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www.offshorewindindustry.com · Issue 2015 · No. 04 · € 24
NETHERLANDS
Capacities to be auctioned
INSTALLATION
Market overview of vessels
WIND INDUSTRYWIND INDUSTRYOff shore
Powered by
TURBINES
Thinkingbig
NETHERLANDSINSTALLATION TURBINES
Dwindling dominance
Monopile foundations currently dominate the market. But their dominance is dwindling, especially as jackets may become competitively priced thanks to new fastening technologies.
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Innovative marine & offshore solutions
• Drilling and piling of large diameter monopiles• Installation of transition pieces• Jacket installation (pre-piling / post-piling)• Grouting activities• Wind turbine erection• Installation works with Jack-Up platforms• Foundation and wind turbine logistics• EPCI contracts• Accommodation units• Directional drilling
1. Heavy Lift Vessel ‘Innovation’ installing XL Monopiles and Transition Pieces at the Westermost Rough project (UK).
2. The Jack-Up ‘Neptune’ installing Monopiles and Transition pieces on the Northwind project (BE).
3. ‘Neptune’ installing Wind Turbines at the Thornton Bank project (BE).
GeoSea nvMember of the DEME GroupHaven 1025 - Scheldedijk 30 . B-2070 Zwijndrecht, Belgium T +32 3 250 53 12 . F +32 3 250 55 [email protected] . www.deme-group.com/geosea
Corporate_GeoSea_adv_200x280.indd 1 15/10/15 11:03
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3
Katharina Garus
Editor
editorial
C hinese companies are pushing onto the
offshore wind power market. Sany, a Chi-
nese mechanical engineering company
and wind turbine manufacturer, has handed over a
Green Energy Commitment to the Indian Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi. By 2020 the company wants
to put 3 billion US dollars into offshore wind power
technology . Sany aims to implement 2,000 MW of
renewable energy projects in India. The company will
bring in “relevant expertise, operational excellence and
global best practices for development of renewable
energy”, Sany claims in a statement.
It was also made public recently that China Three
Gorges Corporation, one of the largest energy com-
panies in the world, has agreed with the Portuguese
energy company EDPR to purchase up to 30 % of the
shares of Moray Offshore Renewables (MORL). MORL
is currently 100 % owned by EDPR and is developing an
offshore wind farm in the Scottish bay of Moray Firth.
The 1,000 MW project still has to come out of the next
CfD round successfully, however.
While Chinese companies are busily pushing onto
new offshore wind power markets, the Chinese market
itself remains poorly accessible to foreign companies.
Samuel Leupold from Dong Energy also reports on this,
and you can read the interview on page 122.
Leupold does not wish to complain about this,
though. Instead, he looks towards alternatives, for
Dong Energy certainly wishes to expand globally. The
company has an eye on the USA – obviously, as well
as Taiwan. The market there seems to be developing
into a promising market faster than in other places and
European companies can score points there especially
thanks to their track records.
But it would certainly be wrong to think that the Eu-
ropeans were the only ones to have discovered this up-
and-coming market. Taiwan will also be looking prom-
ising to the Chinese, especially as Chinese companies
can score over the Europeans in terms of proximity . For
Europeans wishing to get a foothold in the Taiwanese
offshore wind business there is thus one main priority:
to move quickly.
It pays to be fast
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4 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
project update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
imprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
interview
Samuel Leupold, Dong Energy
OWI spoke with Samuel Leupold, CEO at Dong Energy
Wind Power, about the company’s planned IPO as well
as the future orientation of the company. . . . . . . . . . . . 12
spotlight foundations
Upside down
Monopile or jacket? That’s not the only question when
it comes to foundations. Upside down buckets are
making a comeback in foundation fixing. They have
already demonstrated their suitability. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Simple but clever
The principle of gravity foundations may be simple
but they are having a hard time gaining a foothold in
the market. A new concept with sand silos providing
anchorage aims to change this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
science & technology
Thinking big
The offshore market is currently a heady mix of top
marks for performance and rotor diameters on the one
hand and mergers on the other. The purpose is the
same: slashing costs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
logistics & operationsTime is money
The construction of offshore wind farms has become a
routine activity, but it still takes too long. In order to
save time it is necessary to define technically feasible
limits for the individual stages of the process. . . . . . 26
Gloves are not just gloves
The working gear worn for offshore work is not just
a question of comfort – it’s important for safety. This
is true of marine abandonment suits and even of
gloves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
politics & business
Under pressure
Insurance premiums for the construction phase of
offshore wind farms are falling. The prospect of good
business with just a moderate risk of losses is attracting
new insurance companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Going once, going twice, sold!
The Dutch government will be auctioning off 700 MW
of offshore wind power annually until 2019. The
tender process will begin in 2016. This means that
the offshore wind industry is off to a fresh start. . . . 42
events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
wab internal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
contents
Phot
o: S
wire
Blu
e O
cean
Cove
r ph
oto:
Bilf
inge
r M
arin
e &
Off
shor
e Sy
stem
s
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Think inside the box
Meet us at EWEA 2015 in ParisNov. 17-20th
booth M01
AD_SWT-7.0-154_200x280_EWEA_RZ.indd 1 14.10.15 12:51
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E.ON has inaugurated Humber Gateway. 73 turbines of type V112 from Vestas are installed.
VBMS has started inner park cable laying at Sandbank.
All Vestas turbines at 50 MW Kentish Flats Extension feed power to the grid.
EEW has received an order for 51 monopiles for the 165 MW Belwind 2 wind farm. Jan De Nul will de-velope the project on behalf of Nobelwind.
Siemens and Fluor together have to pay a £ 650,000 fine because of a fatal accident and one person seriously injured during installation work at Greater Gabbard.
WIND INDUSTRY
and one person seriously injured during installation work at work at work at Greater Gabbard
WIND INDUSTRYOff shore
6 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
Construction work on the 400 MW Rampion wind farm has started. The first monopiles are planned to be set in January 2016.
VBMS has completed two 1,170-metre long horizon-tal directional drillings at the landfall for Dudgeon offshore wind farm.
DeepOcean will provide installation and trenching works for Dong Energy’s Walney Extension and EEW will deliver the 87 foundations.
The authorities have refused permission for Navitus Bay. The reason is the visibility from the UNESCO protected coast of Dorset. The project is no longer expected to be built.
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Project update
Eneco has opened the 129 MW Luchterduinen wind farm. A total of 43 Vestas turbines of type V112 are installed.
At Anholt’s 25 km long export cable repair works are running. This is estimated to take one month.
Bard Offshore 1 is running again at full speed. The disturbances in the electrical connection lasted for over a year. Dutch offshore contractor
Van Oord has finalised the installation of the 150 foundations at Gemini. The first offshore transformer station is on place.
The last of a total of 97 monopiles for Gode Wind 1 and 2 are set. FoundOcean has completed grouting.
The 288 MW Butendiek wind farm has been inaugu-rated. It took 15 months to build it and it took 15 years until construction could have started.
EnBW celebrated the commissioning of Baltic 2. 80 turbines of type SWT-3.6-120 from Siemens are installed.
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier takes over transportation and installation of the 5 MW turbines from Adwen for the 350 MW Wikinger wind farm. Construction is supposed to start in the beginning of 2017.
in operation
partially in operation
under construction
planned
7
Dong Energy has offi-cially inaugurated Borkum Riffgrund 1. 78 turbines of type SWT-3.6-120 from Siemens are installed.
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8 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
Adwen and Fraunhofer IWES have
signed an agreement to test the
drive train for Adwen’s 8 MW
turbine at IWES’s DyNaLab test
stand in Bremerhaven.
The DyNaLab (Dynamic
Nacelle Testing Laboratory) is
one of the world’s largest and the
most versatile test facility for na
celle testing. It was inaugurated on
October 20th. Fraunhofer IWES has
invested around € 35 million over
the past years to design and build
the facility. “We expect to offer the
wind industry valuable support
for a more reliable design process
and faster secure market introduc
tion of new wind turbines,” says
Jan Wenske, Deputy Director of
Fraunhofer IWES.
The testing for Adwen will
cover mechanical testing on the
integral chain of drive train com
ponents. By simulating operational
conditions as well as offshore con
ditions for extreme and fatigue
loads, a critical move forward will
be achieved in the verification of
gearbox, bearings, couplings, shaft,
generator and converter. The pro
cess will allow individual and fully
inte grated subsystems’ validation
as well as complete drive train
operation at full power, paramount
for derisking before prototype
intstallation in 2016.
Adwen’s 8 MW turbine has al
ready been selected for a pipeline
of projects reaching almost 1.5 GW.
Its serial production is scheduled to
start in 2018, at Adwen’s industrial
sites in France and Germany. Phot
o: A
dwen
Mainstream has successfully concluded its negotia-
tions with Dong Energy for the sale of its remaining
interest in SMart Wind.
SMart Wind Ltd. offshore wind consortium is a
joint venture between Mainstream Renewable Power
and Siemens Financial Services, which was formed
in 2009 to successfully bid for and then to develop
the 4,000 MW Hornsea Offshore Wind Zone in the
UK North Sea as part of The Crown Estate’s Round 3.
Dong Energy bought the first phase of the Hornsea
Zone in February 2015 from Mainstream and Siemens
Financial Services. In acquiring SMart Wind, Dong
will continue the development of the remainder
of the Zone.
Mainstream concludes sale of SMart Wind to Dong Energy
The DyNaLab test
stand is one of the
world’s largest.
IWES tests Adwen’s 8 MW drive train
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9
RES and GES signed a strategic
alliance agreement, bringing to-
gether complementary skills and
common values to provide asset
management and O&M services
to the offshore wind industry.
Through the alliance, clients
can access asset management and
O&M services for offshore wind
turbines and balance of plants in
cluding transmission assets. The
alliance will also be able to deliver
and/or manage blade inspections
and maintenance campaigns, major
repairs and retrofits, subsea sur
veys, condition monitoring and re
liability and control room services.
Jim Sandon, COO of RES Off
shore, says: “With more than 3,000
staff maintaining over 12 GW of
assets, GES is providing reliable
onsite delivery at volume. Our off
shore and engineering expertise un
locks the market for GES to deploy
their considerable experience.”
Thorsten Kramer, CEO at GES
adds: “RES is turning offshore wind
into onshore delivery for GES. Their
asset and overall management ca
pabilities, together with their HSE
and technical support, combined
with our delivery record, is a formi
dable alliance with which to expand
into the offshore O&M market.”
On 14 September, OSB held its
official opening ceremony at the
facilities in Teesside, North East
England. Production of 16 transi-
tion pieces for the Dong Energy
Burbo Bank Extension project is
already up and running.
