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The industry made a promise : a30 % lower cost for offshore wind power. With high cost reduction potential, the foundation can make a major contribution towards this goal.
www.offshorewindindustry.com · Issue 2014 · No. 04 · € 24
Vessels
Full steam ahead
access
Walk-to-work solutions
Germany
The second wave
Wind industryOffshore
Colossal foothold
Powered by
Innovative marine and offshore solutions
member of the Deme Group
GeoSea nvHaven 1025 – Scheldedijk 30
B-2070 Zwijndrecht, BelgiumT +32 3 250 53 12F +32 3 250 55 41
[email protected]/geosea
Drilling and piling of large diameter monopiles
Wind turbine erection
Grouting activities
Offshore site investigation
Jacket installation (pre-piling / post-piling)
Foundation and wind turbine logistics
Installation works with jack-up platforms
Accommodation units
EPCI contracts
Directional drilling
Foundation and wind turbine maintenance and repair services
Installation of transition pieces
Adv140515_OffshoreWindIndustry_200x280mm_final.indd 1 15/05/2014 16:11:22
3
U ntil now offshore wind power develop-
ment has concentrated on the European
North Sea and Baltic, plus a few hundred
megawatts in shallow Chinese coastal waters. But
global momentum is slowly building up.
Half way through the year, the U.S. Department
of Energy announced a US$ 150 million loan guaran-
tee to assist the financing of the Cape Wind project,
which has been lacking in forward drive for years. It
now looks as if the installation of the foundations can
finally be begun in 2015, with 130 offshore turbines ac-
tually turning in the wind off the coast of south-eastern
Massachusetts two years after that. This could be the
beginning of offshore wind power in the USA.
Japan has already been strengthening its activities
in the field of offshore wind power since the Fukushima
catastrophe in 2011. That things have not moved along
as fast as planned is mainly due to European technology
not being transferable one-to-one to Japanese condi-
tions. Japan is thus having to invest strongly in its own
research and development – but is thus also benefitting
from achieving its own value creation.
And now India is on the move. Thanks to a coastline
7,600 km long and a large demand for energy, the
potential in the country is huge and plans for the
first Indian offshore wind farm are taking shape. The
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, public sector
companies and other partners signed a Memorandum
of Understanding in October for a 100 MW pilot
project off the northern part of the west coast (state
of Gujarat).
Just a few days later, Tulsi Tanti, Chairman of
the Indian Suzlon Group, presented plans to build a
300 MW offshore wind farm in the same state. The
announced start of construction in 2015 does sound
a bit too optimistic, however.
But still, with Suzlon as one of the largest turbine
manufacturers in the world, with masses of experience
and over 20 GW of onshore wind power, something
could indeed be brewing in India – in a positive sense.
editorial
Looking beyond the horizon
Katharina Garus
Editor
4 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
imprint � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5
project update � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6
news � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 8
interview
Gary Maddison, RES
OWI talked to Gary Maddison, Offshore Operations and
Maintenance Business Developer at RES-Offshore � � � 12
spotlight foundationsHeavy duty
The foundation can make a major contribution towards
the goal of 30 % lower cost for offshore wind power� � 14
Size matters
It’s “only” a steel pipe stuck in the seabed� But it is not
quite that simple – the secrets of the monopile � � � � � �16
Stability without the racket
Cost-optimized production, less costly installation,
quiet and environmentally friendly – the suction bucket
jacket seems to be the solution to many problems� � � �20
From top to bottom
Rust inside the monopile, scoured foundations or abun-
dant marine growth on the pipe: too little consideration
is given to sensor-supported foundation monitoring� �22
science & technologyDouble checking
A test rig for functional tests of 10 MW nacelles has
been installed in Lindø, Denmark � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �26
GERMany
The second wave is rolling in
Phot
o: D
ong
Ener
gy
FounDaTionS
Size matters
40
16
Cover photo: TAG Energy Solutions
Phot
o: V
atte
nfal
l
5
imprint Publishing company:BVA Bielefelder Verlag GmbH & Co. KG Richard KaselowskyNiederwall 5333602 BielefeldGermany
Publisher: Prof. Dr. Bernhard von Schubert
Publishing Manager: Lutz Bandte
Editors:Dr. Volker Buddensiek (responsible), Katharina Garus, E-mail: [email protected]
Freelance authors:Jörn Iken, Detlef Koenemann, Torsten Thomas
advertising:Martin Haase, Phone: +49/5 21/59 55 90E-mail: [email protected] Fedeler, Phone: +49/5 21/59 55 81E-mail: [email protected]
Customer Service:E-mail: [email protected]
Layout: Bernd Schulte zur Wissen, Virginie BecluDSV Deutscher Sportverlag GmbH, Cologne, Germany
Print: Dierichs Druck + Media GmbH & Co. KG, Frankfurter Str. 16834121 KasselGermany
Translation:Raymond Culp, Timothy Hanes, Übersetzungsbüro Hartmann, Jeremy Heighway, Thomas Schickling, Mark Wigfall
Website: www.offshorewindindustry.com
OFFSHORE WIND INDuSTRY is an independent journal. Ma-terial in this publication may not be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any form without the publisher’s written permission.
a job with potential risks
Welding comes into play when steel struc tures are
built or repaired – even underwater � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �28
logistics & operationsFull steam ahead
The market for service vessels is undergoing a massive
boom� Designers are showing their creative side� � � � �30
Walk-to-work solutions
From the ship onto a platform and back – actually just
a few steps, but for many service technicians still often
a courageous grab � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �34
Playing it save
Offshore converter platforms have to guarantee the
highest levels of operation safety under maritime
conditions � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �38
politics & businessThe second wave is rolling in
In Germany, policy makers have cleared up the confu-
sion and investors are coming out of hiding again� � �40
How to do it
In a manifesto, DNV GL shows how the costs for off-
shore wind energy can be reduced by 25 % � � � � � � � � �44
events � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 46
dates � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 47
wab internal� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 48
outlook � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 50
contents
Burbo Bank Extension granted development consent from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
At Kentish Flats a rotor blade had to be replaced as it was damaged due to lightning strikes.
Dalby Offshore’s wind farm support vessel “Dalby Esk” has started work on Gwynt y Mor, and will soon be joined by the “Dalby Tees”.
Dong Energy reported that it has delivered the first power from a next generation 6 MW turbine installed at Westermost Rough.
At London Array cable reburial is required at some locations. CWind’s vessels “Athenia” and “Endeavour” will provide further logistical support.
RWE has shelved Galloper. The company will discuss the next steps with its existing partner SSE.
Masdar will invest £ 525 million for a 35 % stake in the planned Dudgeon off-shore wind farm, alongside Norwegian partners Statoil and Statkraft.
Swire Blue Ocean will pro-vide a wind farm installation vessel to work together with Van Oord’s own wind farm transport and installation vessel “Aeolus” at Gemini.
Reef Subsea awarded a contract with Areva to provide field support for Global Tech 1. The charter is anticipated to continue until at least February 2015.
Wind industryOffshore
6 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Project update
On September 19th, Alstom’s Haliade 150-6MW, installed at Belwind, produced its very first kWh.
Sumitomo Corporation have completed the purchase of shares in the two Belgian wind farms Belwind and Northwind from Parkwind.
Germanischer Lloyd and TÜV Süd granted a contract for the certification of Sand-bank. Swire Blue Ocean has signed a key contract with Bilfinger for the provision of an installation vessel.
Within the German Renewables Award Riffgat was honoured as “Project of the Year”.
Three months after the installation kicked off, 24 of 48 turbines at Nordsee Ost are installed.
After the weather did not play along several times, EnBW has meanwhile anchored the offshore substation for Baltic 2.
WPD has installed the first Siemens turbines at the 288 MW Butendiek offshore wind farm.
Iberdrola has launched a pile testing campaign for its Wikinger offshore wind farm following the com pletion of the site’s geotechnical investigation.
The cable connecting Anholt to the Danish grid was out of operation. Meanwhile, it is repaired.
in operation
partially in operation
under construction
planned
7
8 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
The converter platform BorWin alpha has been back
on the grid since 23 September. The world’s first
high-voltage direct current transmission system for
an offshore wind farm was shut down for months
due to technical problems. However, the grid opera-
tor TenneT has not found the error yet.
The wind farm Bard Offshore 1 is connected to the
converter, which was built by ABB AG and has a trans-
mission capacity of 400 MW. After maintenance work,
which took over three months to complete, as well as a
fire that occurred in March this year, the platform was
temporarily reconnected to the grid in June. Shortly
thereafter, it had to be shut down again due to harmon-
ic currents.
The search for the source of the electrical fault has
not yet yielded any results. The best professionals of
TenneT, Bard and ABB, as well as external specialists,
have been working on the problem. “There are many
possible causes for the error, which may lie in any of
the conceivable interactions within the entire system,
ranging from the wind turbines to the platform. As yet,
we still cannot say for certain what the cause or causal
chain for the malfunction was,” says Wilfried Breuer,
Managing Director of TenneT Offshore GmbH, remain-
ing vague.
The failure not only increases the loss of income
from Bard Offshore 1 to a three-digit million euro sum,
it also has the rest of the industry worrying. The ques-
tion arises whether this is a specific problem in the grid
connection or the transmission technology. TenneT is
now putting four further converters into trial operation.
There have been no problems with these installations
so far.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for setting
up a joint venture towards undertaking a first
demonstration offshore wind project in India has
been signed.
Involved in the MOU are the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy, the National Institute of Wind Energy,
and a consortium of partners consisting of National
Thermal Power Corporation, Power Grid Corporation
of India Ltd, Indian Renewable Energy Development
Agency, Power Finance Corporation, Power Trading
Corporation, and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd.
The joint venture will undertake feasibility study
based on the inputs received from pre-feasibility studies
and necessary steps for implementation of the first off-
shore demon stration wind power project along the Gu-
jarat coast. The planned project will be of about 100 MW
capacity. It has been proposed to provide subsidy for the
setting up of evacuation and transmission infrastructure
of the offshore wind power to the main land including
financial support for carrying out studies such as Wind
Resource Assessment, Environmental Impact Assess-
ment, oceanographic surveys and bathymetric studies.
Troubleshooting continues
India moves forwardPh
oto:
ABB
The offshore converter BorWin alpha
has been running again since the end
of September, but the cause of the
harmonics has not yet been found.
The ETSO 2C-503, a new directive from the European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), has been in effect
for helicopter pilots and passengers from 29 October
on. It mandates that life jackets that are worn in
helicopters during offshore flights must not inflate
automatically.
The directive makes sense. If a helicopter crashes
into the sea, the occupants of the sinking helicopter
cannot free themselves if the life jackets have inflated
automatically. By contrast, this feature is essential if
people fall into the sea from ships or platforms. For this
reason, operators need to adjust their thinking.
In addition to special rescue suits for transport on
boats or in helicopters, work suits are also worn, and
these are also subject to specific safety requirements.
Some suppliers, such as Skylotec or Hansen Protection,
have already reacted. They offer one certified life jacket
for helicopter flights and another for working on the
wind farm, both of which match the work suit.
This creates a new cost factor for operators because
survival suits for helicopters cost more than € 1,000
apiece, even without a life jacket or personal protec-
tive equipment. “When it comes to correct protective
equipment, operators should cooperate with qualified
suppliers. After all, the risk analysis and evacuation
plans for the wind farm also play an important role,”
says Alexander Merl, Sales Director at Skylotec.
