SPOTLIGHT ON THE NETHERLANDS
FEATURE SPONSOR
PROVEN LONG TERM PROTECTION FOR OFFSHORE WINDFARMS
Situated just east of the Danish city of Aarhus lies one of the oldest operating offshore windfarms in the world – the Thunoe Knob.
The offshore environment is by far one of the harshest on the planet, permanently subjected to a corrosive marine atmosphere. Due to the location, maintaining or recoating offshore wind structures is extremely costly. This is why wind turbine operators must invest intelligently in a reliable and proven long-term anti-corrosive coating system to ensure an efficient and low maintenance facility.
The only way to truly test the long- term performance of an anti-corrosive coating system is through real-life application at sea.
EXTENDING THE SERVICE LIFE OF WIND TURBINES In order to achieve this, in 2014 a team from one of the world’s leading coating manufacturers for the power generation sector, Hempel, together with Vestas Wind Systems, the original turbine producer, visited Thunoe Knob to examine how well the paint had stood the test of time 20+ years after Hempel had first applied it.
Four of the ten turbines were chosen at random and evaluation was carried out through visual inspection, photographic documentation and dry film measurement. Despite being more than 20 years old, the inspection found that both the interior and exterior coating systems were in good condition and could be expected to remain so for at
least another ten years, giving a coating lifetime of more than 30 years.
RESULTS The results show the impressive resilience of Hempel’s anti-corrosive systems. Hempel is currently testing its revolutionary product – Hempadur Avantguard – at a windfarm in the North Sea in order to similarly examine the coating’s long-term performance.
The coating technology is unique as it is a zinc-rich epoxy that delivers the robustness of traditional epoxies whilst providing unparalleled anti-corrosion properties – redefining anti-corrosion coatings.
Anders Voldsgaard Clausen Hempel
Technological developments multiplying capacities
Europe’s cumulative installed offshore wind capacity at the end of 2016 reached 12,631MW. By 2020, offshore wind is projected to even grow to a total installed capacity of 24.6GW. Logically, the average rated capacity of turbines follows that trend.
This year even 8MW turbines were installed and sending power at sea, reflecting the rapid pace of technological development. These technological developments also push the boundaries of accessibility. The average water depth of offshore windfarms and the average distance to shore for those projects show increasing values in recent years. Installation platforms at sea are key in order to carry out the necessary installation work in an efficient and safe manner.
THE RIGHT CAPACITY AT THE RIGHT HEIGHT GustoMSC introduces the NG-20000X
8
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
– the ideal mix of mature technology and a practical telescoping innovation. It enables safe and efficient installation of future offshore wind turbines and their foundations. Equipped with the GustoMSC integrated telescopic leg crane, the NG-20000X is capable of installing heavy foundations and when the boom is fully extended it reaches adequate lifting height and capacity to install future generation wind turbine components. This self-propelled jack- up design is further characterised by a high variable load and large water- depth capability.
“Key to the new approach is to stop the spiraling trend of growing crane weights due to the increasing requirements related to the heavy foundations and high installation heights and to stay close to the proven design technology at the same time. By scaling up the jack-up design and jacking system and solving the challenging crane requirements in an
innovative manner, the NG-20000X represents the next generation wind turbine installation jack-up in all its facets,” says Jan-Mark Meeuwisse, Commercial Director GustoMSC.
ADVANTAGES
The NG-20000X design enjoys the advantages of the proven VSD jacking system and a large unobstructed deck area. The huge variable load capacity of 16,500 tons, enables the contractor to make a roundtrip carrying six complete sets of wind turbine components with a turbine weight of 1,000 tons, or carrying seven pieces of 900 ton jacket foundations, optimising the cost per installed turbine or foundation. Additionally, by further balancing out the jack-up design with an optimised leg design, the overall performance of the unit is improved.
GustoMSC
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