Feature 1 | ENVIRONMENT A cheaper way to lay the foundations


Martin Conway speaks to designer W3G Marine, which is preparing to unveil a cost-friendly, safety-conscious alternative to the utilisation of jack-up rigs for offshore wind turbine installation.


Graphics of the OWTIS concept vessel; loaded with six jackets (left) and with four pre-assembled wind turbine generators (right), courtesy of her 8000tonne working deck capacity.


F


ounded in 2010 by three veterans of the offshore construction industry, Aberdeen, Scotland-based W3G


Marine has wasted little time in patenting and drawing up plans for its offshore wind turbine installation ship (OWTIS) concept. Te group, which comprises ex-members of specialist companies such as Technip and Stolt Offshore, is currently on the brink of overseeing the first stages of the OWTIS’ construction, having selected Dutch builder IHC Merwede to produce the 194.5m-long vessel, aſter being impressed by the yard’s ability to put together complex, integrated offshore vessels, in addition to its usual orderbook of dredgers. Alan West, W3G Marine director,


tells Offshore Marine Technology: “The offshore wind turbine sector presents a huge, booming market. Since 2008, the initial method for installing wind turbine farm components was to hire a jack-up rig and attach a crane to it, with most installation work being conducted at sea.” A number of larger jack-up rigs are being built at present, specifically to address this


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market. However, West adds, the past 16-18 months have seen the sector focus on floating solutions for foundation and turbine installation, a scenario that spurred W3G Marine to commence work on the OWTIS concept in July 2010. At first, it may seem odd that the


group has opted to design a dedicated vessel for long-term turbine farm installation projects, especially when set against the opinions offered by those ship-/boatbuilders and equipment


TECHNICAL PARTICULARS W3G Marine ‘OWTIS’ concept


Length, oa.........................................194.5m Breadth...................................................38m Design draught........................................8m Depth .....................................................14m Speed (at max draught) ................ 14knots Working deck area .........................4500m2 Working deck capacity............8000tonnes Crane capacity (SWL) ..............1500tonnes Accommodation ................................... 110


manufacturers who have estimated that this market has approximately three to five years leſt in its sails (see Ship & Boat International, July/August 2011, pp 7 /32). Indeed, there has even been speculation in some quarters about the ‘next big industry thing’, as maritime specialists hanker aſter solutions to navigate through the global financial crisis. However, West claims, this viewpoint ignores the fact that international demand for new wind turbine farm solutions is growing at an unprecedented rate, particularly within Europe and Southeast Asia.


A decade of opportunity “This sector will grow and grow over the course of the next 20-30 years,” he comments. “Germany and the UK are the main centres of demand at present, although France and Ireland are also expected to turn to offshore solutions to meet demand for renewable energy. In the UK alone, we’ll see up to 1000 offshore wind turbine installations a year up until 2020, and it is predicted that, from 2014 onwards,


Offshore Marine Technology 4th Quarter 2011


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