As OSB (Offshore Structures
Britain) is a joint venture between
EEW SPC and Bladt Industries, the
CEOs of both companies took part in
the opening of the site. “The first can
for one of the transition pieces OSB
is fabricating for the Burbo Bank
Extension was finished in August –
weeks ahead of schedule. OSB is a
key part of our European manufac
turing base and with the establish
ment of the site, we intend to further
strengthen our presence in the UK
market,” says Jan Kjaersgaard, CEO
of Bladt Industries.
RES and GES sign strategic agreement
OSB officially open
Phot
o: O
SB
The production is al-
ready running at the
OSB site in Teesside.
newsimprint Publishing company:BVA Bielefelder Verlag GmbH & Co. KG Richard KaselowskyNiederwall 5333602 BielefeldGermany
Publisher: Prof. Dr. Bernhard von Schubert
Editors:Dr. Volker Buddensiek (responsible)
Katharina Garus, Phone: +49/2 21/25 87 309 [email protected]
Freelance authors:Jörn Iken, Detlef Koenemann, Torsten Thomas
Advertising:Martin Haase, Phone: +49/5 21/59 55 [email protected]
Christine Michalsky, Phone: +49/5 21/59 55 [email protected]
Katharina Vötter, Phone: +49/5 21/59 55 [email protected]
Customer Service:Phone: +49/221/25 87 [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. Material in this publication may not be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any form without the publisher’s written permission.
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10 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
news
Energinet.dk and 50Hertz plan to establish a 400 MW
offshore interconnection between the Danish and
the German national power grids. The European
Commission has now granted the revised technical
layout for this world’s first offshore interconnection
that is using the national grid connections to offshore
wind farms.
The “Kriegers Flak – Combined Grid Solution” sees
a new interconnection between the Danish region of
Zealand and German MecklenburgWestern Pomerania.
It will have a capacity of 400 MW. Operation is planned
to start by the end of 2018.
Danish-German interconnector gets push forward
Overview over Kriegers Flak –
Combined Grid Solution
Germany already has two offshore wind farms in
the area, Baltic 1 (48 MW) and Baltic 2 (288 MW),
while Denmark is currently preparing to erect the off
shore wind farm Kriegers Flak (600 MW). Kriegers Flak
and Baltic 2 are located less than 30 km away from each
other and will be connected by two submarine cables to
establish the interconnector.
As eastern Denmark and Germany are two differ
ent synchronous areas, a frequency transformation is
necessary. This will be done by two voltage source con
verters (VSC) that convert the alternating current (AC)
from the Nordic synchronous area into direct current
(DC) and directly back to AC, now adapted to the Euro
pean synchronous area. The converters will be installed
in Bentwisch near Rostock, Germany. Placing the con
verters onshore is more costefficient and allows easier
maintenance compared to running the converters on
a separate offshore platform as it was foreseen in the
original concept.
“The new interconnection will allow producers and
consumers to buy and sell more power across the bor
ders. This adds more value to renewable energy and
the green transition”, says Peder Østermark Andreasen,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Energinet.dk.
Boris Schucht, Chief Executive Officer of 50Hertz,
says: “The approval by the European Commission
shows that cooperation between the European trans
mission system operators is the right answer to the
challenges of the energy transition. With the Combined
Grid Solution we create the nucleus for an offshore grid
in the Baltic Sea, a milestone in the development of
European grids.”
Kriegers Flak - Combined Grid Solution CGS Project Site (Interconnector) Converter Site (AC/DC) 400 kV Transformer Station (AC) 220 kV Transformer Station (AC) 150 kV Transformer Station (AC) 220 kV Cable 150 kV Cable
Denmark
Germany
Gra
phic
: 50H
ertz
/ Ene
rgie
net.d
k
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11
ZephIR Lidar announced the release of a fully-
marinised wind lidar – the ZephIR 300M. The new
device is based on the company’s established re-
mote wind measurement device, ZephIR 300, and is
intended for the offshore wind and meteorological
industries.
The ZephIR 300M provides wind measurements
between 10 m and 200 m and is ideal for offshore site
resource assessment, power curve measurements and
bankable Annual Energy Prediction (AEP) campaigns.
It includes as standard:
Rolls-Royce has been selected to design and equip a
new Service Operation Vessel (SOV) for shipowner
Østensjø Rederi. The vessel will support wind farm
operations at Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm for
Dong Energy.
The order of the UT 540 WP is the first for a new
ship design from RollsRoyce developed specifically
to support operations in shallow waters at offshore
wind farms. The vessel will serve as the base for wind
turbine technicians while they perform maintenance
work on Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm, off the coast
of Lincolnshire, UK.
Helge Gjerde, RollsRoyce, President Commercial
Marine, said, “We are delighted that Østensjø Rederi
and Dong Energy have chosen the new RollsRoyce UT
540 WP design against intense competition. As more
wind farms are built further from shore and in more
demanding conditions we see opportunities to use
our extensive offshore experience to diversify into an
exciting new market.”
ZephIR launches new offshore lidar
Rolls-Royce design for new SOV
ZephIR 300M is the
marinised version
of the well-known
ZephIR 300.
Rolls-Royce has designed the UT 540 WP
as new SOV.
> A three year warranty – the most extensive available
for a remote sensing device for offshore use;
> Optimised industrial design including high UV
stability housing, highest grade of marine connectors,
marine MET station for improved yaw detection;
> Upgraded cooling and air movement system offering
IP68 protection;
ZephIR Lidar can now also offer customers a non
exclusive license to the patentapproved application
of the technology to operate on an offshore floating
platform.
Gra
phic
: Rol
ls-R
oyce
Gra
phic
: Zep
hIR
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IntervIew | Dong EnErgy
12 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
OWI: The sale of shares to Goldman Sachs in 2013 was probably inevitable due to the financial difficulties that the company was experiencing at that time. However, Dong is now doing very well. Why do you want to go public now?Samuel Leupold: In 2013, the
goal was to strengthen the balance
sheet by increasing equity. The
energy turnaround meant that
things had to be written off that
still had value in the old energy
world, but no longer did in the
new one. There is a completely
dif ferent rationale behind an
IPO. It has nothing to do with
strengthening the balance sheet.
Shareholders simply sell their
shares to other people. Money
Dong energy intends to go public in one and a half years, at the latest. It will be the largest IPO in Danish history. OwI spoke with Samuel Leupold, CeO at Dong energy wind Power, about the company’s planned IPO as well as the future orientation of the company.
“Money does not flow into the company’s coffers”
does not flow into the company’s
coffers during this process.
OWI: In that case, what are Dong’s objectives with the IPO?Leupold: Actually, you would have
to talk to the owners about that. I
suppose Goldman or the Danish
government thinks the company
will have better growth opportuni-
ties if its shares are traded on the
stock market. This will make it
easier to raise additional capital in
the future. Another motive could
be that the government thinks that
it is not the best owner for an en-
ergy company that is increasingly
operating not just in Denmark,
but worldwide. This is a possible
motivation, particularly in a
political context. But I do not want
to speculate on what the deciding
factor was in this specific case.
OWI: Apropos “political con-text”: the deal with Goldman Sachs caused an uproar at home. Many Danes clearly want Dong to remain a state-owned enterprise. How will you deal with this?Leupold: For me as a non-Dane, it
is difficult to understand what ulti-
mately happened there. On the one
hand, I think people in Denmark
like the company’s Danish identity.
An IPO, however, does not neces-
sarily mean that the company will
become less Danish. Future share-
holders might include Danish pen-
sion funds, for example. Or Danish Phot
o: D
ong
Ener
gy
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13
is CeO at Dong energy wind Power. He has been a
member of Dong energy’s group management since
2013 and is responsible for the global wind power
business of the company.
Samuel Leupold
individuals might acquire shares.
An IPO does not mean that Dong
has to fall into foreign hands.
OWI: But it does seem like people identify strongly with Dong as a state-owned company.Leupold: Yes, that may be so. The
company itself is one thing; the
other is the issue of energy, where
many sensibilities are affected and
people are very emotional. Perhaps
people are afraid that the company
will become less environmentally
friendly due to the privatisation.
But that’s certainly not the case.
One of the reasons why Goldman
Sachs decided to become involved
with the company is precisely
because they appreciate the green
growth potential.
OWI: Up till now, offshore wind has been Dong’s tech-nology of choice in this field. Will this remain the case, or will the IPO and the new op-portunities change things?Leupold: Offshore wind and
biomass! We are converting
former coal-fired power plants
into biomass or at least partially
biomass-fired power plants. This is
one part. The other part is indeed
the expansion of offshore wind.
This strategy is certainly still valid.
We see our core competence in
these two areas, and we intend to
strengthen them.
OWI: You mentioned previ-ously that the IPO is also a step towards being more of a global player and less of a state-owned company. Which global markets for offshore wind energy are of interest in the future for Dong?Leupold: Generally speaking, even
a majority co-ownership by the
Danish State is not the opposite of
a global player. The Danish State
has proved in the past that it allows
the company the flexibility to do
business according to private sector
criteria. ‘State-owned company’ and
‘global player’ may well go hand in
hand. But to answer the question
whether Dong will expand or not:
yes, it will. This is particularly
true in the offshore sector. If we
want to remain number one, then
we need to go where the market
is and where it is accessible. We
recently made very careful steps
into the United States market. We
now have local representatives in
Massachusetts. Whether or not we
will be able to carry out projects
there is still an open question. The
political discussion regarding the
future energy supply system in
Massachusetts is still ongoing.
OWI: And what is your assessment of the Asian market?Leupold: It is also interesting.
I spent some time in China two
years ago and was able to see first-
hand. Offshore energy is already
a reality there and will certainly
continue to grow. The technical
challenges are different than here,
and the motivation certainly is
also. I think in China the real ques-
tion is whether the market will be
accessible for non-Chinese players.
Taiwan is also already relatively
far advanced. A2Sea for example
was awarded a first contract to con-
struct offshore turbines there.
OWI: Does this mean we will soon be seeing a tried and tested Danish cooperation in Taiwan?Leupold: At least one of A2Sea’s
ships including the company’s own
crew is getting in on the action
and will be constructing two test
turbines. I cannot make any state-
ments on the rest right now. But
it is true that if we look at Taiwan
and ask ourselves where offshore
wind is feasible outside of Europe,
then Taiwan is definitely an inter-
esting country.
The interview was conducted by
Katharina Garus.
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14 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
Phot
o: F
red.
Ols
en
Monopile or jacket? that’s not the only question when it comes to foundations. upside down buckets are making a comeback in foundation fixing. they have demonstrated their suitability on the drawing board as well as in the field.
needed. One tried and tested solution for this application
area already exists: Monopiles are technically and eco-
nomically unbeatable in water depths up to 30 m. This
depth, however, is just the lowest common denominator.
