electrical subsystems design, mechanical subsystems design, project management services, on-site fabrication support, bidding documentation prep, and installation strategy support.

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In 2017, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica was awarded an approximately $875,000 grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to develop a technical and economic feasibility study and implementation plan for a utility-scale offshore wind farm off the coast of Jamaica. This
study provided export opportunities for US suppliers. Keystone served as the prime contractor for the effort. The work scope included a detailed supply chain, infrastructure development plan, and logistical study for the construction of the wind farm.

The study also included creating a US supplier survey and register of US companies interested in exporting offshore wind-related products and services, as well as an estimation of the potential export value to US companies. The Terms of Reference (TOR) included the following: wind resource assessment, site selection study, wind turbine generator selection, foundation concept design study, logistics study for component delivery, local supply chain and infrastructure assessment, installation/implementation planning, US supply chain- supplier identification and register, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory/permitting review.

Keystone provided engineering and design services to support Cape Wind, the first commercial and utility-sized offshore wind farm proposed in the US to reach an advanced stage of development. For the pioneering effort, Keystone worked with the US developer and a joint European engineering team for the detailed design of the monopile foundations. In addition to the foundation design engineering, Keystone served as the Professional Engineer of record for the State of Massachusetts. Although the project was never constructed, it was the first federally permitted offshore wind project in the US.

Keystone’s scope of work involved developing addition design load cases (DLCs) to check robustness for hurricane hazard, secondary steel conceptual and detailed design, and mechanical and electrical subsystems design. Additionally, the scope included the evaluation of the following: trans-Atlantic transportation support conditions, staging site requirements for monopile foundations related to us sites, and internal j-tubeless cabling and associated handling techniques.

Keystone’s patented offshore wind turbine foundation design, the Inward Battered Guide Structure (IBGS), or “Twisted Jacket,” was featured in two US offshore wind projects that included an award up to $44 million in federal DOE grants in 2014. The grants intended to accelerate the deployment of US offshore wind by funding projects utilizing innovative technologies. Keystone’s foundation design featured in both award-winning fixed-bottom foundation projects: Atlantic City Windfarm (FACW) and Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP).

The project scope of work for VOWTAP included the conceptual design of the jacket and detailed design of the first fully coupled BLADED analysis and SACs post analysis, ULS and FLS completed.

Keystone’s work scope for FACW included providing engineering and design services to support a 25MW offshore wind farm project 2.8 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey. The project involved the installation of six 4MW offshore wind turbine units, six of Keystone’s patented Inward Battered Guided Structure (IBGS) substructures and foundations, five inter-array submarine cables between the wind turbine units, one export submarine cable to shore, one upland power cable from shore to the onshore substation, one step-up transformer at the onshore substation connected to the upland cable, and modifications to the existing onshore substation to connect to the existing grid network. Additionally, the work scope included detailed design of the jackets, BOM/weight report, US fabrication assessment, installation analysis, and electrical system design.

Keystone was one of four finalists in the UK Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator global foundation design competition to reduce the CAPEX of offshore wind turbine foundations. Keystone’s patented IBGS (Inward Battered Guide Structure), known as the “Twisted Jacket” in the offshore wind industry, proved to be 20% less expensive than traditional designs. Keystone’s jacket was the first of the winning concepts to be demonstrated. A Twisted Jacket prototype was built in Europe and become of the first structure installed Scottish territorial UK Round 3 waters.

Keystone’s scope of work included conceptual and detailed design of the substructure and foundation, which included structural engineering, electrical engineering, and drafting services for Keystone’s patented “Twisted Jacket”. Additionally, the scope included evaluation of European fabrication yards, design of fabrication cradle, fabrication support, design of guide structure transportation support and hydraulic tie-downs, development of installation Method Statement and Choreography, on-site construction support, and project management services.

Keystone designed the four-pile jacket substructures for the five six-megawatt wind turbines comprising the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) off the coast of Rhode Island. The project solidified its spot in history by being the first offshore wind farm to be constructed in North America and demonstrating that offshore wind energy is economically feasible in the US. During the project, Keystone was contracted under the US fabrication contractor and provided on-site engineering, construction support, load-out analysis, and sea fastening support for the structures.  

Keystone’s professional services for the BIWF included conceptual development of a post-piled jacket foundation and separate transition deck, detailed structural and electrical engineering design of foundations, bidding document prep, supplier identification, fabrication yard engineering services, on-site foundation fabrication, construction/installation support, and BSEE documentation prep.

Keystone leveraged the technology developed for the offshore oil and gas industry to meet the jacket foundation’s complex design criteria for offshore wind turbines. The iterative process optimized the jacket design and reduced the amount of steel needed for the substructure while ensuring more than 20 years of design life. The optimized design also reduced installation costs and can survive hurricane-force winds.

The client recognized Keystone for providing exceptional service and expertise navigating the US regulations. Additionally, Keystone was awarded the prestigious Be Inspired Award for Offshore Innovation and received worldwide media attention for its role in the project.

Keystone provided a turnkey support package from conception to start-up for approximately $12MM TIC system to recapture and process landfill gas into pipeline quality natural gas. The project included the installation of an 8,000SCFM landfill well, H2S removal unit, compression, CO2 removal, dehydration, pipeline compression, and metering. Keystone specified and procured all equipment such as ASME vessels, blowers, coolers, heat exchangers, instrument air compressors, and tanks. Keystone’s scope encompassed all associated new foundations, buildings, site drainage, utility drops and interface, new MCC, switch gear, and VFD.

For the comprehensive effort, Keystone also handled procurement/expediting, project management, PLC & HMI programming, construction management, and on-site commissioning/start-up support. Keystone and subsidiary Milestone Project Services personnel managed the project through construction while concurrently developing PSM-compliant operating procedures and training client operations/maintenance personnel.