Four offshore wind farms off the Scottish coast have
received development consent. Once completed,
the projects in the Forth and Tay region – Neart Na
Gaoithe, Inch Cape Offshore Limited, Seagreen Alpha
and Seagreen Bravo – could be capable of generating
up to 2.284 GW of electricity.
Neart Na Gaoithe will have 75 wind turbines and
a generating capacity of up to 450 MW. The Alpha and
Bravo Seagreen projects combined will consist of up to
150 wind turbines with a generating capacity as high
as 1,050 MW. The Inch Cape development will have
110 wind turbines and a generating capacity of up to
784 MW. Consent was granted under strict conditions,
including a range of measures to monitor and mitigate
any potential impact such as the effect on birds and
other environmental areas.
The Scottish Government aims to transition to a
low-carbon society that generates the equivalent of
100 % of Scotland’s gross annual electricity consump-
tion from renewable sources by 2020. Energy Minister
Fergus Ewing said: “Renewable energy is extremely
valuable to Scotland’s economy. These wind farms
alone could generate a combined gross added value of
between £ 314 million and £ 1.2 billion in Scotland over
their service life, and they could create between 2,567
and 13,612 jobs within Scotland during the construc-
tion period.”
New standard for life jackets
Scottish farms receive consent
Read more about Bladt Industries on www.bladt.dk
Bladt Industries is the market leading specialist in complex steel solutions for the offshore wind energy sector. We contribute with first class steel structures, expert knowledge and essential hands-on experience to wind energy projects all over Europe.
Harnessing
the wind
news
Dav
id P
las
- EW
EA O
FFS
HO
RE
20
13
“Cost reduction in the offshore wind industry is a global issue. Our focus at EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 will be on helping companies � nd ef� ciencies across the whole of the supply chain.” Malgosia Bartosik, Deputy CEO, EWEA
Global issues Cutting the costs of offshore wind
Born 20 years ago off the coast of Denmark, offshore wind is a young, vibrant industry and will be a central pillar of Europe’s energy mix for decades to come. With a total of 7.3 GW of offshore capacity installed in Europe and a further 4.9 GW under construction this year, signs are encouraging for Europe’s fastest-growing power sector.
But there are challenges. Offshore wind is facing a contraction that may continue into 2015 and 2016. To combat this, investors need long-term visibility and a clear post-2020 framework. The sector itself must also cut costs.
As Norbert Giese, Vice Chairman of Wind Energy Agency WAB noted, growth is crucial to cost cutting: one third of cost reduction in the next ten years depends on expansion in Germany and around the world.
Cost reduction is an obstacle that can be overcome by tackling issues in the supply chain from the cost of manufacturing turbines and substructures to optimising current installation methods.
Fortunately, � nanciers, executives and engineers will have the chance to unite and address these challenges in March 2015 when delegates convene at the European Wind Energy Association’s (EWEA) offshore conference and exhibition in Copenhagen.
As well as being able to visit companies from across Europe in 3 exhibition halls, participants will have the opportunity to meet and listen to industry leaders and respected specialists in 24 conference sessions, spanning three days from 10-12 March. The industry-leading event will look in-depth at key issues including supply chain cost reduction, operations and maintenance, turbine technology, grid development and health and safety.
Participants who register for a 3-day conference pass before 16 November can receive a discount of up to 20%. Find out more about EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 - the world’s largest offshore wind energy conference and exhibition: www.ewea.org/offshore2015
400x280-OFFHSORE2015-DP-SWW.indd 2-3 08/10/14 12:30
Dav
id P
las
- EW
EA O
FFS
HO
RE
20
13
“Cost reduction in the offshore wind industry is a global issue. Our focus at EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 will be on helping companies � nd ef� ciencies across the whole of the supply chain.” Malgosia Bartosik, Deputy CEO, EWEA
Global issues Cutting the costs of offshore wind
Born 20 years ago off the coast of Denmark, offshore wind is a young, vibrant industry and will be a central pillar of Europe’s energy mix for decades to come. With a total of 7.3 GW of offshore capacity installed in Europe and a further 4.9 GW under construction this year, signs are encouraging for Europe’s fastest-growing power sector.
But there are challenges. Offshore wind is facing a contraction that may continue into 2015 and 2016. To combat this, investors need long-term visibility and a clear post-2020 framework. The sector itself must also cut costs.
As Norbert Giese, Vice Chairman of Wind Energy Agency WAB noted, growth is crucial to cost cutting: one third of cost reduction in the next ten years depends on expansion in Germany and around the world.
Cost reduction is an obstacle that can be overcome by tackling issues in the supply chain from the cost of manufacturing turbines and substructures to optimising current installation methods.
Fortunately, � nanciers, executives and engineers will have the chance to unite and address these challenges in March 2015 when delegates convene at the European Wind Energy Association’s (EWEA) offshore conference and exhibition in Copenhagen.
As well as being able to visit companies from across Europe in 3 exhibition halls, participants will have the opportunity to meet and listen to industry leaders and respected specialists in 24 conference sessions, spanning three days from 10-12 March. The industry-leading event will look in-depth at key issues including supply chain cost reduction, operations and maintenance, turbine technology, grid development and health and safety.
Participants who register for a 3-day conference pass before 16 November can receive a discount of up to 20%. Find out more about EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 - the world’s largest offshore wind energy conference and exhibition: www.ewea.org/offshore2015
400x280-OFFHSORE2015-DP-SWW.indd 2-3 08/10/14 12:30
12 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
IntervIew | RES
OWI: Please describe the RES Group’s main area of busi-ness.Gary Maddison: The company
was founded 30 years ago as an
offshoot of the Robert McAlpine
Group in the onshore wind busi-
ness area. For this reason, the bulk
of project development that we
have carried out has been onshore
wind, particularly in the United
States. This has developed further
across into Europe. In the 1990s,
we moved into the offshore market
as well.
OWI: So your main market is Europe?Maddison: Yes, currently it is.
In the onshore business area, we
have quite a presence in the United
States, but in the offshore area it’s
predominantly Europe for us at
the moment. We are also active in
Japan, Chile and Turkey. As well as
in South Africa, now.
OWI: We are currently hav-ing a discussion in Germany
In Hamburg OwI talked to Gary Maddison, Offshore Operations & Maintenance Business Developer of the reS-Offshore.
“Cost reduction is challenging”
about tendering. The idea is to replace feed-in tariffs with a tendering process. In Britain, tenders for offshore wind parks are common practice. Could you share the lessons you’ve learned in this area? Maddison: I think the tender-
ing process has benefits as well
as drawbacks. In the UK, The
Crown Estate manages the rights
for the seabed. I think this is a
benefit because it provides some
consistency in that area. You don’t
have a disconnect, where certain
areas of the seabed are owned by
different entities, like it is in the
United States. There, the seabed is
often owned by individual states.
Another benefit is the ability to
survey and understand the seabed
conditions of the area you intend to
build a wind farm in ahead of time,
instead of at a later point in the
consent process. We have had in-
stances where the rights have been
handed back, because the company
says: “We will not be able to do
this at a reasonable price, therefore
it’s not worthwhile.” I suppose the
ideal would be if everywhere has
already been surveyed and people
can access that information before
committing to something. So I
suppose that one of the lessons
learned is that the information that
has been collated in those areas
has been opened up to the public.
OWI: So it is possible to hand the rights for a project back? That means that there are at least two reasons to say ‘no’ to the new system of tendering. The first reason is the quality. Quality may suf-fer because the cheapest offer will win, not necessarily the best one.Maddison: Yes.
OWI: The second reason is that projects may be delayed.Maddison: I think the most
important thing is that the project
is viable and able to go forward. I
think any additional work that can
13
Phot
o: R
ES
is Offshore O&M Business Developer at reS-Offshore. the reS
Group is a UK based project developer. they develop renewable
projects not only within the UK, but as well as across various
locations around the world.
Gary Maddison
be done to provide more certainty
and reduce the risk, whether it is in
Germany, the UK or anywhere else,
is going to be welcomed and must
assist in projects going forward.
OWI: In my experience, the potential of the site must be checked first and then an offer can be made. But you are saying that it is possible to make an offer first and then examine the site, is that correct?Maddison: Yes, because it costs
money at the end of the day to
generate the surveys and every-
thing else, so unless you have
some certainty, carrying out a
project may turn out to be eco-
nomically unviable.
OWI: Do you believe it’s possible to reduce the cost by, let’s say, 30 %?Maddison: I think it’s certainly
going to be challenging, but some
of the areas where the benefits will
probably be achievable are founda-
tions, design and cables as well
as an increase in turbine size. The
physical size and output from the
turbines will be greater. Thirdly,
I think there will probably be
benefits in the area of O&M strate-
gies, maintenance and access to
the wind farms. Some of the major
developers and energy companies
are also looking at the concept of
clustering wind farms around the
particular type or make of turbine.
This is going to assist in looking at
the maintenance of clusters rather
than individual parks. I think there
are some benefits and cost savings
in that.
OWI: Do you think it will be possible to develop some of the undeveloped regions in the UK, such as the North- East, with industry-quality projects?Maddison: Yes, there is still a
commitment there for those larger
projects. The idea behind those
projects was to achieve the benefits
of scale and cost reduction during
round 1, round 2 and round 3.
Larger projects are the evolution
of the development of offshore
wind to bring costs down. That has
always been the plan, and there are
certainly challenges with it being
further offshore, but the scale
makes the difference. We have
recently seen Siemens committing
to building a large factory in Hull,
for example.
OWI: The supply chain for offshore wind parks is not closed. Do you think we will see wind turbines made by a British manufacture in the future, and if so, when?Maddison: Yes, that’s a good
question. I suppose it’s always pos-
sible, but I think maybe currently
the closest we are going to get to
that is seeing existing manufac-
turers producing in the UK. Our
wish would be for the UK content
within those machines to increase,
as well as the amount of labour. At
the moment, I am not aware of any
people that are actively developing
wind turbines on a large, industrial
scale. There are quite a few major
players out there now and only a
large company would be able to
develop at the level that Siemens,
Vestas and so on have been work-
ing at. They have had a big com-
mitment for a long time, so that
would be a challenge.
The interview was conducted
by Jörn Iken.
14 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Phot
o: V
atte
nfal
l
Heavy dutyThe industry made a promise: a 30 % lower cost for offshore wind power. With high cost reduction potential, the foundation can make a major contribution toward this goal.
tion concept is limited to flat water under 30 m deep.
This limitation is down to the dimensions of the mono-
piles, which – and this is the third problem – is increas-
ingly overtaxing manufacturing and logistics.
These issues define the requirements for alterna-
tive solutions: they have to overcome the 30 m thresh-
old, abstain from the use of pile drivers, and have
reasonable dimensions. It takes a lot of brain power
to prepare an alternative process for practical use. The
Danish energy company and world’s largest project
planner for offshore wind farms, Dong Energy, as well
as a consortium led by RWE Innogy have developed
and tested their solutions for just such a process.
several approachesThe spring of this year saw the start of a pilot project
within the framework of the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind
Accelerator (OWA), a leading global research and de-
i t has been 20 years since
the first monopile was
driven into the seabed
off the Baltic coast of
Sweden. Even today,
monopiles are the least expensive way to securely
install offshore wind turbines. And because they
require relatively little welding, monopiles are
certainly one of the fastest procedures.