Some companies are using monopiles in water depths of
40 m, and the Danish project developer and wind farm
operator Dong Energy even uses them in waters up to
50 m deep.
Jackets manufactured at new factory“We use monopiles in water up to 30 m deep. Our jackets
cover water depths between 30 and 60 meters,” said Tim
Klatt, Head of Sales and Development at Bilfinger Marine
& Offshore Systems GmbH. The offshore division con-
sists of two companies and has installed approximately
t he offshore wind industry
has been demanding more
standardisation for years
now. This demand, how-
ever, does not necessarily
include all components of an offshore wind turbine. It is
becoming increasingly clear that diversity is here to stay
in the area of foundations. Monopiles, jackets, tripods,
buckets, gravity foundations, and floating systems all
have their places in the range of potential solutions.
Even so, all of these concepts need to fulfil some
of the same requirements: First of all, cost reduction is
still the number one consideration. There is still plenty
of untapped potential in this area. Secondly, if offshore
wind is not to be confined to regions where the water is
shallow, then foundation solutions for deeper waters are
Monopile or jacket? that’s not the only question when it comes
Upside down
spotlight Foundations | Bucket
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15
spotlight
years ago, but bucket foundations are indeed making
a comeback.
Bucket foundations are cylindrical steel structures
that are open on the bottom and are lowered onto the
seabed. Strong suction pumps then create a vacuum in-
side of the bucket and the steel structure is sucked into
the soft seabed. When this process is complete, the fric-
tion between the seabed and bucket wall provides the
necessary stability for the foundation.
The method is actually not new in the offshore in-
dustry. What Enercon was attempting at Hooksiel in
Northwest Germany was only unique because of the
scale of the project. The bucket foundation had been de-
signed for the flagship turbine at that time, the E-112,
which weighed approximately 500 tonnes.
Enercon aborted the installation because the bucket
was deformed during the installation process. That more
or less put an end to discussions about the bucket con-
cept. Nevertheless, it still has one significant advantage:
It is a low-noise process that does not injure marine
mammals. Sound levels during pile driving significantly
exceed safe thresholds and make costly noise protection
measures necessary.
the return of the bucketThat is the main reason why scientists as well as the
industry decided to give buckets a second chance. The
500 foundations. The second company in that division,
Bilfinger Mars Offshore sp. z o.o., began manufacturing
monopiles, jackets and transition pieces at its new fac-
tory in Szczecin, Poland, this year. Bilfinger has invested
€ 120 million in the production site.
A compelling business case is obviously necessary
for decision-makers to approve investments of this mag-
nitude. Bilfinger is expecting a maximum cumulative
offshore wind capacity of 23 GW in the UK, Germany,
Denmark and The Netherlands. “This very conservative
estimate was the basis for our decision to build a new
factory for steel foundations,” Klatt said. The untapped
potential is clearly large enough.
Bilfinger’s strategy focuses on deep-water sites, in-
cluding large areas of the North Sea with water depths
of less than a hundred metres. Klatt estimates that ap-
proximately two-thirds of all future installations will
use monopiles and the rest will use various types of
jackets. The monopile concept is currently being opti-
mised and will soon be included in a standard or a set
of regulations by certifiers.
unsuccessful premiereMonopiles and jackets are pretty much unchallenged as
foundation structures, but there is still plenty of discus-
sion going on about how best to anchor them. Nobody
would have expected it after the Enercon failure ten
Upside down
two measurement masts at the British offshore wind farm
dogger Bank have been installed on mono buckets since 2013.
Secure tomorrow’s energy supply on our foundations.
LOOK TO THE FUTURE
EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH, [email protected], www.eew-group.com
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16 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
spotlight Foundations | Bucket
German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and
Energy funded a research project titled ‘WindBucket’
– Suction Bucket Foundations as an Innovative, In-
stallation Noise-Reducing Concept for Offshore Wind
Turbines, which recently published its results.
Engineers at Overdick and Senvion as well as scien-
tists from the Leibniz University in Hanover and Fraun-
hofer IWES studied the interaction between the seabed
and the structure in a seabed / bucket simulation using
non-linear spring elements. “The effects of a simulated
storm on the individual suction buckets were deter-
mined in accordance with the guidelines of the Federal
Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH),”
the final report states. “The calculations were used to
design the geometry of the suction pipes of the jacket
structure as well as for planning and defining the ex-
perimental study programme with a focus on the axial
load-bearing behaviour of a single bucket under typical
offshore load conditions.”
rosy future?About the findings: The simulated storm event did
not adversely affect the axial load-bearing behaviour;
instead, it actually strengthened the post-cyclic pull-
out behaviour. An important finding with immediate
practical relevance that was recorded by the researchers
was the geological application risk for bucket founda-
tions in the German North Sea areas. The result was a
geotechnical map with a “moderate or predominantly
low” application risk for bucket foundations. However,
there are also areas of the North Sea that have an in-
creased application risk. This is the case in areas with
very soft layers or an increased occurrence of boulders
from the Ice Age. The conclusion of the research project:
Lessons learnedTim Klatt, Head of Sales and Development at
Bilfinger Marine & Offshore Systems, takes stock
after twelve years of offshore wind energy:
Keep it extremely robust and simple: > Plan and document all equipment, technology
and processes as robustly and transparently as
possible.
> Always have a backup plan.
one innovation per project:> Never introduce more than one innovation per
project. For example: a new installation vessel, a
new noise reduction system, new hoists etc.
interface planning is the key success factor:> Plan and agree on all internal and external
interfaces to customers and subcontractors
regarding performance and processes in detail.
Fair risk split is most beneficial for all involved: > Clarify and agree on the risk of environmental
conditions such as the seabed, wind, weather
and waves in advance and in detail.
> Exclude extreme weather events and agree on
fair risk distribution in the unlikely event of their
occurrence. This typically reduces the CAPEX.
hsE+Q is essential:> Define all measures and processes for work
safety and quality assurance in detail because
problems may incur high financial losses.
Source: School Offshore Wind 2014
in addition to 77 monopiles, dong Energy has also installed a
suction bucket at the Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm.
Phot
o: D
ong
ener
gy
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18 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
spotlight Foundations | Bucket
“Generally speaking, large areas seem to be suitable for
using suction bucket foundation structures, in particular
the planned wind parks in areas in the North Sea.”
Dong Energy is turning theory into practice and is
installing the 78 turbines at the Borkum Riffgrund 1
wind farm using suction bucket jackets instead of mono-
piles. The Dutch company SPT Offshore carried out the
installation and anchored the jacket structure in the sea-
bed using three buckets. According to SPT, it was the
first successful installation.
The foundation now supports a 3.6-MW Siemens
turbine. SPT transported the entire foundation, which
consists of the jacket, transition piece and the three
buckets and weighs a total of 850 tonnes, in one piece
to the site northwest of Borkum. The buckets are eight
metres high and eight metres in diameter. In addition
to the silent installation procedure, SPT and Dong em-
phasise a further technical installation advantage: “One
of the benefits of suction technology is that it is possi-
ble to be much more accurate with positioning and the
suction bucket was installed with a verticality of 0.04
degrees; much less than the minimum requirement for
wind turbines of 0.25 degrees.”
Universal Foundation is interested in proving that
buckets can be interesting for monopile foundations.
„Our Mono Bucket is specifically designed for offshore
wind turbine applications, combining the key benefits
of a gravity base foundation, a monopile and a suction
bucket, and building on a legacy of more than 2,000
suction technology-based foundations from the oil and
gas industry,” said Kristian Jacobsen, head of business
development at Universal Foundation.
Universal Foundation’s concept is designed for wa-
ter depths of 55 m and turbines with up to 8 MW. Ac-
cording to the company, the Mono Bucket has proven
its ability, having been successfully installed in a wide
variety of site conditions, including sand, silt, clay and
layered strata. As part of an extensive trial installation
in the Dogger Bank, Dudgeon and Hornsea zones, a to-
tal of 29 mono buckets were installed within 24 hours.
A scaled-down version of the Mono Bucket measuring
8 m in diameter with a 6 m skirt, as well as a reference
structure of 4 m diameter with a 6 m skirt, was used in
this trial installation. “Now that the Mono Bucket has
completed the testing phase, it is ready for commercial
projects and we soon hope to announce a commercial
demonstration project with a Mono Bucket supporting
a multi MW turbine”, says Jacobsen.
It seems like the last word has not yet been spoken
regarding the future of bucket foundations. Universal
Foundation is not the only company convinced that ‘up-
side down buckets’ will have a bright future; SPT and
Dong are optimistic as well.
Jörn Iken, Katharina Garus
Problem solvedOne problem that has vexed the offshore indus-
try for a long time has now apparently become
less pressing. MasterFlow 9500 from Master
Builders Solutions by BASF is the first product of
its kind to receive a DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas
Germanischer Lloyd) certificate for Offshore
Concrete Structures. The Type Approval Certificate
issued by the internationally acknowledged test
and certification body, which specialises in oil, gas
and maritime services as well as in energy and
sustainability, officially confirms the quality of the
offshore performance grout.
Bilfinger estimates that two thirds of all turbines will be
installed on monopiles in the future.
Phot
o: B
ilfin
ger
Mar
ine
& O
ffsh
ore
Syst
ems
Grouting:
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19
advertoria
l
J acket foundations are
currently going through
a difficult period on the
market. The monopile has become the
standard and thanks to XXL versions
can now be used in water depths that
would have been impossible just a
few years ago. But according to Georg
Michels, who is responsible for off-
shore wind turbine foundations at
Salzgitter AG, this will come to an end
in the next future. “The monopile will
soon have reached its physical limits
taking in consideration the further
development of turbines”, he says –
and the current cost advantage of the
monopile over the jacket foundation
will no longer apply.
This will certainly be the case if
the concept of industrial jacket manu-
facturing gains a foothold which has
been further developed by the coop-
eration of Salzgitter and Bilfinger
Mars offshore. It will make them 30 %
cheaper than currently – and thereby
definitively competitive in the long
term.
The innovative aspects of the
Salzgitter concept include the use
of industrially manufactured stand-
ard pipes, from which the jackets are
mainly constructed. This provides
the greatest cost-saving potential
compared with the current individual
manufacture of customized pipes.
The second aspect is the prefabri-
cated X and K-joints, with which the
standard pipes are joined together to
form the jacket structure. Significant
cost savings combined with a high
quality standard can be achieved
through industrial series produc-
tion of joints using robot welding
equipment. The robot can complete a
K-joint in one day that would require
a week’s work if welded manually,
explains Michels.
