The innovative suction-installed foundations that represent the
first stage of construction at the world's largest offshore wind
farm are now on their way to the site at Dogger Bank, 125
kilometres off the UK's east coast.
The structures, known as Bucket Foundations, will support two
meteorological masts that will provide essential weather
information. They were developed by Danish firm Universal
Foundation - a Fred. Olsen-related company - through The Carbon
Trust's Offshore Wind Accelerator
programme, which takes the best designs for offshore wind turbine
foundations from design through to deployment.
"This is the first deployment of the Bucket Foundation in UK
waters," said Phil De Villiers, head of the OWA programme. "We're
excited about what this means for offshore wind development. The
foundations represent 30% of the total cost of a wind farm.
Reducing the capital and installation costs could really make an
impact on the viability of future projects."
Dogger Bank is being developed by Forewind Limited - a
consortium comprised of leading international energy companies RWE,
SSE, Statkraft and Statoil. With agreements already in place for
the development of six wind farms, the group hopes to have up to
9.6GW of output by 2020.
"This is certainly a momentous occasion for us," said Lee
Clarke, Forewind project director and general manager. "The
foundations will be the first structure put in place at the Dogger
Bank site. It's a sign that this project is really beginning to
take shape."
The met masts and foundations were fabricated by Fred.
Olsen-related companies under an EPCI contract between Forewind and
Fred. Olsen United. They are being ferried to the site from the new
Harland and Wolff fabrication plant in Belfast by Fred. Olsen
Windcarrier's 132m jack-up vessel Brave Tern. This was the
inaugural job for the Brave Tern, which was built in Dubai last
year.
"It's wonderful to see the Brave Tern and its cargo underway,"
said Fred. Olsen United project manager Lars Kjuul Kristensen.
"We're so pleased to be playing a vital role right at the start of
this major development."
The met masts themselves are set to be installed towards the
middle of February.
Photo: Forewind/CHPV
About Forewind and Dogger Bank:
The international energy consortium Forewind is developing the
largest tranche of the UK Government's Round 3 licence for offshore
wind farms at Dogger Bank, more than 100 kilometres off the east
coast of Yorkshire. The £3 bn project could potentially use
thousands of wind turbines to generate as much as 10 percent of
Britain's power needs. Installing meteorological masts is a key
part of assessing available wind capacity.
For more information: http://www.forewind.co.uk/downloads/fact-sheets.html
Forewind Press Office:
Tel: 0118 955 6463
E-mail: Sue.Vincent@forewind.co.uk
About the Carbon Trust's Offshore Wind Accelerator:
Set up in 2008, the OWA is a joint industry project involving
Vattenfall, E.ON, DONG Energy, Mainstream Renewable Power, RWE
Innogy, ScottishPower Renewables, SSE Renewables, Statkraft and
Statoil, which aims to reduce the cost of offshore wind by 10
percent by 2015. The OWA model brings together The Carbon Trust's
expertise in delivering innovation and convening industry
consortiums with the industrial partners' technical knowledge and
resources. It is through both desk-based and demonstration projects
that the OWA plans to commercialise innovative ideas in time for
use on UK Round 3 wind farms.
The OWA is two-thirds funded by industry and one-third funded by
the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). For more
information: www.carbontrust.com/our-clients/o/offshore-wind-accelerator
The Carbon Trust press office:
Tel: 020 7170 7050
E-mail: press@carbontrust.com