It is thus much more astounding that after such
a long time and such broad experience, people are
still looking for alternatives to the pile-driven steel
pipe. There are three main factors that limit the use of
monopiles. First, there is the ramming process itself,
which damages the hearing, orientation, and balance
organs of marine mammals. Noise protection systems
currently in use are either expensive or ineffective.
Next, the general belief is that the monopile founda-
spotlight Foundations | DeVeloPmenT
15
the installation of founda-
tions is a logistical master-
work but one which is the
subject of a continuous search
for optimisation potential.
Heavy duty
spotlight
velopment programme aimed at reducing the cost of
offshore energy. The offshore wind farm developers
RWE, Dong, EnBW, E.on and Vattenfall carried out the
programme in cooperation with the offshore supplier
industry and partners, such as Bilfinger Construction.
Specifically, the project focussed on so-called vibratory
pile driving. The researchers sought an answer to the
question of how the horizontal load-bearing capacity of
vibratory driven piles compared with that of convention-
ally driven piles.
The groundbreaking ceremony at the 7,200 m2
test field near Cuxhaven, Germany took place in early
June (see OWI 3/2014, page 28).The term “vibratory
pile driving” may be deceptive for a layperson be-
cause unlike conventional pile driving the piles are
not, strictly speaking, “driven.” In a nutshell, there is
no pounding noise, and that benefits sea life. Build-
ing foundations for offshore windmills with the
vibration process is much quieter than pile driving,”
says Heinrich Schlick, an instructor at the Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology.
Low noise is also the advantage of Dong Energy’s
Suction Bucket Jacket. Anchoring an object to the sea-
bed using suction is an innovative idea – for the wind
industry, at least; the oil and gas industry has used the
technique for some 20 years (see page 20).
Whether a vibratory driven monopile or Suction
Bucket Jacket is used, the challenge is to withstand
horizontal loading from wind and waves, which a prop-
erly built monopile can handle without a problem. Can
the vibrated pilings and inverted buckets hold their
own? ”We won’t have the initial results until the end
of 2014,” says an RWE spokesperson. “Once we have
those, we can begin the approval process.” Dong is a
bit farther along. The Danish company says that is has
conducted a successful plot project. Jörn Iken
16 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
spotlight foundations | Production
Size matters
it’s “only” a steel pipe stuck in the seabed. But it is not quite that simple. oWi attempts to unravel the secrets of the monopile. Shaping and welding are the essential steps. Ph
oto:
Vat
tenf
all
h ollywood in
Rostock: in an
episode of the
German detective series “Polizeiruf
110” the TV cops investigate the
murder of the boss of an offshore
wind energy company. Pipe seg‑
ments for offshore foundations at
the premises of EEW Special Pipe
17
spotlight foundations | Production
the quality of a monopile is
largely dependent on the welding
of the individual segments.
Constructions were part of
the set for the filming of
the story. For technically
interested viewers they were
the real stars of the episode.
A lot of know‑how goes into
the pipe segments – both in the
shaping technology and in the
welding procedures.
standard products still workThe pipes used have a diameter of up
to ten metres and a wall thickness of
up to 120 mm. Apart from the logis‑
tical problems caused by these large
dimensions, the shaping technol‑
ogy required is anything other than
trivial. There are not many firms that
can do this – either the know‑how
or the equipment for such a power
act is not available. The dimensions
given above are, however, still the
exception. The specifications for
wind farms currently being built are
around one third smaller than this.
At the end of May the energy
companies Vattenfall and Stadtwerke
München signed a delivery con‑
tract with EEW for 72 monopiles
and transition pieces for the Ger‑
man offshore wind farm Sandbank.
The depth of the water at the site
is up to 34 m – the generally held
opinion is that this is right on the
limit for the use of a monopile. With
an average diameter of the steel
pipe of 6.5 m the total weight of the
ordered monopiles and transition
pieces comes to 78,000 t. For EEW
the contract has come at the right
time, securing the capacity utilisa‑
tion of the production plant until
mid 2015.
From a technical point of view
this order is the current standard.
The constructors generally use a
harder steel such as S355 and pro‑
duce the pipe sections with the
same wall thickness throughout. In
future, however, they will not get far
with this standard, say the scientists
from the Fraunhofer Institute for
Manufacturing Engineering and
Automation (IPA). The transition
to two‑figure megawatt capacities
has already been initiated by the
prototype of an 8 MW turbine; a
10 MW machine is on the drawing
board.
With our XL Monopiles of up to 10 m diameter we are ready for the future.
EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH [email protected]
Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co. KG [email protected]
www.eew-group.comOur products for the Offshore Wind Market:Monopiles / Transition Pieces, Pipes for Jackets, Piles
Pho
to: B
alla
st N
edam
More Meters today. More poWer toMorroW.
10 m
18 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
spotlight foundations | Production
Wind turbines with a higher
performance are heavier and sweep
a larger area with their rotors.
In other words: the loads on the
foundations are increasing – and
exponentially rather than linearly.
This leads the IPA scientists to the
conclusion that the quasi‑standard
currently used by the industry will
no longer suffice: foundations for
10 MW turbines are not economi‑
cally realisable with the current
constructions and materials.
new monopiles for the industry The Fraunhofer IPA is therefore
working together with the in‑
dustry partner EEW and the TBI
Technologie‑Beratungs‑Institut
(Technology Consultancy Institute)
on the development of high‑strength
foundation structures for the off‑
shore industry (“HoGfos”). The
project comes to a close at the end
of 2014. There are already some sug‑
gestions for solutions:
• Development of a structurally
optimised foundation design adapt‑
ed to local load conditions (“tailored
tubes”). An old but useful trick: the
manufacturers of high‑quality racing
bicycles with steel frames used tubes
that were conical on the inside. The
sections of the tubes carrying a high
load had walls that were several
tenths of a millimetre thicker.
• Use of high‑strength fine‑grain
steel (S690) and new UP‑welding
technology. “Statistically seen,
S690 has a higher elastic limit and
tensile strength”, says Robert Hein,
Project Engineer at the Fraunhofer
IPA. “The notch‑rupture strength is
unfortunately independent of the
steel type, so there is no advantage
gained from high‑strength steel in
this respect.”
• Development of a manufactur‑
ing and process technology opti‑
mised construction system, a task
which has been requested by the in‑
dustry but so far neglected and, as a
side‑effect, has a high potential for
reducing costs.
The quality of a monopile
essentially depends on the welding
of the individual segments. A single
faulty welded seam can create enor‑
mous problems – not only for the
welder but also for the component.
Water collecting in defective seams
is a common starting point for cor‑
rosion. In the longer term this kind
of mistake can even cause the struc‑
tural stability of an offshore wind
turbine to become questionable.
Welding, which many people only
understand as a simple “sizzling” pro‑
cedure, actually requires extremely
careful preparation and skilled exe‑
cution. The components to be welded
must be constructed to be suitable for
this process and must be mechani‑
cally prepared. After setting up the
welding equipment, the welders pre‑
heat the components. Especially with
heavy components for the offshore
wind energy industry, pre‑heating
is essential. Without additional heat,
the components would not reach the
correct welding temperature, which
would have a negative effect on the
quality of the seams.
Even after welding, a temperature
of around 100 °C must be maintained
for two to three hours. This prevents
hydrogen embrittlement, which oc‑
curs when hydrogen collects in the
matrix of the metal. This leads to
hydrogen‑induced corrosion with
the formation of cracks. The warm‑
ing of the component also reduces
the possibility of cold cracks, which
could develop in the component
after welding.
heating before and afterwards with a new burner Linde AG has developed a process
under the name Lindoflamm that
can be used to heat the components
before and after welding. Its central
feature is a compressed air burner
that is fuelled by acetylene. Accord‑
ing to Linde, the special feature is
the high performance of the primary
flame, which, they say, guarantees
preheating in exactly the right spot.
“In comparison, for example, to pro‑
pane, acetylene burns with a very
high speed, which leads to a fast and
concentrated transfer of heat into the
metal”, explains Ronald Steusloff,
Head of Thermal Applications at
Linde, regarding the improve‑
ment over the burners previously
used. “The flame temperature that
can be achieved with an ace tylene
compressed air burner – around
2,400 °C – is significantly higher
than the temperatures reached
using other gases and compressed
air. With the Lindoflamm burner
the steel can be heated up twice
19
as quickly as with conventional
burners .”
The interesting application for
the offshore wind energy industry
is the use of the burner in the man‑
ufacture
of mono‑
piles. The weld‑
ing of the segments takes
place automatically. The burner,
which Linde developed for EEW
in Rostock, has a large number of
burner jets located on a 5 m long
tube. The distance between the
jets is only a few centime‑
tres. One of the problems in
designing the burner was to
get the same amount of gas to
come out of each of the jets. This
was necessary to ensure an even
distribution of heat at the welding
seam. In the meantime, Linde has
developed a Lindoflamm burner for
EEW for the longitudinal seams and
another for circumferential welding.
The maximum diameter is 10 m.
So Rostock remains a spectacular
address for the filming of the next
TV series.
Jörn IkenPhot
o: t
AG E
nerg
y So
lutio
ns
the secret of our success over 25 years?The wind is what drives us.
www.enova.de
enova-anz-bruemmer-200x143,5-GB.indd 1 22.10.14 09:37
20 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Phot
o: D
ong
Ener
gy
stability without the racket
i n August, Dong
Energy installed
the first suction
bucket jacket. The new foundation
type is to be put through its paces
in the German offshore wind farm
Borkum Riffgrund 1. It could very
well become a serious rival for
monopiles in the medium and long
term, since the new technology
has a number of advantages over
Cost-optimized production, less costly installation, quiet and environmentally friendly – the suction bucket jacket seems to be the solution to many problems.
its competition. Like many other
offshore wind energy technolo-
gies, the foundation was modelled
on an original from the oil and gas
industry, where the suction bucket
technology has been successfully
deployed for about 20 years. It will
now be tested as the foundation of
an offshore wind turbine for the
first time. “We installed the first
suction bucket jacket in the off-
shore wind industry, thereby taking
another step toward bringing down
the costs for building an offshore
wind farm in future,” says Tove
Feld, Vice President and head of the
Civil, Engineering and Wind Power
Division at Dong. The floating load
out, transport and installation of
the prototype were executed by
GeoSea, while the suction process
was done by SPT Offshore.
21
Spotlight FoundationS | SuCtion buCkEt jaCkEt
a 3.6 MW Siemens turbine is installed on the suction bucket
jacket prototype in the Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm.
sucking instead of pile driving Costs will mostly be reduced by the
fact that it is considerably easier and
quicker to install a suction bucket
jacket than the usual method of
installing a monopile. Instead of
driving a pile into the seabed using a
hammer that weighs several tonnes,
the suction bucket sucks itself into
the ground.
To this end, it is first placed on the
seabed in one go. Pumping systems
then create a negative pressure in
the three sleeve foundations. This
makes the buckets sink slowly into
the ground until they finally reach
8 m, quite a different depth from the
25 to 30 m that a monopile needs
to be driven into the sea bottom.
The negative pressure ensures the
required stability, supplemented by
a thin layer of concrete that is cast
into the sleeve foundations at the
end of the process.
The foundation prototype is
equipped with a measuring sys-
tem that records all data during the
construction and operation phases.
Together with the Leibniz University
Hanover and the German Federal
Institute for Materials Research
and Testing, Dong will undertake
comprehensive studies and meas-
urements of the foundation. The re-
sults will then be made available to
companies that are involved in the
offshore wind industry and become
part of future approval procedures.