What was just a concept on paper
a few years ago is now a reality. In the
factory that Bilfinger Mars Offshore
has built, there are already three robot
welding stations for nodes, which were
developed in cooperation with Salzgit-
ter AG. The line for jacket production
will be ready for use at the end of the
year. Then it will be possible to build
50 complete jackets per year and fur-
ther up to 80 that will be exclusively
marketed by Salzgitter Offshore Wind
in kit form, shipped and put together
on location.
The latter option could be particu-
larly interesting for the British market.
“Three or four projects from Round 3
have inquired about jacket founda-
tions”, reports Michels. The allocation
will take place next year and Salzgitter
is quite hopeful about the outcome as
the reaction to the concept has been
overwhelmingly positive.
In order for things to progress,
the designers must finally recognize
the potential and move away from
their previous standard. Pressure from
their clients could help, for whom
the cost-saving potential should be a
convincing argument.
Salzgitter promises a 30 % cost advantage through the use of prefabricated components in
the construction of jacket foundations, using industrially manufactured pipes and robot-
welded connecting pieces. Everything is ready for production in Szczecin, Poland.
Gra
phic
& P
hoto
: Sal
zgitt
er
Salzgitter AG
Salzgitter Mannesmann Renewable
Eisenhüttenstr. 99
38239 Salzgitter
Germany
Nordic Yards in WismarJacket beats monopile
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20 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
Six sand-filled ballast
tanks will anchor the
Texbase to the seabed.
Simple but clever
G ravity founda-
tions are cur-
rently outsiders
in the foundation business. They are
too heavy and too bulky, and there-
fore too expensive to install. These
are precisely the weaknesses that
Texbase tackles. To put it simply,
Texbase replaces the heavy concrete
bases of current gravity foundations
with flexible textile silos which only
need to be filled with sand at the off-
shore location.
The Maritime Offshore Group
(MOG), the steel construction com-
pany Conferdo, the Mittelhessen
The principle of gravity foundations may be simple but the concept is having a hard time gaining a foothold in the market. The Texbase aims to change this. Its big advantage is that the sand silos that provide a secure anchorage can be filled on site.
University of Applied Sciences and
the Franzius-Institute of Leibniz
University in Hanover began collab-
orating on the development of this
new type of offshore foundation sys-
tem in July. The project participants
plan to conduct research and devel-
opment for two years and achieve a
detailed concept by mid-2017.
The basic characteristics are
already clear: the Hexabase foun-
dation developed by MOG and
ThyssenKrupp Mannex, a jacket
with a six-sided cross-section de-
signed for serial production, will
be equipped with a new base. At Gra
phic
s (2
): M
OG
the bottom will be six flat elements
with a strong textile weave stretched
across them. Six ballast tanks made
of geotextiles and filled with sand
will hold the foundation securely on
the seabed.
relying on gravity The inventors aim to make use of a
property of sand to fill the sandbags:
while sand is extremely stiff and has
a specific weight close to that of con-
crete when it is compacted, a sand/
water mixture is so fluid that it can
be pumped. This means that the Tex-
base can be transported to the instal-
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21
SpoTlighT FoundaTionS | InnOvaTIOn
Global Renewables Shipbrokers - OWI Magazin - Anzeige 172 x 30 mm Version2.pdf 1 07.05.2015 11:07:17
lation site empty and lowered into
the water before the ballast tanks are
filled with a sand/water mix.
Because the geotextiles to be
used for the ballast tanks are per-
meable to water, it will be squeezed
out of the silos by the foundation’s
own weight and the remaining sand
will be compressed. Its own weight
will also cause the Texbase to slowly
sink into the ground. It will go quite
quickly through the first 50 cm or so
of sludge that forms the upper layer,
but because the seabed under it is
also compressed by the weight of
the foundation, Christof Schramm,
Research and Development at MOG,
calculates that the Texbase will sink
by a further 50 cm. “Foundations
usually stand in the water for a
while before the turbine is installed
anyway. By then the base should
have settled”, he says.
Texbase’s developers see its
greatest advantage in the quick and
cheap installation. “A normal crane
vessel suffices for the installation,
while concrete gravity foundations
generally require four tugs”, says
Schramm. But the Texbase will not
just have to measure up to other
gravity foundations. In order to suc-
ceed on the market, the developers
will have to offer a true alternative
to the monopile. Schramm sees po-
tential in that area too. “The larger
monopiles become, the more diffi-
cult it is to install them”, he says.
Furthermore, using the Texbase not
only saves time. Because it does
not require any preparation of the
seabed, it is also more environmen-
tally friendly. It can be used in deep
waters and “is very well adapted to
most offshore sites in Europe”, as
Schramm emphasizes. The only ter-
rain on which it makes little sense
is solid rock.
To ensure that the wind tur-
bines have a stable base, several
Texbase – the path to the prototype> Base construction and struc-
tural calculations: Mittelhessen
University of Applied Sciences
> Detailed development of the
ballast tanks and ground
supports: Maritime Offshore
Group
> Analysis of geotechnical
effects: Franzius-Institute of
Leibniz University, Hanover
> Planning of production and
after-sales maintenance:
Conferdo
> Manufacturing and sales:
ThyssenKrupp Mannex
> Coating: BASF Coatings
thousand tonnes of sand will be
needed. Schramm estimates that
4,000 to 5,000 t will be required for
a 6 MW system. Exactly how much
is actually needed will be calculated
over the two years of the research
project. It is clear that a foundation
for a 6 MW turbine will be the ba-
sis for the calculations. However, in
the future, Texbase will also support
turbines as large as 8 MW in depths
of up to 50 m. Katharina Garus
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The V164-8.0 prototype has now
withstood 2,500 examinations and
managed tough endurance tests.
The offshore market is currently a heady mix of top marks for performance and rotor diameters on the one hand and mergers on the other. The purpose of large rotor blades, more generator output and mergers is the same: slashing costs.
A reva Wind and
Gamesa merg-
ing to become
Adwen, and Vestas and Mitsubishi
joining forces have triggered an
initial process of consolidation.
Companies are aiming to reduce
competition by garnering more mar-
ket power and capital and improving
their ability to weather periods of low
order intake. In parallel, turbine sup-
pliers are outdoing each other with
considerable boosts in power output.
The purpose of the new giants in the
manufacturers‘ product ranges is to
cut investors’ costs by achieving
an offshore wind farm’s maximum
capacity with fewer machines. This
would mean less outlay for the Phot
o: M
Hi V
esta
s
BIG Thinking
Science & TecHnoLogy | TurbinesScience & TecHnoLogy |
22 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
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23
Like this AD 5-132, Adwen’s rotor, gear drive and generator also form
a unit. However, unlike the 5 MW variant, key components for the
8 MW model can be replaced independently of one another.
science & technology
components required, installation
and subsequent operation.
With an 8 MW capacity and a
rotor of 164 m in diameter, MHI
Vestas Offshore Wind has gained the
first breakthrough towards reach-
ing 10 MW. For the V164, Vestas is
sticking with its gear drive and rely-
ing on a medium-speed drivetrain.
This is a definite technological trend
regarding offshore. In this case two-
or three-stage speed converters and
a permanently excited generator are
alternative options to direct drive.
The idea behind these concepts is to
reduce losses inside the gear drive
by better efficiency in the partial
load range and to minimize wear
through moderate speeds. In the
case of direct drives, the philoso-
phy is that if there aren’t so many
components inside not as much can
go wrong. For this technology, the
cost benefits appear to be from the
lack of a gear drive and the fact that
fewer components reduce the need
for maintenance. The biggest boost
in capacity is currently from aero-
dynamically optimized rotor blades
which are getting longer and longer.
However, cost reductions of up to
40 % that the industry is hoping for
can only be achieved by industrial
processes and this is where volume
matters most.
Vestas: grown to more than 1.7 GW“Large-scale turbines affect cost
greatly, since installing turbines
and foundations is expensive. The
new turbine was launched a little
late on the market, but did perform
well on the other hand”, comments
Anders Bach Andersen, the V164-
platform’s Product Manager at
MHI Vestas. However, the launch
was obviously not too late. Dong
Energy has already ordered just
under 700 MW and further inves-
tors regard it as their turbine of first
choice. As a result, the pipeline has
grown to more than 1.7 GW since
the prototype’s erection early in
2014. The V164-8.0 prototype has
now withstood 2,500 tests and man-
aged tough endurance tests. “More
test runs will be required before
production gets underway and
we intend to enhance availability
further,” explains Bach Andersen.
In all, at a length of 20 and
a width of 8 m, the 390 t nacelle
closely resembles a comfortable
detached house. The nacelle’s insides
consist of the traditional structure
with a massive rotor shaft. In or-
der to ensure that only pure torque
reaches the gear drive and the gen-
erator, a flexible coupling is inserted
between the main shaft and gear
drive. The compact three-stage plan-
etary gear drive was designed by ZF
Wind Power. Moreover, the turbine
boasts other features. “For example,
we can exchange the main bearing
without having to take off the rotor,”
explains Bach Andersen.
Adwen builds on Areva’s M5000Adwen wants to follow suit with
a prototype in the third quarter of
2016. The AD 8-810 will have a Phot
o: A
dwen
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24 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
Science & TecHnoLogy | Turbines
rotor diameter of 180 m and gener-
ate 8 MW of rated capacity as well.
Despite the merger between Areva
Wind and Gamesa, the new turbine
will build on Areva’s tried and tested
M5000. In this concept, the drive
train and the coupling to the genera-
tor have been dropped, because the
rotor was directly integrated into a
large roller bearing. This helps rotor,
gear drive and generator to form a
single unit. Its centrepiece is a two-
stage planetary gear drive featuring
a gear ratio of 1:10. The permanent
magnet generator already achieves
its rated capacity at just under 150
revolutions. “Renk AG and Moventas
will build the gear drives and ABB
the generator of the new turbine,”
says Head of Sales Paulo Pereira.
Adwen has made minor changes to
the concept. Previously, the entire
nacelle had to be replaced if it was
damaged. “Now the structure is di-
vided up so that the main compo-
nents can be replaced independently
of one another,” explains Pereira.
Overall, head mass including ro-
tor is apparently 550 t, whereas it
was just 356 t before. The turbine is
being put through its paces on a new
test rig at the Fraunhofer Institute
for Wind Energy and Energy System
Technology (IWES) in Bremerhaven
where the new turbines are also to
be built in future. The production
of 80 turbines with 5 MW for the
Wikinger project in the Baltic will
start in November. Orders have also
already come in for the new 8 MW
generation. “The AD 8-180 is sched-
uled for three projects comprising
500 MW each in France”.
Senvion is staying faithful to
traditional turbine technology. The
Hamburg-based company continues
to depend on a distributed drive
train with components arranged
in sequence in order to be able to
respond flexibly to customer’s com-
ponent wishes. The three-stage gear
drive of the updated 6.2 MW with
a rotor diameter of 152 m rotates
at a slightly faster pace at a ratio
of 1:116 and drives a doubly-fed
asynchronous generator. The latter
provides space-saving benefits in
the nacelle, because synchronous
generators with full-power convert-
ers are bigger in size. The generator
also requires no rare earths. Unlike
its forerunner at 6.15 MW and a
rotor diameter of 126 m, Senvion
is choosing longer blades and an
updated drive train to combat the
competition. “Compared to its fore-
runner, energy yield at wind speeds
of 9.5 m/sec. is 20 % higher,” claims
group spokeswoman Verena Puth.
