Kinewell Energy has signed deals with global renewable energy producers for the procurement of its software to support the development of offshore wind projects.
The six-figure, multi-year contracts, will see two European developers use the software during the development of all their future offshore wind farms globally.
Kinewell Energy founder and chief executive Andrew Jenkins (pictured standing with team) said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming these two new customers into the Kinewell family.
“Our Kinewell Layout Optimisation of Cable (KLOC) software has played a key role in the development of some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms over recent years, and these partnerships will allow us to help even more communities reap the benefits of greener, cheaper energy.”
Launched in 2015, KLOC utilises AI-powered technology to rapidly design optimised inter-array cable layouts for both fixed and floating offshore wind farms.
Helping engineers calculate the best place to lay cables, the software reduces the cost of the wire system by around 20%.
This is achieved through reduced cable length and reduced energy loss meaning more clean power reaches communities supplied by the wind farm.
The technology also “shaves months off of the wind farm development process”.
Jenkins said: “Rising interest rates, inflation and material costs have led to development costs spiralling in recent years, meaning developers have become more conservative about how they approach projects.
“This is what has made KLOC even more appealing.
“Whereas traditionally our clients would utilise the software once they had secured planning, many of our clients are now factoring it into their development costs from the outset.
“By being able to swiftly design concept studies and bring down project costs through using KLOC, it makes tenders more competitive and can help secure projects as well as financing their development.”
Five new hires have joined Kinewell Energy over the past few months – supported by funding from the Technology, Innovation & Green Growth for Offshore Renewables fund.
Jenkins said: “We’ve introduced two more solutions to market over the past 18 months in the form of KDOTS and KWOTA, which help streamline the wind farm export system design and optimise the turbine layout which further increases energy yields.
“Both KDOTS and KWOTA solutions have received glowing feedback from our clients who have utilised each product so far, and as global take-up continues to increase, this will only lead to a need to continue growing our headcount and delivering more green jobs for the north-east of England.”