The German Federal Agency for
Shipping and Hydrography (BSH)
has awarded permission to deploy
the prototype in the North Sea. The
agency is especially interested in
another advantage of this method
of installation: the suction bucket
can help to finally stay within the
underwater noise protection lim-
its set for the German North Sea.
Because whether it is two-, three-
or fourfold bubble curtains, none of
the noise protection systems used
for pile driving have so far been able
to prove their practical suitability
without limitations.
hotbed for innovation“The new foundation type clearly
shows that regulatory requirements
encourage innovation – and the
industry quickly turns the require-
ments into new technologies. This
is clearly a type of cooperation that
is geared towards the future,” says
Monika Breuch-Moritz, President of
the BSH. “The new foundation is also
excellent proof of how co-operation
pays off when it comes to innovation,”
Feld adds. During develop ment,
after all, Dong was supported by the
British Carbon Trust Offshore Wind
Accelerator (OWA).
However, the suction bucket
jacket does have one problem: it is
dependent on the seabed’s properties.
Silty soil makes using suction bucket
jackets difficult, and rocky ground
Fast facts • Totalheight:57m
• Totalweight:850tonnes
• Heightanddiameterofsleeve
foundations:8meach
• Deployableinwaterdepthsof
30to60m
• Alsosuitablefor6to10MW
turbines
or larger rock inclusions make it
completely impossible. Smaller slip
rocks and boulders, on the other
hand, can be moved aside during in-
stallation, a spokesperson for Dong
says when asked about the situation.
Larger geological formations such
as adobe or limestone only exist in
deeper soil layers, where they do not
have an effect on the suction bucket
jacket.
Ultimately, the suction bucket
will boast another advantage over
conventional foundations at the end
of its lifetime. While it remains quite
unclear how monopiles can ever be
removed from the seabed, this will
not be too much of a problem with
suction buckets: when water is
pumped into the sleeve foundations,
they release themselves from the
ground and the foundation can be
completely decommissioned without
leaving any residue. However, there
is still a long way to go until this is
tested in practice for the first time.
Katharina Garus
www.offshorewindindustry.com/
suction_bucket
22 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Rust inside the monopile, scoured foundations or abundant marine growth on the pipe: in offshore turbine monitoring, too little consideration is often given to sensor-supported foundation monitoring. Instead, divers and ROVs have been expected to perform this task – until now.
From top to bottom
Sensors cannot replace
ROVs entirely, but they
can reduce the use of this
costly equipment.
Phot
o: D
MC
SpOtlight FOundatiOnS | SenSORS
n ecessity is not
only the mother
of invention, it
also creates new markets. So far,
most operators have assumed that
foundations should be inspected by
divers and ROVs. In principle, this
works well. The downside is that
regular checks are fairly costly, time
consuming and even dangerous. On
the one hand, the piles often show
heavy growth of shells or algae
that requires a lot of effort to be
removed. On the other, divers have
already lost their lives performing
their dangerous work in offshore
wind farms.
As a result, sensors are becoming
increasingly popular. As part of the
condition monitoring system (CMS),
they are serial standard equipment
in nacelles. However, the picture is
a totally different one under the wa-
ter. “The problems at the foundation
and its inspection were simply un-
derestimated,” says Søren Granskov,
Sales Manager at Force Technology
of Denmark, adding that this is true
for not only the crumbling grouting
between pile and transition piece
and the vegetation, but also the rust
on and especially inside the pil-
ing pipe. “The demand for sensor-
monitored systems is increasing.
There are examples of severe rust
that unexpectedly developed inside
the pile. We have therefore designed
monitoring systems that are used
in the UK, Germany and Denmark,”
Granskov explains.
Rust inside a pile could be caused
by, for example, fluctuating water
levels inside the pipes or the seals
for the cable entry. One solution for
detecting the rust consists of a sys-
tem that runs along the foundation
autonomously and checks the steel’s
thickness or the condition of weld-
ing seams with ultrasound sensors.
Force has tailored a clever structural
monitoring system for continuous
surveillance. Its sensors not only
capture corrosion on the pile and in
what is called the mud zone, they
also measure tide-dependent water
levels, temperature and the oxygen
content inside the pile as well as in
the seabed surrounding the founda-
tion. The monitoring system can
thus detect at an early stage whether
rust is forming inside the structure,
among other issues. “With the help
of this system, trouble spots can
be quickly located,” Granskov
promises.
inventive engineersOther suppliers offer similar so-
lutions. Kongsberg Maritime of
Norway, for example, is also refining
a system that works autonomously.
Their hydroacoustic monitoring
system works with a sonar scanner.
It is designed to provide crucial
information on the structure and
changes in the sediment surrounding
the structure to detect scour early. “A
scan takes 30 minutes. The system is
completely waterproof and equipped
with interfaces for data evaluation,”
explains Mathias Meyer, Technical
Manager of the engineering service
team at Kongsberg.
www.skylotec.com
HIGH
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24 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
SpOtlight FOundatiOnS | SenSORS
The GMA Group, part of the
Mistras Group from the US, already
has some experience of their own to
show. The company has equipped
36 foundations for the English
wind farm Greater Gabbard. There,
the quality of the monopiles from
China posed problems when install-
ing 140 turbines. “However, this is
just one reason for the monitoring.
The other is that the costs for sub-
sea inspections are spiralling,” says
Thomas Korzeniewski, head of the
Wind Energy Division at the GMA
Group. Mistras uses a passive sys-
tem for their sensors that captures
structure-borne sound in the foun-
dations. These frequencies create a
continuous background noise that
can be used to detect changes. In or-
der to do so, piezo sensors measure
the surface tension at regular inter-
vals. If this suddenly drops because
of cracks or small changes in the sur-
face, mechanical waves are produced
that hit the sensor. This principle
has long been used for monitoring
bridges.
It also makes sense to fit at least
some of the foundations with sensors
for an entirely different reason. Eval-
uating the data allows conclusions to
be drawn about more than just the
condition of the other, sensor-free
structures. In addition to stability
and corrosion, dimensioning is also
of interest. After all, the steel struc-
tures are calculated with considerable
safety margins. Using accelerometers
the Federal Agency for Shipping and
Hydrography (BSH) mandates that
about 25 % of all foundations need to
be checked and 10 % need to be mon-
itored by means of a suitable CMS
for foundations each year. However,
the agency does not stipulate what
exactly is to be measured and which
technology is to be used. For now, it
is sufficient to simply stick a sensor
anywhere on the structure. Without
clear measurement requirements,
there is currently quite a bit of con-
fusion on the market. “By monitor-
ing the load cycles, costs for divers or
underwater robots can be reduced,”
says Jens Krieger of Airwerk GmbH.
The company provides its own so-
lutions for foundation monitoring
which are currently in the imple-
mentation phase.
Holger Fritsch, CEO of Bachmann
Monitoring GmbH, also believes
that sensors could reduce the efforts
required underwater. His company
has started by equipping three tur-
bines in the Global Tech 1 offshore
wind farm with an extended struc-
tural monitoring system. Fritsch be-
lieves that operators should invest
in this type of systems. He explains
that “there are currently two trains
of thought. One group has a minimal
concept while the other uses more
measurement technology so that it
is not necessary to check just about
every welding seam during the peri-
odic inspections.”
Torsten Thomas
Strain gauges sensors on-site
to measure actual loads can help to
verify these assumptions. “In so do-
ing, on the one hand, we can calculate
the real loads at the foundations and
the most important node points and
compare the calculations to the origi-
nal design values. Secondly, possible
risks for towers and foundations can
be minimised, and sometimes effects
come to light that had previously
not been considered at all,” explains
Lorenz Meesenburg of P.E. Concepts
GmbH. In this context, the engineer-
ing service provider is interested not
in every welded joint, but in saving
on materials by reducing safety mar-
gins. To this end, one of the projects
that P.E. Concepts is involved in is
RWE’s Nordsee Ost, whose wind tur-
bines have been installed on jacket
foundations.
A delicate issueAlthough the sensor industry is not
lacking in inventiveness, there is so
far no standard that defines what a
CMS for foundations would be like
and what it should actually be capable
of doing. The Association of German
Engineers (VDI) is currently prepar-
ing such a standard. The title has
already been determined: Structural
monitoring and evaluation of wind
turbines and platforms, VDI 4551.
According to the association, the
standard’s aim is to respond to regu-
latory requirements and establish a
sensor-supported alternative to reg-
ular visual inspections. In Germany, Phot
o: F
orce
Tec
hnol
ogy
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26 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
f or 30 years, Denmark has been one of
the leading nations when it comes to
wind energy technology, and to keep
it that way, the sector sets up test centres with strong
financial backing from the government. Before now, they
focussed on Jutland’s northern tip. Siemens and Vestas
put their offshore protoypes to the test in Høvsøre and
Østerild, while test rigs in Sparkær check large rotor
blades.
A test rig for functional tests of 10 MW nacelles has been installed in Lindø, at the northern tip of Funen, a Danish island. Another one of the same size will soon be added right next to it.
Now, Lindø has joined the league of major test
centres, thanks to the location’s history. Until 2012, it
was home to Denmark’s largest shipyard, where ship-
ping company A. P. Møller Mærsk had their boxships
built – but only until the shipyard could no longer hold
its own against the competition from East Asia.
The shipyard’s closure was actually already a done
deal about six years ago. Together with Mærsk, the
Danish government went to great lengths to safeguard
science & technology | TesT rig
DoubleDoublechecking
27
science & technology
the test rig provides comprehensive functional
testing of a nacelle, including controlling the pitch
system.
Phot
os (2
): LO
rC
doubling the heartbeatThe second test rig, planned for the other half of the
hall, will only be completed in about a year. It has been
reserved for Siemens for the time being. Here, nacelles
will be tested without a hub by making bending mo-
ments impact directly on the main shaft and in so do-
ing simulate turbulence, gusts and oblique inflows. Its
design is similar to that of a test rig which is currently
installed in Bremerhaven (see OWI 04/2013, page 40).
These static and dynamic tests are a basis for Highly
Accelerated Lifetime Testing (HALT) and provide man-
ufacturers with important indicators of whether the
prototype will reach a service life of 20 to 25 years.
The first nacelle in this test rig will most likely be
from the 6 MW turbine. The next test subject is not dif-
ficult to guess now that Henrik Stiesdal, who will leave
his post as CTO of Siemens Wind Power later this year,
announced a 10 MW turbine with a rotor diameter of
210 m in Lindø. The test rig is exactly the right size for
this prototype.
Detlef Koenemann
the location, in order to save as many jobs as possible
and prevent the facilities that had just been modernised
from falling into disrepair.
The Danish offshore wind energy industry was able
to benefit from this strategy. Steel contractor Bladt
Industries, for example, set up shop in Lindø, where it
currently builds the roughly 40 metre tall jacket foun-
dations for the Baltic 2 wind farm in the Baltic Sea. A
neighbouring hall was reserved for the Lindø Offshore
Renewables Centre (LORC), with room for two nacelle
test rigs with a rated capacity of some 10 MW each. The
first rig was inaugurated on 11 September.
ideal conditionsThe site in the Lindø Industrial Park provides ideal
conditions. The nacelles, which weigh several hundred
tonnes each, can be transported by ship very close to
the hall, at which point, after removing the hall roof,
the former shipyard’s gigantic gantry crane can lift the
nacelles from above into the hall and onto the test rig.
The hall boasts enough space for two different test
rigs, each with a rated capacity of 10 MW, so that two
manufacturers can test their prototypes simultaneously.