The prototype of Siemens’ SWT-7.0-154 in Østerild, Denmark, was installed only a few months after the product launch
at the eWeA offshore trade show in copenhagen.
Phot
o: s
iem
ens
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To date, Senvion has installed 101
turbines offshore and some 72 in
the order books. The manufacturer
is hoping for growth through its new
owner Centerbridge. The private U.S.
investor took over from Suzlon in
2015. After all, the deal has raised
the credit line with the banks from
€ 100 to 950 million.
siemens is working on 10 MWSiemens continues to have more
than one string to its bow. On the
one hand, the 3.6 and 4 MW gear
drive turbines are still much in de-
mand. On the other, the technology
group’s wind division relies on di-
rect drive at 6 MW capacity and its
lead in development and production.
Siemens already has 83 turbines of
this type with a rotor diameter of
154 m on the grid and some 322
further WTGs in the order books.
This will enable efficient industrial
production processes to be set up in
Brande in Denmark. This type dem-
onstrates the fast pace of develop-
ment today. Not all that long ago in
October 2013, the SWT 6.0 was still
the turbine with the largest rotor
diameter worldwide. There will be
no modifications to the blades for
the time being. Instead, Siemens is
ramping up an additional megawatt
in capacity and plans to test the up-
grade on 7 MW prototypes by 2018.
“We focused on higher torque by
using stronger magnets to boost ca-
pacity, which means a higher yield
offshore of 10 %. The biggest advan-
tage is that the production supply
chain remains unchanged, because
there are only few modifications,”
says Michael Hannibal, CEO of the
offshore wind division. Its weight
of 360 t places the direct drive wind
turbine well within the range of its
competitors. Meanwhile Siemens
is working on a new generation of
10 MW capacity.
Alstom is also opting for the di-
rect drive. “Our analyses show that
in comparison with gear drives,
direct drive results in significantly
fewer malfunctions. We therefore
decided to choose offshore for
direct drive,” says Marcus Rieck,
Alstom Renewables’ Country Sales
Director in Germany. “This resulted
in the Haliade 150 at 6 MW capacity
whose first prototype was installed
in Le Carnet in the Pays de la Loire
region in France in 2012. We have
238 turbines for French and 124
turbines for German projects in
the pipeline, as well as 5 turbines
for the first floating offshore wind
farm in the US.” After selling its
energy division to GE, as yet noth-
ing has officially been heard about
any major leaps in development. In-
stead, there were problems with the
generator on one of the two proto-
types in the form of a loose magnet
and workshops were held with the
manufacturers. “Production pro-
cesses were examined by several
partners and the packages equipped
with magnets have a new design,”
explains Rieck. The new factory in
France can produce 100 turbines
a year.
Torsten Thomas
SAFETY
FOUNDATION
SUBSTATIONS
REPOWERING
ONSHORE CONSULTING
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OIL SERVICE
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CONTROL
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Full service from the same source
deutsche-windtechnik.com
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logistics & operations | InstallatIon vessels
26 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
Phot
o: s
wire
Blu
e o
cean
time is money the construction of offshore wind farms has become a routine activity, but it still takes too long. In order to save time it is necessary to define technically feasible limits for the individual stages of the process.
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27
pacific orca from above. so that the main crane
takes up as little space as possible on the deck, it
is moved above one of the six legs.
time is money
logistics & operations
ith the wind tur-
bine installa tion
vessel (WTIV) a
com pletely new class
of ship has emerged
in recent years, consisting of a flat rectangular hull
with an extensive load area and a large crane. Pro-
pulsion and exact positioning are achieved using
electrically driven rudder-propellers (thrusters) or
Voith-Schneider propellers. The requirement for
fuel and electricity is high because the bulky hull
has to be moved through the water at a speed of 10
to 12 knots until the construc-
tion site has been reached. Once
it is there, the working position must
be actively maintained until the jack-up legs
of the ship stand firmly on the seabed. Multiple
diesel generators in the hull supply the four to
eight drive motors with suffi cient electricity. Four
or six jack-up legs provide a secure stance on the
seabed – even in high waves. Multi-storey super-
structures on the bow, usually topped by a heli-
copter landing platform, provide accommodation
for the personnel .
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28 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
Before this type of ship evolved, the offshore wind
industry first gathered experience with crane ships
borrowed from the oil and gas industry, where they are
still in use. Ten years ago there were only a few ships
that were suitable for the installation of wind turbines at
sea. Two of these veterans are still active: the Sea Power,
which was constructed for A2Sea by converting a small
freighter, and the MPI Resolution, which is regarded as
the very first WTIV because she was constructed for this
purpose right from the start.
the boom began in 2009After the MPI Resolution went into service in 2003,
it took a long time before further ships followed.
More and more wind farms were constructed but the
volume of the contracts was so small that no inves-
tor dared to commission such an expensive and ex-
tremely specialized ship. The wind farm planners had
to improvise by chartering ships that were temporarily
not needed by the oil and gas industry and were there-
fore affordable.
From 2009 onward the situation became easier.
Numerous ships were commissioned and in the six
years from 2009 to 2014 a total of 25 WTIVs went into
service – with a high point in the year 2012 when seven
ships were available for operations for the first time.
The tide of shipbuilding has now ebbed and the first
modifications have started. It has become clear that the
requirements are increasing. Fred. Olsen, for example,
will soon bring the sister ships Bold Tern and Brave Tern
into the wharf. “The jack-up legs will be lengthened by
14 m and the boom of the crane by 10 m”, explains Felix
Fliege, the head of the German subsidiary, “then we will
be equipped for round three in the UK.”
Although the fleet of WTIVs is already quite big,
shortages cannot be avoided. When this happens, heavy-
lift crane vessels (HLCVs) are put to use. Some of them
were originally built for a completely different purpose
and have a specification that is somewhat different.
Nevertheless, they are well suited to the construction
of offshore wind turbines. An outstanding example is the
Svanen, which was originally designed for the construc-
tion of a large bridge and can lift a load of 8,700 t. She
is clearly over-dimensioned for the erection of wind tur-
bines but is cheap to charter because she hardly gets any
other work. The Thialf, with its 12,000 t crane capacity
is one of the world’s largest crane ships and is used only
seldom in offshore wind farms due to the high costs.
two rotor stars for 6 MW wind turbines from siemens being transported by the sea installer to the wind
farm gunfleet sands. the transport of these gigantic rotors limits the capacity but has advantages for the
installation of direct-drive turbines.
Phot
o: D
ong
ener
gy
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29
logistics & operations | InstallatIon vessels
retreat of the outsiders The installation of offshore wind farms is a job for spe-
cialists. In the euphoria of the pioneer phase, when the
expansion targets were even higher than today, several
outsiders convinced themselves to build ships in order
to participate in the supposedly lucrative logistics busi-
ness. The market activity has calmed down a lot since
then and of the 30 WTIVs listed in the table, 25 are
owned by eight shipping companies. The outsiders have
largely thrown in the towel.
The German building company Hochtief, which
founded the joint-venture HGO Infrasea Solutions
t ogether with GeoSea, has completely withdrawn from
the offshore business. A year ago Hochtief sold its share
in the Innovation to GeoSea and in September 2015 the
Vidar was sold to the Jan De Nul Group.
RWE Innogy, a subsidiary of the German energy
conglomerate RWE, which had two construction ships
built around four years ago in order to put up its own
wind farms, has sold the Victoria Mathias to MPI
Offshore (the ship is now called MPI Enterprise) and has
chartered the Friedrich Ernestine to A2Sea. The latter
has been renamed M/V Torben and is now in Taiwan
erecting the country’s first two offshore wind turbines.
RWE Innogy continues to be active as a project devel-
oper but will leave the installation to the specialists
in future.
Dynamic positioningDynamic positioning (DP) is divided into classes
according to ability. It is decisive for the operation
of the WTIV and concerns the exactness of the
positioning of the ship and the redundancy of the
electricity and drive aggregates.
Class DP1 includes all ships which are no
longer able to maintain an exact position when a
drive system fails but are still able to manoeuvre.
In an emergency they are thus able to return to
port under their own power.
Ships with DP2 are equipped with a double set
of drive generators and position calculators. They
are therefore still able to work when one system
fails. However, the systems have a joint electricity
supply and need to be adjusted when one system
breaks down.
A higher level of redundancy is achieved in
class DP3 through the doubling of the electricity
supply. Separate machine rooms and emergency
power supplies reduce the risk of a system break-
down to a minimum.
Vessels without DP include older jack-up
barges without their own drive systems and ships
with conventional hulls. These vessels are held in
position using tugs with DP abilities, or otherwise
need to be anchored.
