SPONSORS OF STEEL FOUNDATIONS
SUPPLYING OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE FOUNDATIONS
WATERFRONT CONSTRUCTION CAPACITY
The UK offshore construction industry is probably the best suited to provide offshore wind developers with the adequate supply of foundations. It is based on decades of offshore experience, strong traditions of marine engineering as well as an outstanding track record for innovation.
It is an area where it is probably the easiest to secure a large share of the UK content. However, it is also a segment of the supply chain that has been consistently overlooked in the UK by developers, the Government and industry experts.
STEEL OR CONCRETE
When we talk about foundations, there are largely just two materials to chose from – steel or concrete. We believe that steel is going to be the main material for offshore wind foundations in the coming 10-20 years.
Future large offshore wind developments are about scale, speed and repeatability. In other words, the offshore wind supply chain will need to deliver a large number of foundations in a very short timeframe and to find a way to transport and install them safely and cheaply. And this is where steel wins over concrete.
While concrete gravity based structures have some benefits, concrete foundations are very large and heavy, their transportation in big numbers is very questionable and their installation requires lots of seabed preparation.
There is also not nearly enough waterfront construction capacity to produce them in large numbers. They will have certain market share in areas where a steel foundation can’t be used due to some conditions, but we don’t see how these structures can be supplied in hundreds every year.
OIL & GAS INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE This also matches the experience of the Oil & Gas industry where concrete foundations are typically used for gigantic platforms like Thor in Norway.
While offshore wind farms go further from shore, into deeper water and use larger turbines, the jacket or space frame foundations become the solution of choice.
JACKET STRUCTURES
Jacket structures are easily adaptable for a range of turbines, sea floor conditions and water depth. They also give some flexibility as to the installation arrangement that can be driven piles, drilled piles or suction buckets. The installation process can also be optimised to expand the offshore window while using not so expensive vessels. Finally, they can be produced in a mass-manufacturing fashion.
These are the core points underlining our approach to the offshore wind market as a foundations supplier.
AQUIND AQUIND has developed an innovative three-legged jacket foundation for offshore wind turbines that they call Triton™. This design is primarily targeted at wind turbines in the 5-6MW range and water depths of between 30m and 60m, but can also be used in shallower waters.
It covers most of Round 3 and STW wind farms. The foundation has a number of novel features aimed at reducing installation costs and enabling installation to take place in rougher sea conditions than is often possible. Triton has been demonstrated to work for both sand and clay seafloors.
THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS An analysis by a third party has also shown that Triton will work with a range of leading 5 and 6MW turbines. AQUIND™ is continuing to expand the list of design cases.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH Triton™ has also been developed specifically with low cost mass production in mind. Conventional Oil and Gas offshore Jackets are all of a bespoke design and hence by necessity tend to be constructed by traditional manual methods. Such an approach is not feasible for the offshore wind industry as it would be both too costly and time consuming. A typical Oil and Gas Jacket can take 18 month or more to construct. A different approach is required when over 5,000 offshore wind turbine foundation are required by Round 3 areas in the next ten years.
To achieve these levels of production, they look to reduce the number of structural elements and joints while also standardising these elements and operations as far as possible. This is where the company works with a number of steel suppliers to see if they can use as much as possible lower cost off-the-shelf rolled products rather than custom-made tubulars.
OFFSHORE WIND STRATEGY This leads to the second part of their strategy in offshore wind. The group plans to build a new 36,000m2 automated manufacturing plant at its Hadrian Yard in Wallsend. This will be the most optimal offshore construction location for many of the Round 3 projects. The company’s target is to achieve the throughput of 100,000te of jacket foundations per year (approximately 3 Triton foundations per week).
The new plant will be able to produce any type of jacket foundation, including Triton, as well as modules and foundations for substations and other offshore structures.
UNDERCOVER FACILITY
Most importantly, the new facility will allow building complete structures undercover, without weather interruptions and with a minimum impact on surrounding areas.
The North Tyne Council granted planning consent in September 2012. OGN has also been approved for a £4.5m Regional Growth Fund Grant, which is expected to provide over 700 long term sustainable jobs.
Aquind
www.ogn-group.com Click to view more info
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk 43
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