A dividing wall prevents competitors from seeing more
than they should, as requested by the only two manu-
facturers that produce wind turbines in Denmark, Vestas
and Siemens.
The first rig, the Function Tester, is for testing na-
celles with hubs. A special flange is attached to the hub
in such a way that the pitch system is still movable. As
a result, the functional test can also check wind turbine
control with rotor blade pitch under almost real-world
conditions. An artificial medium-voltage grid can simu-
late short circuits and other short-term incidents in the
grid that affect the nacelle as a complete system.
Currently, there is a Vestas V112 on the test rig.
There is not much left to learn about this 3 MW tur-
bine, which has already been installed 1,300 times. It is
therefore ideal for running test trials of the rig, and in
a few months it will be replaced with the nacelle of a
V164, an 8 MW turbine that will make much better use
of the test rig’s features.
As all necessary infrastructure is available, lindø
industrial park offers perfect conditions for a
necelle test centre.
E lectricity and wa-
ter? This sounds
like an extreme-
ly dubious proposition, and prob-
ably reminds you more of stories
of people getting killed by dropping
a hair dryer in the bathtub than of
a working technology for offshore
structures. But that is exactly how
it works: welding underwater in-
volves a powerful electric current.
Nevertheless, the divers performing
the work are not in danger. Provided
they follow the rules, that is.
Water is vaporisedThere are four types of connection
for steel structures: adhesive bond-
ing, bolting, riveting and welding.
The number of options available
for working underwater is limited:
Adhesive bonding will not work be-
cause of the water. Riveting is out
of the question because the rivets
immediately cool down and cannot
develop the necessary shrinkage ten-
sion. That leaves bolts and welding.
Since bolted connections require
relatively complex structural and
mechanical preparation, welding
is the method of choice for quickly
connecting two pieces of steel, pro-
ducing a gas-tight connection or
applying overlay-welded material.
The process of welding under-
water is the same as dry welding on
land. Although it is possible to dry-
weld underwater, this can only be
done with considerable effort: The
spot to be welded has to be encapsu-
lated in a water-tight chamber filled
with pressurised air.
Wet welding also uses an
electric arc. Electric current arcs Phot
o: U
.S. f
eder
al g
over
nmen
t
Underwater welding is a
profession with risks. However,
equipment and materials have now
reached a high level of safety.
A job with potential risks Welding comes into
play when steel struc tures are built or
repaired. In the offshore industry, this even
happens underwater.
28 offshorE Wind industry 4|2014
Science & tecHnology | UnderWater WeldIng
electrode melt and form the weld
when they solidify.
Potential danger for diversThe risk for an accident in connection
with the electricity in the water is
higher than on land, but according
to relevant publications for safety
experts, the risk can be ‘managed’.
Insulating gloves, special weld-
ing electrodes and equipment that
are suitable for underwater use are
essential. The divers also use a lower
open circuit voltage for welding than
when on land.
However, the equipment used
is not the only factor that ensures
success during an underwater
welding dive. The primary ingre-
dients for success are the crew of
the diving platform and of course
the divers themselves. The latter
in particular have to endure high
physical and psychological pres-
sure. The German Association for
Welding and Associated Processes
(DSV) has established a working
group that deals exclusively with
the requirements of wet weld-
ing. Working Group V 4 empha-
sises: “Only a qualified training
programme that concludes with
an appropriate exam can reduce
the risks and ensure a quality of
welding that is comparable to the
quality of welding on land under
normal atmospheric conditions.”
The standards experts point out
that there is a common misconcep-
tion: “A test in accordance with EN
287-1 does not qualify a person
to perform underwater welding.”
Dual training is necessary for this:
persons interested in underwater
welding must have training as pro-
fessional divers as well as submit
the certificates for welding under
normal atmospheric conditions.
Only then can they be allowed to
train for underwater welding.
Jörn Iken
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LONG OR HEAVY? NOT LONG OR HEAVY ENOUGH.
Fast factsThe German Association
for Welding and Related
Processes (DVS) offers
training courses in
accordance with the
DVS-EWF Directive 1186,
which conclude with an
exam in accordance with the
international standard DIN
EN ISO 15618 “Qualification
Testing of Welders for
Underwater Welding” or the
American standard AWS
D3.6.
between the workpiece and the
welding electrode as soon as it gets
close to the workpiece, which is
the opposite pole. The temperature
in the arc is well above 1000 °C.
Water in the vicinity is vaporised,
pro viding conditions similar to dry
welding. The workpiece and the
Phot
o: B
TM
Full steam ahead
The market for service vessels is undergoing a massive boom. Following after testing the waters, designers are now show-ing their creative side. Starting in 2015, the first big service operations vessels will steam out of the dry docks.
logistics & operations | Service veSSelS
30 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Full steam ahead
s carcely any new market
is developing quite as
quickly as the market
for crew transfer ves
sels, or CTV for short.
With innovative ideas, designers are opening up new
weather windows for CTV use and a lucrative market
for themselves. In a recent tally, 4C Offshore count
ed 270 ships in operation and a further 70 expected
to launch on the European market by the end
of the year. And with every new large
wind farm project, demand
just keeps growing.
this extreme semi-sWatH is
yet another ship type designed
to be a game changer.
Leading ship brokers estimate that this figure will
climb to an additional 50 to 100 CTVs by 2016. In
addition to turbine builders and operators, purcha
sers of these vessels include maritime service provi
ders, who specialize in offshore wind service and are
expanding their fleets.
A paradigm shift is taking place in the designs of
these new ships. Whereas service technicians in the
initial phase still had to ride the waves aboard refitted
fishing boats or small catamarans with modest horse
power, the new generation of CTV vessels has much
more to offer. Comfort tops the list. That goes on the
one hand for technicians, who will enjoy greater lux
ury and thanks to the new designs will not be tossed
about by wind and waves, and on the other hand for
the wellappointed cabins of the two to threeperson
crews on the new ships, which will enable the CTV
to stay put at a wind farm for several days at
a stretch.
Big vs. smallIn addition to creature comforts,
speed and flexibility also play a
central role. The specifications
now list significant wave heights
of up to 3 m as the upper limit.
The main ship types still dominat
ing the market are aluminium catama
rans up to 27 m long. They are relatively
sprightly at sea and can carry loads of up
to 20 t on deck. But hard on the heels of these
workhorses more and more SWATH ships (small
waterplane area twin hull) are coming from the ship
yards. Although this ship type can take only a few
tons aboard and is slower, it has better seakeeping
characteristics and thus larger weather windows.
31
logistics & operations
32 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
The shipyards are developing concepts aimed at
improving the radius and range of applications of their
ships and thus stay in the market. Up to now in the ser
vice and maintenance business, the smaller CTVs have
been regarded as playthings and poorly suited to use
as transfer vessels. This is particularly true for wind
farms that are located far out to sea with very small
weather windows for when they are accessible. However,
large ships mean highflying charter rates and greater
costs for operators. “The radius for the new generation
of CTV is approximately 30 nautical miles,” says Erik
Schultz, the Sales Director for Damen Shipyards. Beyond
that, large service operations vessels (SOV) are needed.
“Ultimately, it’s all about how much it costs to transport
a technician. Although fast CTVs use more fuel, heli
copters or large ships are of course far more expensive.
Right now we’re building one of these SOVs at our own
risk because we believe that the demand is coming,”
Schultz explains.
The Dutch company has already made good head
way with this strategy in the catamaran segment. Since
introducing them in 2011, the shipyard has already
managed to sell 30 of its 26 m Twin Axe catamarans
with a top speed of 26 knots. A smaller, 20 m long ver
sion for nearshore wind farms has already sold four
units. Damen, however, builds the ships on spec. That
not only reduces production and materials costs but also
shortens the time between order and delivery. “Offshore
wind farm construction will accelerate in Europe and
will stoke the market for CTVs,” says Schultz.
international standard lackingThe English Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)
standard for work vessels of up to 24 m in length and car
rying a maximum of 12 passengers has been the subject
of much criticism. Because the UK is the leading market,
some 50 % of all CTVs are built to the MCA standard. In
Germany, however, this code is not recognised because
German authorities do not see the safety standards as
adequate. While a number of German associations press
the International Maritime Organization for uniform
standards, the shipbuilding industry frequently builds
in accordance with the Windfarm Service Vessel (Class
1/2) classification specified by DNV GL. This guideline
has higher standards. Schultz regards as nonsense the
idea that Dutch, Scandinavian, and English shipyards are
at an advantage to German shipyards because they are
subject to lower standards. “The countries set the stand
ards. They are the same for everyone and they make
ships flying German flags more expensive than ships
built to the MCA code, which is why the real question
is: what quality standard and what conditions are ships
built to for different markets,” says Schultz.
And that is where the foreign competition has an
edge. That goes not only for Damen but also for com
petitors, such as South Boats IOW. The English market
leader now belongs to the Gardline Group and is usher
ing in a new phase with its work ships. The DNV GL
certified catamaran, which is 24 m long and can travel
at 29 knots, has an increased radius and can be used at a
significant wave height of up to 3 m. The experience of
South Boats over the past five years is not all that went
into the new design, but rather practical expertise of
Seacat Services as well. The maritime service provider
ordered its own fleet of nine catamarans and three ships
from South Boats. “As the European offshore wind mar
ket continues to evolve with a need for larger vessels
and more stringent guidelines, we are constantly look
ing at ways in which this evolution can be incorporated
into the design of our workboats. We now have one of
the largest crew transfer vessels ready for deployment
to European offshore wind projects,” says Ian Baylis,
Managing Director, Seacat Services.
speed is trumpThe Norwegian shipyard Umoe Mandal AS is currently
building a rocket of a catamaran. The new Wave Craft
vessel is a component of a British Carbon Trust project
for new and innovative ship types. With the throttle full
out, the 26 m long catamaran can do a blazing 45 knots.
That is 83 km/h. The secret behind the new design is that
Umoe used an aircushion concept derived from military
technology for the construction the catamaran. The air
cushion underneath both hulls does not make extreme
cWind wants to expand its fleet with
fast, lightweight sWatH ships. the
service provider landed a two-year
contract for a sWatH with Dong energy.
Phot
o: c
Truk
33
logistics & operations | Service veSSelS
speeds possible, but also holds 80 % of the weight of the
ship above the waterline. With full air cushions the cata
maran draws just 0.7 m of water and can carry up to 4 t
of cargo. At the same time, the technology stabilises the
ship and ensures a smooth ride, even in rough weather
while enabling transfer to a turbine in significant wave
heights of 2.5 m.
The zippy vessel will go into service in March 2015
at Borkum Riffgrund 1 in the German North Sea. The
subsidiary Umoe Mandal Wind AS has concluded a char
ter agreement with wind farm operator Dong Energy for
eight months and already has a followon order on its
books. “We are very happy to have a second order for
our vessel,” says Are Søreng. Now the Vice President
Sales & Marketing is hoping for an even wider response.
“Umoe Mandal is confident that the Wave Craft will be
an operations and maintenance game changer for the
offshore wind industry.”
Shipbuilders in the SWATH camp are taking a simi
lar tack. The shipyard Danish Yachts is a prime example.
It has already built its fifth carbonfibre SWATH vessel
and reduced its weight by 15 % over the original design.
The Odfjell Wind AS shipping line is purchasing the
24 m long ships to expand its SWATH fleet to eight
vessels and charter them to wind farm operators. “We
are pushing the boundaries of design, innovation, and
advancing with carbon composite production techniques
to improve safety standards of crew and passengers,”
says Patrik von Sydow, CEO of Danish Yachts.