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30 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
sour
ce: c
ompa
ny d
ata
Owner Name Commis-sioned (year)
Deck area (m2)
Service speed (kn)
Max. wa-ter depth
(m)
Lifting capacity (t @ m)
DP class
A2Seasea installer 2012 3,350 12 45 800 t @ 24 m Dp2
sea challenger 2014 3,350 12 45 800 t @ 24 m Dp2
sea power 2002 1,020 7.8 24 230 t @ 15 (22) m without
M/V torben 1 2011 2,850 7.5 45 1,000 t @ 25 m Dp2
DBB Jack-Up J/U Wind 1996 430 6 30 80 t @ 13 m Dp1
J/U Wind pioneer 2010 2 530 5 35 150 t without
J/U Wind server 2014 1,000 9 45 400 t @ 20 m Dp2
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier
Bold tern 2013 3,200 12 45 800 t @ 24 m Dp2
Brave tern 2012 3,200 12 45 800 t @ 24 m Dp2
Fugro Seacore excalibur 1978 3 1,630 4 30 240 t without
GeoSea neptune 2011 1,600 7.5 52 600 t @ 26 m Dp2
innovation 2012 3,400 12 65 1,500 t @ 31.5 m Dp2
thor 2010 4 1,850 5 50 500 t @ 11.5 m Dp2
goliath 2009 1,100 6 40 400 t@ 15 m Dp2
Gulf Marine Services
gMs endeavour 2010 1,035 8 65 300 t Dp2
gMs endurance 2013 1,035 8 80 400 t Dp2
Jan de Nul Vidar 2013 3,100 12 50 1,200 t @ 27.5 m Dp2
MPI Offshore Mpi adventure 2011 3,600 12.5 40 1,000 t @ 26 m Dp2
Mpi Discovery 2011 3,600 12.5 40 1,000 t @ 26 m Dp2
Mpi enterprise 5 2012 2,850 7.5 45 1,000 t @ 25 m Dp2
Mpi resolution 2003 3,200 11 35 600 t @ 25 m Dp1
Seajacks seajacks Hydra 2014 900 10 50 400 t @ 18.5 m Dp2
seajacks Kraken 2009 900 10 41 300 t @ 16 m Dp2
seajacks leviathan 2009 900 10 41 400 t @ 18.5 m Dp2
seajacks scylla 2015 4,600 12 65 1,500 t Dp2
seajacks Zaratan 2012 2,000 9 55 800 t @ 24 m Dp2
Swire Blue Ocean
pacific orca 2012 4,300 13 70 1,200 t @ 31 m Dp2
pacific osprey 2012 4,300 13 70 1,200 t @ 31 m Dp2
Van Oord aeolus 2014 3,300 12 45 900 t @ 18 – 30 m Dp2
Workfox seafox 5 2012 3,750 10 65 1,200 t @ 25 m Dp2
Wulf See transporte
Wind lift i 2010 2,224 10 45 500 t @ 31 m Dp1
1 formerly Friedrich ernestine; 2 Conversion 2014; 3 Conversion 2003; 4 Conversion 2012; 5 formerly victoria Mathias
Market overview of wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV)
small German shipping company Wulf hSeetransporte.
With this consolidation caused by economic factors the
technical pioneer phase of the offshore installation ships
also seems to have come to an end. The WTIVs have
been developed to an advanced stage and the construc-
tion of wind farms has become a routine process. Now
a phase of cost reduction has begun and the first voices
The third outsider that had a WTIV built was the
company Bard Offshore, which with the highly risky
ambition to do everything itself – from the construction
of its own wind turbine and foundation structure to the
installation of wind farms – failed within a few years.
The company went bankrupt some years ago and their
construction ship Wind Lift 1 is now chartered out by the
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31
logistics & operations | InstallatIon vessels
are loudly defining targets whereby construction can
go faster and more smoothly, and money thus can be
saved.
the 24/12/24/12 mantraThere was a limit to the demands that could be placed on
the ships of the pioneer phase. For the second- generation
ships there is no such honeymoon period. They were
very expensive and must earn their money. “There have
been plenty of expectations around second-generation
vessels”, reports Søren Grøn, Project Manager at the
pioneer company A2Sea, and poses the question as to
whether these highly specialized ships will come up to
expectations.
Around 15 years ago, the Danish shipping company
A2Sea became the first to exclusively specialize in the
construction of offshore wind farms. Initially, the com-
pany used converted freighters and jack-up barges but
at the end of 2012 it put the Sea Installer into service
and two years later the Sea Challenger. Both ships can
transport eight complete 3.6 MW Siemens wind turbines
and can work faster, safer and more cheaply than their
predecessors. Their performance is measured according
to a mantra that A2Sea itself has formulated. “During
the design phase, the 24/12/24/12 mantra functioned
as a springboard for creating innovative approaches to
installation methodologies”, says Grøn.
What do these four figures mean? The new ships
should be able to dock, load their freight and set off back
to sea within 24 hours. They should not need more than
12 hours to jack up at the working point at sea, install
the wind turbine and move to the next position – in
other words they should be able to work to the rhythm
of the tides. Thirdly, it should be possible to perform the
processes to put a wind turbine into operation within 24
hours. The fourth figure does not refer to a time period
but to the wind speed: it should be possible to mount
the rotor blades at sea in a wind of 12 m/s.
The first of these requirements has proved to be rela-
tively easy to fulfil if the port traffic allows for punctual
departures. The loading of eight nacelles, eight towers
and 24 rotor blades takes significantly less than 24 hours
Consulting · Marine Operations & LogisticsEngineering · Health, Safety & Environment (HSE)
[email protected] · www.searenergy.com
sea energy
OFFSHORE - PERSONNEL
ENGINEERING ROV SERVICEDIVING
Branch office Mukran · Im Fährhafen Sassnitz 18546 Sassnitz / Neu Mukran · T +49 (0)38392 - 553 55 [email protected]
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Main office Rostock · Alter Hafen Süd 3 · 18069 Rostock T +49 (0)381 - 811 10 00 · F. +49 (0)381 - 811 10 01 [email protected]
Visit us at:
according to A2Sea. How long it then takes until the ship
can start working at sea is, however, dependent on har-
bour restrictions and not on the performance capability
of the ship.
Installation and transfer to the next point within 12
hours is possible in theory – but not always in practice,
admits Grøn. At the wind farm West of Duddon Sands
the Sea Installer needed between 12 and 15 hours,
whereby jacking up and down and moving to the next
point usually required more time than the installation
itself, which was normally completed within six hours.
A2Sea has no influence on the process of putting the
wind turbine into operation, only on accommodating the
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32 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
logistics & operations | InstallatIon vessels
Market overview of heavy lift crane vessel (HLCV)Owner Name Commissioned
(year)Deck area (m2) Service speed
(kn)Lifting capacity
(t @ m)DP class
Conquest Offshore Operations Conquest MB1 2012 3,400 6 1,400 t without
Heerema Marine Contractors Thialf 1985 2,500 6 2 × 7,100 t @
32.1 m
DP3
Jumbo Jumbo Javelin 2004 3,100 17 1,800 t DP2
Fairplayer 2008 3,100 17 1,800 t DP2
Sal Heavy Lift MV Lone 2011 3,500 20 2,000 t DP2
Oleg Strashnov 2011 3,700 12 5,000 t @ 32 m DP2
Stanislav Yudin 1985 2,500 12 2,500 t @ 32.5 m without
Scaldis-SMC Rambiz 1996 1 1,500 6 1,700 t; 1,600 t without
Van Oord Svanen 1990 2,500 7 8,700 t without
installers as comfortable as possible on the ship. When
they completed the processes within 24 hours, it was
probably due to them feeling comfortable on the Sea
Installer, says Grøn with a wink of the eye.
Arbitrary and realistic targets The fourth figure represents a high hurdle. The rela-
tively strong wind of 12 m/s defined by the mantra
sour
ce: c
ompa
ny d
ata
Phot
o: Ju
mbo
1 Conversion 2000
has not yet been achieved by A2Sea: “Even with Sea
Installer, blades are still being lifted in not much more
than 9 m/s”, admits Grøn.
In the case of the wind speed, the definition of the
mantra seems to be somewhat arbitrary, as if the aim
was to define all the important parameters using the
numbers 12 and 24. The company’s competitors are
not quite so ambitious. Ben Robinson, Major Projects
& Operations Manager at MPI Offshore calculates with
an average of 36 hours for dock, load and sail (when six
wind turbines are to be transported) and with 24 hours
for the erection of each turbine. MPI Offshore has set a
wind speed limit of 10 m/s for the installation of rotor
blades, thereby coming slightly nearer to the limit set
by A2Sea than the company itself.
The other shipping companies are keeping quiet
about such things. Which targets will be achievable in
the end without increasing the risks during installation
has yet to be seen. But the discussion about the reduc-
tion of costs will be an ongoing theme in the industry
over the coming years, and it will therefore be unavoid-
able that targets for the installation of wind turbines are
set towards which everyone must be orientated.
Detlef Koenemann
When WtiV shortages avoide, heavy-lift crane
vessels like Jumbo Javelin are put to use.
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34 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
Logistics & operations | Protective clothing
those who work out at sea, exposed to wind,
weather and heights need special workwear –
this starts with protective clothing and goes ‘
far beyond gloves.
Gloves are not just gloves
A sales coach from
the sportswear
business as-
signed workshop attendees the task
of characterizing a popular textile
with a single word. The textile is
used in sports shoes and jackets and
is impermeable to water while still
being breathable. The word he was
looking for – “dry” – describes the
most prominent feature of Gore-Tex,
which is dry on both the inside and
the working gear worn for offshore work is not just a question of comfort – it’s important for safety. this is true of marine abandonment suits and even of gloves.
Phot
o: D
ong
ener
gy
the outside. Just the word “dry” al-
ready evokes a positive feeling. The
advertising focussing on this term
was a resounding market success.
Quick-dryWhat works in the sports and leisure
industry also applies to workwear.
Being wet and, in some cases, cold is
uncomfortable. What is more, it can
be proven that employees’ motiva-
tion rises when they’re in dry work
gear. Wet workwear leads to sick
days and lower productivity and is
a safety risk.
Simple drying systems like the
ones distributed by Pronomar, a
Dutch company, can dry workwear
quickly. Special drying appliances
for common offshore clothing en-
sure that no hidden wet bulges form
in the wet clothes. The systems en-
sure optimal air circulation through
hidden zones.
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Logistics & operations | Protective clothing
pronomar’s drying systems require little space and dry protective
suits in a few hours.
Phot
o: P
rono
mar
If the work clothes need to be
used again quickly, they can be dried
in the drying cabinet, which has little
in common with a household dryer.
The Pronomar dryer does not have a
spinning drum; instead, it re sembles
a locker, with a warm stream of air
circulating around jackets, boots
and gloves. “If the clothes are only
moderately wet or sweaty, an hour
in the dryer is enough. Clothes that
are completely soaked through take
a maximum of two hours,” says Eva
Baars of Pronomar.
Gloves are vital for safetyWhile it is true that wet or sweat-
drenched working gear is not one
of the main problems of offshore
projects, many small issues can lead
to bigger ones. Wet workwear is not
the only risk. The wrong choice of
gloves can have consequences that
jeopardize the ability to work.
gloves basically have to be worn for
all tasks, especially when handling
lubricants, solvents and other
chemicals. The choice of materials
for the working gloves depends on
which chemicals are being worked
with. Some combinations of glove
materials and chemicals are listed in
Seahealth Denmark’s table below.
Consulting agency Seahealth
Denmark therefore emphasizes that
“gloves are not just gloves” and
adds that the wrong type of glove
can result in eczema. This in itself
does not necessarily have anything
to do with safety, but it could if,
for instance, pain seriously affects
the ability to grip tightly. Working
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© www.siemens.com/presse
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36 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
Logistics & operations | Protective clothing
New abandonment suitsThere’s a large selection of gloves
on the market, and the sheer number
of products for workwear makes the
choice difficult when it comes to
protective suits, as well. This sum-
mer, for example, Secumar intro-
duced new abandonment suits and
survival suits.
