COMPANY PROFILE RENEWABLES
The introduction of a then subsidiary company - SLP Energy was an important step into the renewables market and in 2002, SLP built its first offshore meteorological measurement masts.
Not to be left sitting with traditional substructure designs for offshore wind, with the assistance of notable energy industry partners such as Shell Renewables, GE Wind, Vestas Wind systems amongst others, SLP led a study to test the concept and design of suction caissons for use in turbine foundations.
INDUSTRY FIRST
2003-2005 saw its busiest ever involvement in the renewable energy sector by building & installing the 2.75mw Ness Point onshore wind turbine “Gulliver”, now situated adjacent to Orbis Energy Centre, Lowestoft. The company also provided engineering and construction support for the Scroby Sands offshore Wind farm development, off the Great Yarmouth coast, which consists of 30 turbines.
The Ness Point turbine was an industry first and at 126m high was the tallest onshore wind turbine in the UK at that time, providing enough electricity to power approximately 1500 homes.
THANET & THORNTON BANK In November 2009 SLP completed its first offshore high voltage AC electrical substation for the Thanet Wind Farm, followed by the jacket substructure for the Thornton Bank substation in 2010.
MANAGEMENT BUYOUT A Dutch company, Smulders Group acquired SLP Engineering in 2010 and thereafter a management buyout occurred in September 2012 with the assistance of one of the world’s largest offshore construction companies - SMOE Pte Ltd of Singapore, who now owns 70% of the company.
GROWTH
From that time Sembmarine SLP has grown from 36 employees to over 380. So from its roots in natural gas, to oil, to nuclear, to offshore wind, what lies ahead for a company that is keeping pace with the changing demands for energy?
UK OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY With its yard currently full of offshore oil projects nearing completion, Sembmarine SLP is very confident about its future involvement in the UK offshore wind energy projects on the immediate horizon.
Andrew Thomson explains; “We have recently completed FEED studies for HV. AC Substations for UK clients and have submitted tenders for several major offshore wind projects due to be announced in the coming months. We are gearing up for the O&M support roles that are required for not only existing offshore wind farms, but also the new long term developments that are planned for the East of England.
“We see ourselves as supporting all types of energy development projects, as the UK cannot afford to rely on one single energy stream for electricity generation, but requires a balance of sources, including tidal energy which is currently only generating some 9mw of electricity, and yet has potentially greater cost savings per kwh installed and reduced O&M costs than many of the other renewable sources of power generation.”
CHALLENGES?
Deep water offshore wind continues to have serious cost challenges and implications, regarding substructures and eventual O&M support and even with the introduction of larger, heavier, but more efficient turbine nacelles, this adds additional stress loading on the tower support and substructures.
Deep water structures are becoming bigger, heavier, and are therefore at a substantially higher cost to construct and install, compared to their shallow water counterparts.
Tidal energy designs in current prototypes are proving that the theoretical stresses and strains are not always what they seem and are providing valuable lessons for the newer recent developments coming through. The siting of these projects will always have environmental, navigational and fishing industry impact and concerns.
WHAT WILL BE SEMBMARINE SLP’S INVOLVEMENT?
The main key element to the success of any energy project moving forward, is one of cost control. Spiralling supply chain costs, including materials, personnel and services are endangering not only offshore wind projects, but also tidal energy, and oil & gas, primarily due to relying on the same materials and services for all.
For example rolled tubular steel, steel plate, bearings, copper cables, aluminium sections, electronic controls, environmentally friendly lubricants, umbilical’s, are to name but a few of the high demand items that are synonymous across the energy disciplines.
Some offshore wind operators are attempting to control costs by implementing and insisting on unworkable standards and procedures, not only during design, but also during the material selection, fabrication and construction phases. This is possibly based upon previous poor project performance resulting in implementation of a quick fix lessons learned solution, but is more probably due to a fundamental misunderstanding of existing standards and quality procedures - which again ultimately results in driving up project costs.
LONG TERM PLANNING AND ACHIEVING RESULTS
Our involvement is one of pursuing weight reduction, standardisation of design and construction and selection of the optimum materials to achieve these results. What is fundamental to achieving this is close engagement with the supply chain, in terms of planning, improvements in, or the use of alternative materials, but more importantly to impart our considerable EPC experience with energy operators.
Sembmarine SLP is planning on the long term and ever changing needs of the Energy industry. Similar to predicting the direction of the wind, you know it’s going to blow, but how and when, you need to have all your bases covered!
Sembmarine SLP Click to view more info
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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