INDUSTRY ARTICLE
responsibly sourced cement, concrete gravity foundations provide a lower carbon footprint than alternative steel foundations.
Furthermore, additional carbon savings can be achieved by the use of cement alternatives which also provide extremely durable structures with the resultant reduced ongoing maintenance requirements. Due to the simple installation of gravity foundations recycling of the concrete and reinforcement at end- of-life is relatively straight-forward.
SOLUTIONS FOR OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES
The construction industry has developed a wide range of concrete foundation solutions for offshore wind turbines. These solutions aim to capitalise upon the cost benefits of simplicity of design, repetition of construction, ease of installation and low maintenance.
They include both in-situ and precast solutions with a range of installation approaches and techniques.
concrete wind towers, Vici Ventus, Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing O’Rourke.
CAPACITY TO DELIVER However, all these solutions mean little if the concrete sector does not have the capacity to deliver. “This it has,” assured Andrew Minson, Executive Director of MPA-The Concrete Centre. He explained how all the constituent parts for concrete
manufacturing facilities and deep water quays. He pointed out that small ports in particular are prepared to develop dedicated facilities whilst some larger ports have the flexibility to provide mixed- use and change deep berth locations for use by the offshore wind industry. Like the construction industry, the ports see offshore wind power as a growth market and are prepared to invest in the necessary infrastructure.
THE DOGGER BANK PROJECT The last word, appropriately, went to James Staniland of Forewind. Forewind is a consortium comprising four leading international energy companies which joined forces to bid for the Dogger Bank Zone Development Agreement as part of The Crown Estate’s third licence round for offshore wind farms.
foundations can be locally sourced from the UK, there is no volume issue for aggregate requirements and the predicted maximum peak demand for cement for offshore foundations would only equate to a 4% of UK capacity .
STRONG COMMERCIAL PRESENCE The conference heard from a number of companies and joint ventures including Gravitas (a consortia of Arup, Costain and Hochtief), GBF (a consortia of Vinci ConstructionUK and Freyssinet International), Deepwater Turbine Installation (DTI-50) and Strabag. In addition to these are concrete foundation solutions provided by BAM Nuttall, Wind at Base, Skanska & Grontmij, Hormifuste
UK PORT FACILITY DEVELOPMENTS The ease of supply chain to deliver gravity foundations would be further enhanced by the facility developments being undertaken by UK ports.
Tim Davies, of Royal Haskoning, described what ports need to offer to facilitate offshore wind farm manufacturing. This includes easy land and sea access, local skills base, land for
Dogger Bank is the largest of the Round 3 zones with a potential of 13GW. This equates to almost 10% of the UK’s projected energy requirements. Staniland reported that a number of foundation options are currently being considered. As Forewind are now carrying out the necessary assessments and planning required for the consent process, he urged those companies and consortia with a solution to provide details sooner rather than later otherwise it may be too late for document submission to the regulatory authorities.
IN SUMMARY The conference demonstrated the significant investment that the construction industry is making in the development of innovative cost effective solutions that can be delivered by an efficient supply chain. These efforts are being brought together by the Interest Group for Gravity Foundations - Offshore Wind whose members are working with engineers, contractors and suppliers to further increase the wind industry’s awareness of the tangible buildability, cost and environmental benefits that can be achieved using gravity foundations for offshore wind farms.
MPA-The Concrete Centre
www.concretecentre.com
e = See enhanced entry online
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk 05
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