The abandonment suits do not
have an integrated buoyancy system
and therefore need to be combined
with a life jacket in accordance with
DIN EN ISO 12402-2. According to
DIN EN ISO 15027-1, marine aban-
donment suits complement the life
jacket so that the complete equip-
ment now not only keeps the head
above water, but also protects against
death from freezing. The suits are
impermeable to water and users
can adapt to water temperatures
individually by using underclothes
of varying thickness. Secumar has
inserted Gore-Tex membranes into
all its suits. According to the manu-
facturer, this membrane is capable
of preventing water from penetrat-
ing from the outside; at the same
time, it wicks sweat from the inside
to the outside. This function is also
marketed with the term “breathable”
by other manufacturers.
The developers at Secumar
designed the new models for both
work and sports. The Contra 110
models are lightweight undersuits
that can be worn under any piece
of clothing. The Contra 140 suits,
meanwhile, are work suits and sur-
vival suits and are also available as
a variant with an internal safety fall
protection harness for tasks at great
heights.
Jörn Iken
.
How someone behaves when
they are in the water can de-
termine whether or not they
survive. The basic principle is
to move as little as possible.
For example, a person can
swim for about two hours in
10° C water before fatal cold
injuries arise, but remaining
calm in a foetal position can
double survival time. Survival
time triples when people use
life jackets and remain com-
pletely immobile. The same
applies to clothing. In 5° C
water, it takes at least five
hours in a dry suit, in which
the person remains dry, be-
fore they lose consciousness.
In normal clothes, this time
shortens to one hour, and a
naked person has as little as
25 minutes.
Deadly cold
in combination with a secumar life jacket, the
contra 140 as work and survival suit with
integrated fall protection forms a system for per-
sonal protection for all jobs on and over water.
Phot
o: S
ecum
ar
Source: Seahealth Denmark
A good fi tChemical group Glove material
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alcohols and glycols Butyle, natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile, polyethylene
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acids and bases pVc
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38 offshore Wind indusTry 4|2015
Gra
phic
: Wor
dle.
net
Under
Insurance premiums for the construction phase of offshore wind farms are falling. The prospect of good business with just a moderate risk of losses is attracting new insurance companies. But affordable insurance packages for smaller subcontractors are still lacking.
without any damage claims are still outliers, complete
coverage for projects is currently no problem. Instead,
the insurance packages that brokers design and place on
the market are often oversubscribed. This is due to the
apparently very good work the wind industry does at sea,
which has piqued the interest of the insurance compa-
nies. “The variety of participants is rising and premiums
are falling because the available capacities on the market
are on the way up. This naturally creates pressure,” says
Olaf Weidemann of the insurance brokerage Aon Risk
If you want to make an omelette, you’ve
got to break some eggs, as the saying goes.
That is a lesson not lost on technical insu-
rance companies that cover the construc-
tion risks of major infrastructure projects.
Offshore wind farms, which not long ago were fraught
with risks and only insurable with great patience and
detailed explanation, also play in this league.
Now the tables have turned. Although offshore
wind farms that make it through the construction phase
poliTics & business | Insurance
pressure
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39
politics & business
risks or disposal of unexploded ordinance are explicitly
not covered. The same is true in principle of poor work
performance. Because companies are responsible for per-
forming their work properly, there is also no insurance
against shoddiness. In such cases, insurers only cover
damage to property resulting from poor workmanship.
After commissioning, the needs of the operator
once again take centre stage “The interests of the
entrepreneurs that are fully insured during construc-
tion are covered only to a limited extent for follow-up
work, remedying of defects or damage found later on,”
says Weidemann.
Cable damage remains a persistent issueA perennial problem in the construction phase is cable
damage, which on average costs € 5 million to repair.
Insurance companies have learned their lessons in this
regard. “For cable, there are higher deductibles, which
range between € 500,000 and € 1 million. The damage is
then handled by the project insurance of the operator,”
says Matthias Petzsch, a technical underwriter at HDI-
Gerling Industrial Insurance. The company, along with
Danish Codan, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Axia and
Allianz is one of the so-called lead insurers.
The power substations inside wind farms account for
a major chunk of the overall risk. The stations are insured
for property damage to the tune of some € 80 million.
Added to that, in the event of a total failure, a service
interruption can occur because getting a replacement
can easily take two years. For a 400 MW wind farm, the
maximum damage scenario may well amount to € 600
to 700 million. “Even large insurance companies have
problems with such huge sums. That is why these risks
are broken down and distributed,” says Petzsch.
In this case, the likelihood that a substation is burned
out or destroyed by a broken-down ship is not of critical
importance to the insurance companies. Rather, they are
concerned with the probable maximum loss (PML) for
which they may be held liable. And that generally occurs
in a natural disaster. For instance, a furious hundred-
year storm in the North Sea could cause considerable
Solutions. Specialised brokers like Aon are an important
interface for insurance companies. They accompany the
entire process between investors, manufacturers, gen-
eral contractors, their subcontractors, and ultimately
banks. After all, without fully comprehensive insurance
coverage there can be no funding.
Tenders for insurance packagesDue to the considerable investment costs of well over
€ 1 billion, no single insurance company bears the
risk alone. Instead, brokers place the packages on the
insurance market in a tender procedure. “The leading
insurer in the consortium, which accepts 30 to 40 %
of the premium and the risk, negotiates the conditions
of the insurance and is responsible for settling claims.
These negotiated results are binding for all the other
participating insurance companies by subsequent obli-
gation,” Weidemann said, explaining the procedure.
For such policies, the interest of the insurance
companies is initially focused on the risks during the
construction and operational phases. Products that also
cover the first year of operation, thus avoiding duplica-
tion of insurance premiums during the actual operating
phase have established themselves. During construction,
not only the interests of the operators, but also those of
all the companies involved in the project are covered.
This concept is designed to keep peace at the construc-
tion site if damage occurs and ensures that there is no
interruption of the project flow. The underlying principle
is that there is a common interest with the operator in
the completion of the project and that responsibilities
are clarified in advance. However, insurance companies
are not prepared to cover real business risks, such as
development risks. For that reason, the critical issue
with regard to the main works within the wind farm
is who carries which risks and can take the financial
responsibility.
Installation insurance covers any unforeseen
damages to property. Because insurance companies
are concerned mainly with property damage, monetary
losses due to delayed grid connections, pure weather
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40 offshore Wind indusTry 4|2015
damage to wind turbines in addition to the total loss of
the substation.
risk-optimised contract structures The fact that contractors and their subcontractors
are increasingly held liable in the construction phase
has been well received by insurance companies. “If a
company says that it can perform a particular task and
carries the risk, that is good, and it has an impact on the
premiums,” says Petzsch. However, there is a catch for
small and medium-sized subcontractors. “They have to
pay high insurance premiums to be able to participate in
the tendering processes at all, and they have to pay those
premiums for several years. That’s why there is scarcely
any competition for large projects,” says Andrew Carr,
Managing Director of Construction Project and Cost
Management.
The motto “No insurance, no job” is also well known
to Thomas Haukje of Northwest Insurance Agency.
“There is a new market for special policies for con-
tractors’ risk coverage. Smaller companies often have
difficulty covering their risks via the balance sheet
or with collateral guarantees. At the same time, these
risks can also mean a heavy loss. The level of protec-
tion always depends on the equipment, experience and
personnel,” he says. The broker has a lot of experience
in this segment and is the market leader in the German
North Sea. In three projects the company was the lead
member of the consortium and has had also had inquir-
ies from Japan.
Because banks do not want to take any risks during
the production and construction phase, they distribute it
among manufacturers, operators, general contractors, sup-
pliers and subcontractors. Smaller subcontractors in partic-
ular who swim in the wake of the general contractor have
to have a clear understanding of their work and their risk.
That is why the long discussions between stake holders
emphasise transparency and risk-optimised contract
structures. “The insurance concepts must be geared toward
all of the contractors involved in the construction phase
and the risks have to be clearly distributed. This includes
insurance solutions for manufacturers, suppliers and sub-
contractors in the construction phase,” explains Haukje.
exchange of views on problems and solutions Dialogue between insurers, equipment manufacturers,
energy providers and suppliers is intended to ensure
confidence in the technology. In other sectors of indus-
try, such as gas turbines, an exchange about problems
and their solutions is common. “This active dialogue
The power substations of offshore wind farms
account for a major chunk of the risk.
Phot
o: d
pa
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poliTics & business | Insurance
C
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Y
CM
MY
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2015-10-08_OWI.pdf 1 08.10.2015 09:45:40
creates a basis for discussion with manufacturers,
because insurance companies have to understand the
technical risks. Such forums make offshore wind projects
insurable and that is ultimately in the interests of all of
the stakeholders,” says Guido Benz, Head of Engineering
& Construction at Swiss Re. The reinsurer has devel-
oped its own team of experts to assess the risks of major
projects and still sees potential for new business in the
offshore wind segment.
But after commissioning, the deck is reshuffled, be-
cause all the players involved in the operational phase
again bear their own risks and must be insured against
them again. The insurance cover for operators depends
on what was agreed in full maintenance contracts and
any guarantees provided by the manufacturer. If, for
instance, a turbine supplier assumes responsibility for
all of the repairs and replacement of large components
but the operator is responsible for providing the neces-
sary ships, the coverage can get pricey.
Whether an insurance company will offer coverage
for the operation of an offshore wind farm, always de-
pends on its risk philosophy. “The construction phase is
of course a good introduction to the operational phase
which the companies make efforts to cover. That is more
the classic insurance business with a wider group of
stakeholders. But participation always depends on how
many offshore wind farms are already in the portfolio
and where they are located. For example, risks from se-
vere storms in the North Sea are limited,” says Benz.
Torsten Thomas
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42 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
Going once, going twice,
sold!The Dutch government will be auctioning off 700 MW of offshore wind power annually until 2019. The tender process will begin in early 2016. This means that the offshore wind industry in Holland is off to a fresh start.
The market only started roll-
ing again when there were early
elections and a new coalition was
formed in 2012. In 2013, forty or-
ganisations and the new govern-
ment under Rutte signed the Energy
Agreement for Sustainable Growth.
The agreement includes 4,450 MW
of offshore wind by 2023 and a
complete transition to renewable
energies by 2050.
was simply too expensive for the
government as a whole and incum-
bent Prime Minister Mark Rutte in
particular. Instead of transitioning
to green energy by building more
offshore wind farms, policymakers
and the industry wasted time with a
complicated funding system (SDE)
and bureaucratic obstacles. The end
result of this was that not one single
new offshore wind farm was built.
F or a long time,
things were quiet
on the Dutch
coast. In 2007 and 2008, the first
commercial wind farms, Princess
Amalia and Egmond aan Zee, were
connected to the grid. The 230 MW
capacity they brought online was
only supposed to be the prelude for
a target of 6 GW by 2020. But that
never came to pass. The technology Phot
o: g
emin
iwin
dpar
k.nl
POLITICS & BUSINESS | NETHERLANDS
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43
Going once, going twice,
sold!