CWind also wants a piece of the pie. The English
service provider has a fleet of 20 service ships with
carbonfibre composite hulls. All of its boats are manu
factured by the subsidiary CTruk. Previously, however,
CWind had only two SWATHs in its fleet. “Due to their
better sea handling characteristics, we plan to use these
boats more in the future and we’ll order more SWATHs
from CTruk,” says Petra ErnstGutierrez, the Marketing
Manager for CWind.
taking it up a notchThe SOVs are in another league than CTVs. The Danish
shipping line Esvagt is currently having two of these
ships built in Turkey. The 84 m long ships will be com
missioned in 2015 and 2016 and chartered by Siemens.
One ship will be permanently assigned to the Baltic 2
wind farm. The other ship is at the heart of the main
tenance concept for the two Vattenfall wind farms,
Sandbank and Dan Tysk.
These ships are a first for the offshore wind industry.
In addition to ample comfort for the crew and 30 service
technicians, the ship not only has a DP II system, it
also serves as a floating workshop and spare parts ware
house. Both ships will be equipped with Ampelmann
systems for personnel transfer to turbines, a helipad,
and smaller auxiliary boats. “It is a new concept to in
crease access to wind turbines in neighbouring wind
farms,” says Gunnar Groebler, Head of the Renewables
Business Unit at Vattenfall. The SOV will be stationed
continuously between the two wind farms.
Other players are also working on new ships. The
shipbuilder Fassmer, for instance, has continued devel
opment on proven designs for offshore wind energy.
One example is the 34 m long CTV Seakat, in which
the shipyard has combined the benefits of catamarans
and SWATHs in a new ship type. “That has to do with
the speed and loadcarrying capacity, among other
things. This variant can carry two standard containers
on board and has an additional four cabins for the crew,”
says Thorsten Sass of Fassmer. Another ripe design is
a 68 m long SOV with DP II which can accommodate
40 people. The vessel is comfortably appointed with a
recreation area, complete with sauna, cinema, and work
out rooms. And the design has other useful features. “It
will have two tender boats, a transfer system of our own
design, as well as a helipad, and a large working deck.
There is huge interest for both concepts on the market,”
says Sass. Torsten Thomas
Workboats in actionFor the offshore conference Windforce 2015
in Bremerhaven, WAB is once again planning a
road show for workboats from 9 to 11 June. Last
year a number of companies took advantage of
the opportunity to present their ships to a broad
conference audience with viewings and test runs.
Those who want to be part of next year’s exhibit
should contact project head Steffen Schleicher.
E-mail: [email protected],
Phone: +49 (0)471 39177 14.
34 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Upon large ships with DP systems
the Ampelmann is a practical thing.
Phot
o: J
umbo
Mar
ine
Walk-to-work solutions
From the ship onto a platform and back – actually just a few steps, but for many service technicians still often a courageous grab to catch the railings of the boat landing. Special access systems have failed to gain popularity to date – for a variety of reasons.
benefit,” says Martin Bech, Sales Manager at Fred Olsen
Windcarrier. The video instead shows that considerable
thought has been invested in the development of new
fender systems. “They are hollow and possess a crash
zone to keep the pressure of the vessel against the foun-
dations within a permissible range. At the same time,
the fenders give a better hold against the boat landing
and in that way minimise the vertical movement of the
vessel,” Bech explains.
Puzzling over new solutionsTo ensure that this remains so, scientific expertise is
called for. After all, the fenders also wear rather quickly
in frequent use. And that can tear a significant hole in
the operator’s pocket. “We test new fenders and materi-
als for manufacturers, so that they can optimise their
systems,” says Thomas Rung from the Institute for Fluid
Dynamics and Ship Theory at Hamburg University of
Technology. One important question, as he explains,
concerns “the extent of the frictional force arising from
the pressure and the vertical movement of the vessel,
and up to which wave height the fender provides for
reliable contact without slipping.” The results are to flow
into a project of the UK Carbon Trust (“Offshore Wind
t here is plenty of talk
going on about Offshore
Access Systems (OAS)
to facilitate transfers
between service vessels
and a wind turbine. But despite a variety of prototypes,
functioning systems and even more concept ideas, it is
seldom that such systems are actually to be found at
the bows of the transfer vessels. “The demand is still
very limited. Most systems are either error-prone,
too expensive or simply too heavy for smaller trans-
fer vessels,” says Jan Zander, Chartering Manager at
WindFarmBase, to name just three of the reasons.
A further answer is provided by a very informative
video from maritime service providers Fred Olsen, who
tested an OAS on its vessels on behalf of customers.
The short film shows a Windcarrier vessel which, de-
spite the prevailing high seas, nestles almost tenderly
against the boat landing and quickly reduces the vertical
movement to a more than tolerable extent. “We took
vessels with and without OAS out to a wind farm under
identical conditions. Our conclusion was that there is
no need for an additional system, because it makes no
real difference to the transfer and thus offers no added
35
logistics & oPerAtions | AcceSS SySteMS
36 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Accelerator”), whose foremost objectives include the de-
velopment of new access systems and means to reduce
costs for the new far-offshore wind projects.
An industrially oriented jury has identified two new
concepts as particularly worthy of further support. One
of these is the Turbine Access System (TAS) from BMT
Nigel Gee and Houlder, which has already been proven
in practical use at two wind farms, where wave heights
of 2.5 metres could compensated for a vessel 28 metres
in length. The concept basically comprises an extend-
able gangway mounted at the bows and three hydraulic
cylinders to compensate the roll, pitch and heave mo-
tions of the vessel. To this end, a Motion Reference Unit
measures the real vessel movement and passes the cor-
responding data to a central controller. A further test was
conducted at the Thanet wind farm in the summer. This
time, the TAS was mounted on an 18-metre catamaran
from CWind. “The system achieved good compensation
of the vertical movement and is simply a top solution,”
says CWind Fleet Manager Lee Child in praise of the
engineers. Nevertheless, he can see two hairs in the
soup: “Firstly the price, and then the weight.”
Lots of ideas, but only few customersPerhaps he will soon be able to try out the more favour-
ably priced solution of the second competition winner,
the Autobrow personnel transfer system from Otso and
Ad Hoc Marine Designs, which is expected to cost only
around £ 250,000. That, at least, is the price target of
Otso Director Mark Warren. And it is at the same time
why the designers are concentrating their attention
on essential necessities. Their system will weigh only
around one tonne, and is to be brought aboard packed in
a mobile container. That serves to maximise flexibility.
According to Otso, it only takes 10 minutes to connect
the ready-to-use system to the on-board hydraulics.
From the technical point of view, it consists similar-
ly of a gangway, but only two hydraulic cylinders. They
serve to compensate exclusively the vertical motions dur-
ing transfer. “Everything else is too expensive, too heavy
and very complex in its practical handling. If you want to
MaXccess is one of many systems for smaller ships
that were tested by siemens.
Perhaps a new star on our horizon. the first tests
with tAs in British windparks were conducted
without a hitch.
Phot
o: S
iem
ens
Phot
o: H
ould
er
37
logistics & oPerAtions | AcceSS SySteMS
accommodate for absolutely all motions, you should per-
haps look at the system from Momac,” as Warren recently
mentioned in an interview for Ship & Boat International.
It seems that quite a few operators took up that re-
commendation, though without actually opening their
wallets. The Momac system is to date the only fully
functional electrical system. The heart of the system is
an industrial robot which compensates all movements
of the vessel in real time and fully automates the per-
sonnel transfer by basket. The Mots 500 for service ves-
sels weighs 3.4 t and offers a reach of 3.5 m in front
of the bows. A larger variant with gangway for DP ves-
sels achieves a reach of 5 m and weighs 5.7 t. Easily
€ 1 million was spent on development of the prototype.
“There is no shortage of interest being shown in the
different access systems, but the market is not prepared
to actually pay for the available solutions,” says Momac
Managing Director Stefan Leske. That has also led to a
change of approach. “We are happy to take on the devel-
opment risk, but not that for marketing. Consequently,
potential customers must provide a suitable vessel on
which are system can be tested,” he says.
interest and experienceThomas Boekholt is similarly unable to complain about a
lack of interest. As Head of R&D of the Fassmer Group, he
likewise favours an electrical system, and already has the
design for a Smart Access System (SAS) with an output
rating of 40 kW in the drawer. “In contrast to a hydrau-
lic system, an electrical solution delivers its full power
immediately,” he says. The SAS is again based around a
gangway, and uses three motors to compensate the ves-
sel motions. “The gangway, however, is not extendable.
Instead, we adjust the system on board so that it is posi-
tioned correctly relative to the boat landing, and no longer
dock directly to the structure. Our solution can also be
mounted on smaller vessels.” That is by all means an im-
portant point, because many captains are loathe to place
their trust in the hydraulic grippers which must hug their
vessel to the boat landing in all weathers and seas.
The only manufacturer to record any real success
so far is Ampelmann Operations from the Netherlands.
Rental
Pronomar
Pronomar
Prohold
Some 35 Ampelmann systems are already in use and
have together clocked up over 800,000 safe transfers.
In most cases, this refers to crew transfers from large
DP II vessels, because the system with its six cylinders
and a 20 to 25 metre long gangway is already quite
large and heavy in its basic version. In return, however,
the technology offers a luxurious “walk to work”, as it
compensates significant wave heights up to 3 metres
with absolute ease.
The only catch is that these systems cannot be
purchased, but only rented for a hefty fee. According to
information from the market, a six-figure sum is due for
a year’s use. On the bottom line, that is quite an attrac-
tive business model, but one which above all the gas and
oil industries are willing and able to afford.
Torsten Thomas
38 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Phot
os (3
): Si
emen
s
Playing it safeOffshore converter platforms have to guarantee the highest levels of operation safety under maritime conditions. Accordingly powerful fire-detection and fire-extinguishing systems play a key role here.
f our huge wind
farm clusters are
currently under
construction off the German North
Sea coast: BorWin (off Borkum),
DolWin (near Dollart), HelWin (off
Helgoland) and SylWin (off Sylt).
All have one thing in common; high
voltage direct current transmission
lines (HVDC) are used. The conver-
sion of the three-phase alternating
current generated by the wind tur-
bines to direct current takes place
at sea on huge offshore converter
platforms. Currently, nine such
platforms are being constructed in
the North Sea for the German-Dutch
grid operator TenneT.
extreme conditionsThe extreme surrounding condi-
tions, with damp and salty air, call
for special solutions. The sea air
is kept away from the sensitive
equipment by a complicated air-
conditioning and ventilation system,
for example. But offshore platforms
also pose high and far from regular
challenges when it comes to avail-
ability and safety; mostly unmanned,
they run around the clock far off
the coast. This means that all the
systems must have full redundancy,
require low maintenance, and be re-
mote controlled. At the same time,
dangers and interruptions to opera-
tion must be reliably ruled out. Fire
prevention measures are of a high
importance here.
Siemens is supporting the trans-
mission grid operator TenneT as a
general contractor in five projects
and apart from supplying the HVDC
technology it is also providing build-
ing and safety technology solutions.
“For every type of environment re-
quiring protection there is a special
fire-protection and fire-extinguish-
ing concept, which has been jointly
logistics & operations | Fire PrOtectiOn
in cases of fire, gas, foam,
sprinkler and deluge extin
guishing systems are automati
cally activated. the extinguishing
system has inbuilt redundancy
with a reserve battery.
39
spotlight | titel GeSchichte
The two high-power transform-
ers are a further sensitive area with
a high risk of causing a fire. Siemens
has implemented a multi-step fire
protection and extinguishing con-
cept for this. “It is important to
choose suitable extinguishing sys-
tems. Depending on the site, a foam
extinguishing system may or may
not be implemented, for example.
To put out electrically caused fires
– the greatest risk on an offshore
converter platform – gas extinguish-
ing systems can be used,” explains
Schütz.
The various fire detectors thus
control different fire-extinguishing
systems depending on the type
of fire, and put the fire out using
inert gas or foam depending on the
requirements. Not only should the
fire be optimally dealt with, but
the rest of the platform should be
optimally protected too.
Nico Strüfing
nico strüfing is
overall project Man
ager for offshore
converter platforms
at siemens Build
ing technologies
Division.
right fire protection, the weather
and environmental conditions and
their effects on the technology
must be taken into consideration,
so that false alarms can be kept to
an absolute minimum on the mostly
unmanned platforms, he adds.
On SylWin alpha smoke detec-
tors, multi-sensor detectors, gas
detectors, aspirating smoke detec-
tors, plus infrared and ultraviolet
flame detectors thus monitor the
entire platform for all conceivable
causes of fires. In the case of a fire,
a comprehensive range of gas, foam,
sprinkler and deluge fire-extinguish-
ing systems are automatically acti-
vated. Video monitoring and access
controls complement the security
system. All the data is visualised and
sent to the control centre onshore
for remote control and maintenance.
From there, cameras can be zoomed
in, for example, or pumps control-
led for fire extinguishing. The ex-
tinguishing system has redundancy
built in with a reserve battery and
can also be reset remotely.
focussing on the transformer system The transformer units in the convert-
er halls, where AC is converted to DC,
make up a particularly sensitive area.
Infrared and ultraviolet flame detec-
tors can identify arc faults and switch
off the converter before a fire or more
serious damage occurs. Additionally,
an access control system makes sure
that nobody may be present while
the system is running.
19 fire detection centres cover all the
firefighting areas and have networked
redundancy with each other in
accordance with norm en54.
designed by the operators, insurance
companies, the responsible authori-
ties and the fire brigade,” says Ralf
Jock, Senior Consultant Sales and
Marketing at the Siemens Build-
ing Technologies Division. “Among
other things, the expected dangers
and fire risks were analysed for this.
Protection targets and suitable fire-
protection and fire-extinguishing
systems were derived from this
for each area,” adds his colleague
Joachim Schütz, Senior Consultant
Strategic Marketing.
sylWin alpha is setting new standardsOne of the largest offshore converter
platforms constructed by Siemens to
date was put up at the wind farm
site SylWin. The SylWin alpha plat-
form, which with its cranes and ex-
tensions is 67 m high, 56 m wide
and 83 m long, was manufactured at
the Rostock-Warnemünde shipyard
by Nordic Yards. SylWin alpha sets
new standards not only in terms of
its dimensions, but also in its safety
and building technology. According
to Siemens the concept implement-
ed there is the most comprehensive
of its type so far. By using a combi-
nation of different technologies and
systems, the greatest possible plat-
form availability is to be achieved.
“For the early detection of smoke
we use optical smoke detectors and
for the quick detection of heat, rapid
temperature rises and smoke we
use so-called multi-sensor detec-
tors,” says Jock. When choosing the
40 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Dong Energy has
confidence in the
energy turnaround
and has acquired a
number of projects.
Construction is under
way on the first wind
farm Riffgrund.
the second wave is rolling inFor a long time, the German offshore market was considered an important anchor for the industry. Then, political decisions spooked international financiers and burned a big hole in the value chain. Policy makers have now cleared up the confusion and investors are coming out of hiding again.
Phot
o: D
ong
Ener
gy
politiCs & businEss | GErmany
41
i nvestors no longer trust
German politics. During
the past three years, hopes
were built up and then
dashed by abrupt changes
in direction by the government in Berlin. In the midst
of the discussion about the rising cost of electricity
caused by the development of renewable energy, which
overshadowed everything else, the offshore wind in-
dustry was trampled underfoot. The debates about sig-
nificantly delayed grid connections and liability issues
for the transmission system operators, which remained
unresolved for a long time, were equally damaging.
For this reason, investors decided to wait and see
whether the promises that the new German government
was making verbally could also be found in writing in the
new EEG directive, which has been in effect since August.
It is true that the new EEG has reduced expansion tar-
gets for offshore wind. However, policymakers have now
provided the framework that everyone was waiting for.
Current remuneration rates will remain valid in an almost
unchanged state until 2019. Payment will either come in
the form of an increased remuneration of 19.4 €-ct./kWh
over eight years, which already includes a bonus for the
mandatory direct marketing of the electricity generated,
or as a basic remuneration. This version provides for
15.4 €-ct./kWh to be paid over a period of 12 years. How-
ever, the industry did have to swallow one bitter pill: Re-
muneration for wind farms that are connected to the grid
after 2018 will decrease by between 0.5 and 1 €-ct./kWh.
This explains why investors are in a hurry to get back
in on the action. „Together with Vattenfall, we will use this
framework immediately to begin building the offshore
wind farm Sandbank in 2015,“ says Florian Bieberbach,
Chairman of Management at Stadtwerke München.
The two partners will be channelling investments of
€ 1.5 billion into a new German project after the DanTysk
wind farm project.
There have also been other positive reports
concerning new investment decisions since September.
The financially stricken company RWE AG is apparently
quite happy with its role as a junior partner in its own
project Nordsee One and has transferred an 85 % stake
in the 1,000 MW project to Northland Power. Construc-
tion on the first section, which will have a capacity of
332 MW, is scheduled to start in 2016 and will cost
€ 1.2 billion, most of which will be shouldered by the
Canadian energy provider.
hotly-traded and caught out in the coldThe deal was mediated by the international law firm CMS
Hasche Sigle. The firm also provides consulting services
to the British Laidlaw Capital Group, which acquired the
remnants of the failed offshore pioneer Bard. It already
owns the rights to the project Deutsche Bucht and also
purchased the project Veja Mate shortly after the new EEG
came into effect. „Now that we have reliable framework
conditions, the second wave is rolling in. This is a very pos-
itive development, but it cannot hide the fact that new fi-
nancial decisions were postponed for a period of more than
two years due to political uncertainties. This is becoming
a problem for suppliers and manufacturers,“ says Knud
Rehfeldt, Director of the Offshore Wind Energy Foundation
and Managing Director of Deutsche WindGuard.
His company regularly provides statistics on the
expansion of wind energy. The situation looks good for
the first phase of the German offshore projects. Currently,
there are four wind farms with 628 MW connected to the
grid, a further seven projects with 3,224 MW are under
construction, and two finished wind farms with 830 MW
are waiting for a grid connection. If all goes well, then
there should be a capacity of at least 1,000 MW connected
to the grid by the end of the year, and a further 1,500 MW
in 2015. WindGuard has calculated that there are currently
199 finished turbines sitting in the North Sea without a
grid connection and that 315 foundations were driven into
the seabed by mid-2014.
This means that the industry will most likely be able to
achieve the politically-adjusted goal of 6,500 MW by 2020.
After that, an additional annual capacity of 800 MW will be
constructed to achieve a nominal power of 15 GW by 2030.
This is only half as much as the previous target. „Of course,
the new EEG has positive effects that we are already seeing
politics & business
42 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
now. But the industry is not getting the orders it needs and
the lower goals do not exactly inspire mental images of
building up or restarting an industry,“ says Ronny Meyer,
Managing Director of the industry network WAB.
no industrial policy in sightHe has a point. The hole created by policymakers will run
its course through the entire value chain and leave its
traces. The dismissal of temporary workers and perma-
nent employees working short-time are some of the tan-
gible effects we are already seeing. Lower targets are not
necessarily the right medicine in this situation. „Reducing
the goals is not sustainable, especially since the energy is
definitely needed and Germany is an important market. In
order to reduce costs through industrialisation, we need
volume,“ Michael Hannibal says. This statement by the
CEO of Siemens Windpower hits two nails squarely on
the head with one blow. Siemens would have been quite
willing to build a factory in Germany if clear industrial
policy had pointed in this direction, as it does in France.
Political pressure on major players such as Siemens
is also growing in the UK because the country hardly
benefits at all from the enormous value chain. „Instead,
Siemens is building new factories in England to fulfil the
local content requirements,“ Jens Eckhoff, President of
the Offshore Foundation, complains. And from the per-
spective of the world market leader, this is only logical.
„There is no significant volume left over for new produc-
tion sites in Germany because we already have over half
of the objectives envisaged by 2020 in our order books,“
says Bernd Eilitz, spokesman for Siemens.
An EU-compliant free market economy is the status
quo in Germany, and the German value chain will have
to restructure itself in order to benefit from the next ex-
pansion wave. Government agencies are currently in the
process of meticulously preparing that new expansion
wave. The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic
Agency (BSH) has now issued a spatial offshore grid plan,
which reserves the cabling routes in the North and Baltic
Seas, as well as a grid development plan. For this, the
transmission system operators consult with the Federal
Grid Agency and determine which wind farms in which
offshore wind cluster will be the next to be connected
to the grid.
The Federal Grid Agency initiated a procurement
procedure in October for the last 1,722 MW of connec-
tion capacity available up through 2018. This remainder
is in high demand because lucrative funding conditions
still apply. If there is overbooking in one of the clusters,
then the capacity will be auctioned in a second process.
In order to achieve the objective of 6.5 GW by 2020 at all,
the Federal Grid Agency has approval to toss connection
capacity of 7.7 GW onto the market as a buffer.
Better late than neverThis veneer of order and planned economy comes at a
late point in time. The grid operator TenneT, which is
responsible for the North Sea, is already complaining
about a huge 3 GW hole and will not commission any
new converters during the next two years. These 3 GW
are the gap between grid connections that have already
been commissioned and offshore wind farms that are ready
to be built: Financing for many approved wind farms was
delayed due to the controversies surrounding the EEG.
One example is the HVDC converter BorWin gamma
with 900 MW installed capacity, which has already been
commissioned. The only wind farm connected to it is
Strabag SE‘s Albatros. Originally, the construction compa-
ny intended to test ten gravity foundations there as well as
build a factory in Cuxhaven. Even though Strabag threw in
the towel in 2013, it still holds the rights to the project.
And those rights might now be worth something again.
„The legislature has now paved the way for investment
certainty for offshore wind farms. Next year will show
whether this is sufficient to close the existing gap between
grid connection capacity and wind turbines,“ says Wilfried
Breuer, Managing Director for the offshore business area
at TenneT.
Torsten Thomas
leaving the port fully loaded: RWE innogy reached
the halfway mark in mid-october and has completed
the installation of the first 24 wind turbines.
Phot
o: r
WE
Inno
gy
On a firm
footing
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One goal,
many paths
turbines
All nicely
shared out
The offshore wind industry needs a
solid foundation. The sector has made
great strides in technology, but policy
is struggling to keep up.
www.offshore-wind-industry.com · Issue 2013 · No. 01 · € 24
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On a firm
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solid foundation. The sector has made
great strides in technology, but policy
is struggling to keep up.
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44 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
politics & business | Cost reduCtion
Many regard cost savings of
40 % as the necessary target
in order to make offshore wind
energy competitive.
how to do itin a manifesto, dnV GL shows how the costs for offshore wind energy can be reduced by 25 %. “doing it right”, “doing it better” and “doing it differently” are the strategies.
Gra
phic
: dn
V G
LAndreas Schröter, Executive Vice
President – Renewables Certification
at DNV GL says that the complex of
measures “Doing it right” can con-
tribute cost savings of 7 % through
the definition of standards for in-
stallation and operation. “Doing it
better” describes, a savings potential
of a further 6 %, for example through
optimised monopiles. Finally, he
sees cost-saving potential of another
12 % under the heading “Doing it
differently”. Here, he names floating
turbines as an example.
The cost-reduction strate-
gies outlined in the manifesto are
categorised into three basic types:
“Doing it right” (by mitigating risk
and increasing certainty), “Doing it
better” (by improving the efficiency
of existing processes) and “Doing
it differently” (by innovating for
the future). According to DNV GL,
working with industry partners, the
actions the company commits itself
to in the manifesto have the poten-
tial to achieve reductions in the cost
of energy of up to 25 %.
i ndustry action on
reducing costs is
widely regarded as
essential to secure the future of off-
shore wind energy. “Offshore Wind:
A Manifesto for Cost Reduction” pre-
sented by DNV GL at WindEnergy
Hamburg goes beyond simply list-
ing and quantifying the cost-saving
potentials: the manifesto defines
the challenges and formulates 14
specific self-obligations through
which DNV GL intends to combat
the most important problems.
If these savings were also
combined with other trends such as
improved supply chain efficiency,
DNV GL thinks that a cost reduc-
tion of 40 % would be possible.
This is exactly the target regarded
by many stakeholders as the level
required to safeguard the future of
the industry.
“This is about securing the future
of offshore wind energy. Achieving
cost reduction is about more than
just new technology and innovation.
It also requires us to get the basics
right, which means getting people
together, assessing the issues in de-
tail and defining best practice”, said
CEO of DNV GL – Energy, David
Walker. He warns against seeing
this as “incremental or even un-
glamorous”. This is exactly what a
maturing industry looks like and it
is exactly what is required to drive
down costs, he thinks. And Walker
has good news: “We are seeing signs
of progress but we need to do much
more as an industry.”
Katharina Garus
The manifestoThe document contains 14 specific pledges across a wide range of
topics from reducing subsea cable installation risks through to acceler-
ating the commercialisation of floating offshore wind technology:
Doing it right:
•Launchajointindustryproject(JIP)toimprovemarineoperationsin
both the installation and operation phases;
•CompleteacableinstallationJIPwhichfollowsonfromourrecently
published recommended practice guide on tackling subsea cable risks;
•Helptoshareoperationsdataasakeytechnicaladvisortothe
SPARTAinitiative(SystemPerformance,AvailabilityandReliability
TrendAnalysis);
•Providetheindustrywithinterfaceriskmanagement;
•Implementamethodologyforassessingcrewtransfertechnologies
and techniques;
•HelptoensurethesafeandeffectiveapplicationofHVDCtechnology;
Doing it better:
•Launch“OffshoreUNITED”–aJIPtodrivecollaborativeandinte
gratedapproachestoprojectdevelopment,designandengineering;
•Optimisemonopiledesignstandards;
•Deliverbettersitedesignthroughanenhancedrangeofplanning
and optimisation tools;
•Helptheindustryoptimisethesizingofexportelectricalsystems;
•Helpmovejacketfabricationtowardsserialproductionmethods;
Doing it differently:
•UsetheFORCE–acollaborativeR&Dprojecttoshowhowcost
reductionpotentialcanbeappliedtoarealworldproject;
•Continuetopushthetechnologicallimitsofturbinedesign–
especiallywithregardtolargerturbines;and,
•Continuetodrivethecommercialisationoffloatingwindturbines.
source: dnV GL
Providing answers to your questions
Offshore Wind IntelligenceComplete service featuring specifications, development dates and supply chain for planned and commissioned projects.
Submarine Cable Consultancy Experienced marine consultants committed to mitigating issues raised by route design, installation and operation.
Market AnalysisTailored reports to help secure your future in the offshore wind industry: - market share, forecasts, political policy and more.
www.4coffshore.com |+44 (0) 1502 307037
46 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
events
t he WindEnergy exhibition, which took
place in Hamburg for the first time after
there had been a disagreement between
Husum and Hamburg,
has clearly proven its
internationality: More
than 33,000 trade visitors
from around the world
had an opportunity to
see new innovations by
1,250 exhibitors from
33 countries. A third of
the visitors came from
abroad to Hamburg, in-
cluding 24 delegations
from 22 countries. “Both
the companies that rep-
resent the industry as
well as the visitors have
clearly shown that they
recognise Hamburg
as an optimal location
for this leading global
trade fair,” says Bernd
Aufderheide, Chairman of Management at
Hamburg Messe und Congress. “The industry immedi-
ately accepted WindEnergy Hamburg as the new lead-
ing international trade fair. Many exhibitors congratu-
lated us on the very successful premiere,” Aufderheide
summed it up.
Among other things, visitors praised the good op-
portunities to establish international contacts at the
exhibition, the comprehensive presentation of inno-
vations and the attractive location in Hamburg. The
subject of storage technology, which was also show-
cased at the accompanying trade fair H2Expo, attracted
great interest. The lectures were very well-attended.
According to a representative survey of visitors by
an independent market research institute, half of the
visitors belonged to the decision-making level of their
companies. Visitors to the WindEnergy Hamburg were
equally interested in the onshore and offshore areas.
Manufacturers of wind turbines were the focus of at-
tention, closely followed by research and development.
Numerous exhibitors expressed satisfaction at the
highly professional orientation of the visitors.
Katharina Garus
Tailor-made premiereFor four days, the WindEnergy trade fair hosted the wind industry in Hamburg for the first time instead of Husum. Both the organisers as well as the exhibitors were pleased.
Phot
o: d
pa
The WindEnergy Hamburg was well
attended and the mood was good.
47dates
Offshore-Repowering ConferenceNovember 11, 2014
Leer, Germany
Decision-makers from business and politics should be set
early on the challenges to repower offshore wind turbines.
The conference will provide expert opinions on selected
topics with regard to the repowering process, including
decommissioning.
www.mariko-leer.de/news/termine
RenewableUK 2014 November 11 – 13, 2014
Manchester, England
The UK’s Premier Renewable Energy Event. Widely
recognised as the renewables event to attend in the UK –
the flagship event covering wave & tidal energy, small &
medium wind systems, onshore and offshore wind.
www.renewableuk.com/en/events/conferences-and
-exhibitions/renewableuk-2014
13th Wind Integration WorkshopNovember 11 – 13, 2014
Berlin, Germany
The 13th International Workshop on Large-Scale
Integration of Wind Power into Power Systems as
well as on Transmission Networks for Offshore Wind.
Power Plants will be held in Berlin, directly after the 4th
International Workshop on Integration of Solar Power into
Power Systems.
www.windintegrationworkshop.org
Subsea Power Cables Installa-tion for Offshore RenewablesNovember 19 – 20, 2014
London, England
The fundamentals of power cable design, installation,
protection and repair in marine environments.
www.ibcenergy.com/event/subsea-power-cables
Offshore Substations SeminarDecember 8 – 9, 2014
London, England
Specific focus on the future of converter stations for
offshore wind farms: update on designs, installation and
maintenance.
www.ibcenergy.com/event/Offshore-substations-seminar
Health & Safety 2015 January 29, 2015
Birmingham, England
Celebrating its 11th year, the industry’s premier health and
safety event will gather together over 200 industry H&S
professionals. RenewableUK anticipates running parallel
onshore & offshore sessions.
www.renewableuk.com/en/events/conferences-and-
exhibitions/health-safety-2015
WINDFORCE Baltic SeaFebruary 4 – 5, 2015
Helsinki, Finland
The two day conference targets on experiences and ques-
tions concerning offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea.
www.windforcebalticsea.com
EWEA OffshoreMarch 10 – 12, 2015
Copenhagen, Denmark
EWEA Offshore is the world’s largest offshore wind en-
ergy conference and exhibition. The biennial event unites
the whole of the wind energy supply chain under one roof.
www.ewea.org/offshore2015
Hannover Messe WINDApril 13 – 17, 2015
Hannover, Germany
As part of the world leading industry traid fair, WIND
presents all systems, components and services for wind
energy applications.
www.hannovermesse.de
Phot
o: W
AB
internal
48 offshore Wind industry 2|2012
Just one year after the successful “China 2013”
journey of innovation, a delegation of WAB members
set off once again on 14 September to find out about
the wind industry market in another country.
Led by Ronny Meyer, Managing Director of
WAB and germanwind, the week-long trip this time
was to Great Britain. In the delegation were various
representatives from Germany’s wind industry
and the Bremen Economic Development company
Wirtschaftsförderung n Bremen (WFB). Visiting two
offshore wind clusters, East of England and Hull and
Humber, WAB members were provided insight into the
English offshore wind market. The visit was designed
to develop contacts with potential project partners and
Trip with a speedboat to
offshore windfarm Scroby
Sands
Offshore wind clusters visited during the 2014 trip
to England
WAB members learn about England’s offshore wind market
49
Register now to make sure of your early booking discount!
encourage new cooperative ventures with English
businesses. Supporting the journey from the British
side were the cluster organisations OrbisEnergy
and East of England Energy Group as well as Team
Humber Marine Alliance.
This year, too, the programme was very diverse.
Together with a gala dinner and B2B events, the
agenda also included business presentations
and excursions to port facilities. Visits to British
companies and institutes engaged in the offshore
wind industry, such as E.ON UK, Sembmarine
SLP, Associated British Ports, Siemens, Able UK,
OrbisEnergy and Tata Steel, were a particularly
important component of the programme.
The third WINDFORCE Baltic Sea conference will be
held on 4 and 5 February 2015. This time the venue
is the Finnish capital, Helsinki.
For two days, the development of offshore wind
energy in the Baltic Sea region will be the focus of
talks and discussions. Representatives from S weden,
Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and
Finland will provide an overview of the current
situation in their countries. WAB members enjoy
favourable terms. The early booking discount applies
until 31 October 2014. We look forward to welcoming
you to Helsinki! For information and registration go to
www.windforcebalticsea.com.
About wAb and germanwind
The WAB Wind Energy Agency is
the leading business network for the wind energy
industry in Germany’s northwest region and
is the national point of contact for the offshore
wind energy sector in Germany.
www.wab.net
As a project company and wholly-
owned subsidiary of WAB, germanwind initi-
ates and coordinates innovative projects in wind
energy.
www.germanwind.info
Follow WAB and germanwind on
50 offshore Wind industry 4|2014
Fit for the jobBad for some, good for others: whilst offshore wind energy
companies increasingly complain about a lack of suitable
personnel, training centres see the situation as a good
opportunity.
EWEA OffshoreThe year has not yet begun but the first big event is on the
horizon. EWEA Offshore in Copenhagen will be a test of the
situation for the new year and will show the industry where
it is heading in 2015.
The next issue will be published on February 2, 2015For further information see www.offshorewindindustry.com
Tough cookiesThey not only have to transport the components
of wind turbines in a way that takes up the least
space, they also have to install them. Installation
ships have to be absolute all-rounders.
outlookPh
oto:
Min
es R
escu
e
Phot
o: V
atte
nfal
l
Phot
o: E
WEA
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