Getting the job done Parliament got down to brass tacks
in July of this year with the Off-
shore Wind Energy Act. This new
law reorganises the expansion of
wind power and the responsibilities
of politics and the industry. In addi-
tion, the future wind zones are part
of the Dutch National Water Plan.
This takes into account the various
economic and environmental inter-
ests in the territorial waters of the
Netherlands and aims to create plan-
ning security for the three newly-
established wind zones.
According to the current sched-
ule, the calls for bids will begin in
the first quarter of 2016 with the
Borssele zone, which is near the
Belgian border. Wind farms with
a total capacity of 1,400 MW are
planned for the region. The annual
tenders will comprise 700 MW in
two zones, each of which will have
350 MW. A further 1,400 MW will
be tendered in another project area
off the coast of southern Holland in
2017, and a third zone in the north of
Holland will be limited to 700 MW.
The tenders for that area will begin
in 2019.
This is a paradigm shift for the
government in The Hague. The old
SDE funding model (Subsidierege-
ling Duurzame Energieproductie)
was less than attractive for offshore
wind. On the one hand, investors had
to pay for the grid connection them-
selves as well as pre-finance all pre-
liminary planning for the necessary
approvals out of their own pockets.
On the other hand, they could not
count on funding even if they had
received approval for their con-
struction projects because the total
amount of funding available was
capped due to cost constraints. This
is why the last round of tenders in
accordance with the old system saw
many approvals for building further
wind farms being awarded, but only
the Luchterduinen (120 MW) and
Gemini (600 MW) projects are re-
ceiving € 4.5 billion in government
funding over a period of fifteen
years.
Luchterduinen has been com-
plete since September 2015, but
work on Gemini only began last
summer. Their investors, which in-
clude Siemens Financial Services
and Northland Power from Canada,
were able to secure a price of
168 €/MWh in 2010. The bottom
line, however, was that a reliable
framework for investors was miss-
ing. “Gemini and Luchterduinen
are the last two projects that will
be built using the old funding sys-
tem. The government is trying a
new strategy in the North Sea. It
will be auctioning off a further
3,450 MW by 2019 in a tender pro-
cedure. Bidders who fulfil all crite-
ria and offer the lowest price will
be awarded contracts. The ceiling
for bids during the first round with
700 MW is expected to be around
124 €/MWh,” explained Geert
Harm Boerhave at the Netherlands
Enterprise Agency (RVO), which be-
longs to the Ministry of Economic
Affairs.
First bonusThis change of direction will create
reliable framework conditions for
building new offshore wind farms.
However, in order to be awarded a
contract, potential candidates have
to stay as far below the price limit
as possible to increase their chances.
The actual government funding is
basically a contract for difference
that limits the cost and has a matu-
rity of 15 years. It specifies that an
operator will receive the difference
between his bid price and the base
price on the electricity exchange,
which has been determined for one
year. Eighty percent of this differ-
ence is paid out as a monthly instal-
ment and a final settlement is gener-
ated once a year.
This system is quite risky for in-
vestors because they have to sell the
electricity on the market on a daily
basis, and the price can fall below
the average base price. In addition,
the industry in Holland has to get by
without an adjustment for inflation.
On the other hand, a 10 % bonus
will initially be paid on top of the
subsidies to compensate for uncer-
tainties in the calculated wind re-
sources. The assumption here is that
the probability that the wind farms
will reach the predicted number of
full load hours is 50 %. The instal-
ments are calculated based on these
forecasts.
RVO paid out a first bonus in
October and published all informa-
tion relevant for the bidding process.
There is now a complete package
available from the government for
politics & businessBy early September, 80 out of 150 foundations at the
Gemini wind farm had been driven and the two substa-
tions installed.
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44 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
POLITICS & BUSINESS | NETHERLANDS
interested investors similar to the
one in Denmark. It allows develop-
ers to begin the design phase. “In
addition to all necessary authorisa-
tions, the packages also contain data
on wind resources, unexploded ord-
nance or the type of seabed that was
determined by drilling,” Boerhave
said. The grid connection, which will
be provided by the Dutch grid op-
erator TenneT TSO, is also included.
Since all projects are relatively close
to shore, alternating current is suf-
ficient for the connections.
In order to keep costs within
limits here as well, standardised
substations with a capacity of 700
MW will be used. There are no re-
quirements regarding the types of
turbines and foundations, but the
number of turbines per wind farm
is limited to 96. In addition, opera-
tors need to fulfil extensive protec-
tion requirements for porpoises,
birds and bats using appropriate de-
terrence measures and automated
monitoring systems. For example,
when the foundations are driven
into the seabed, noise needs to be
kept lower than 160 or 172 dB, de-
pending on the time of year.
Promoting innovationPolicymakers are hoping that by
creating a framework that will not
change until 2023, they will be
able to save costs of up to 40 % in
the areas of construction and opera-
tion, and for this reason, the starting
prices will be reduced in the up-
coming rounds. “It could be around
5 € / MWh and will depend on the wa-
ter depths in the project areas, among
other things. However, innovations
are expected to reduce the costs for
the second tender,” Boerhave said.
The Top Consortium for Knowl-
edge and Innovation Offshore Wind
(TKI Wind op Zee) will also be con-
tributing. It controls the research
and development work between
industry, science and policy makers.
This applies to collaborations and
projects, but it also includes an off-
shore research wind farm, which
is used to test new methods and
technologies for construction and
operation. “TKI is bringing innova-
tions to the market. We are currently
preparing the tender for a demon-
stration site that will begin in early
2016. This procedure is not part of
the tenders for offshore wind, but
rather a separate process that al-
lows Dutch companies to test their
ideas,” Project Manager Bob Meijer
at TKI said.
After a long dry spell, those
companies will soon have work on
their own doorstep. Up till now,
the specialists had used their large
maritime equipment and know-how
to lower costs in other European
offshore markets. “The Dutch off-
shore wind industry is very happy
with the transition to a new system
because it will create new jobs and
add value in the Netherlands as well
as innovations on the market,” said
Albert van der Hem at the Northern
Netherlands Offshore Wind network.
This means that the only ones walk-
ing away almost empty-handed will
be the project developers who had
not received confirmation that they
would be receiving funding via the
old system. Their approvals were re-
voked without replacement. Instead,
€ 600,000 will be provided as com-
pensation for all old projects.
Torsten Thomas Phot
o: V
an O
ord
Tendering roadmapYear Power Wind farm zone
2015 700 MW Borssele wind farm zone
2016 700 MW Borssele wind farm zone
2017 700 MW South Holland coast wind farm zone
2018 700 MW South Holland coast wind farm zone
2019 700 MW North Holland coast wind farm zone
After a long wait, a new
offshore wind farm,
Luchterduinen, was
connected to the Dutch
grid in September.
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The print magazine OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY appears four times a year – and now it has a digital child. Every last Friday of the month owi_digital brings you up to date on all of the news that has moved the offshore wind industry in the preceding month.
owi_digital guides you through the swamp of press releases and newsletters to the truly relevant topics.
owi_digital also offers you exclusive content produced especiallyfor owi_digital.
With owi_digital you get the most important offshore wind industry news and information conveniently delivered to your mailbox on the last Friday of every month
concise - compact - free!Subscribe now at www.offshorewindindustry.com
The OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY family is growing!
Want to reach the offshore wind industry with an advert in owi_digital?Just contact Martin Haase at +49 521-595 590, [email protected]
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46 offshore Wind industry 4|2015
events
o ffshore Energy Exhibition & Conference
2015 (OEEC) brought together industry
leaders, (young) professionals and stu-
dents during a high quality conference program, at
the many networking opportunities and on the large
exhibition area. For three days – starting on October
12 with the full day Offshore WIND Conference (OWC)
– Amsterdam was a meeting place for a host of interna-
tional clients, OEMs, EPC companies and suppliers ac-
tive in the complete range of offshore energy business.
OEEC 2015 was opened by Coert van Zijll Langhout,
Managing Director of Navingo BV and Scarlett
Mummery, a YP offshore geotechnical engineer spe-
cializing in geology and seabed drill operations who
talked about her goals and ambition to enroll young
people (both female and male) in the offshore industry.
The meanwhile 6th OWC focused on “building an in-
dustry without borders”. If the offshore wind industry
is to realize its potential growth, the industry needs
to exceed borders; geographically, in legislation and
mentally. More than 20 expert speakers and over 150
industry professionals discussed how taking down
barriers can lead to further industry growth.
record-breaking exhibitionThe following two days, 658 exhibitors covered four
large halls of the Amsterdam RAI. The growth in
exhibitors is an anti-cyclical development in a turbu-
lent market. Each company used their own techniques
– from robots that you could take a selfie with to an
F1 simulator – to attract visitors to their booths and
draw attention to their specialism and high-tech selling
points. In the different pavilions, such as the Italy
pavilion, the Holland pavilion and the Training and
Development pavilion people came together in an en-
ergetic environment to meet up and/or network, while
the different drinks, happenings and bars provided nice
breaks in often fully packed days.
Next year Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference
takes place on October 25-26, 2016.
Constructive, anti-cyclical, energeticWith 658 exhibitors, 23,000 m2 floor space and visitors from 86 nationalities, Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference grew compared to last year. 11,865 visitors came to Amsterdam RAI to meet up with companies or to attend the conference.
Offshore WIND Con-
ference took place
one day before Off-
shore Energy Exhibi-
tion & Conference.
Phot
o: O
ffsh
ore
WIN
D
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47dates
Safety at maritime transportNovember 10 – 11, 2015
Berlin (Germany)
This seminar, organized by the German Ministry of
Transport and digital infrastructure, is about the German
shipping policy for safe transport on the high seas. Topics
include the carriage of cargo and load securing, reliable
navigation and possible future developments.
www.seeverkehrssicherheit.de
EWEA 2015 Annual EventNovember 17 – 20, 2015
Paris (France)
The EWEA 2015 Annual Event presents an international
platform for the wind energy industry to showcase and
demonstrate its latest products and services. The event
features a broad conference programme, unrivalled net-
working opportunities and an extensive exhibition.
www.ewea.org/annual2015
Offshore Wind Construction & InstallationDecember 2 – 3, 2015
Hamburg (Germany)
This event serves an interactive experience that will guide,
improve & complete the participant’s strategy for the next
wave of construction projects. It is targeted specifically at
key executives and decision makers in the offshore wind
C&I industry.
www.windenergyupdate.com/offshore-construction
2nd International Conference 66kv for Offshore WindNovember 30 – December 2, 2015
Bremen (Germany)
This is a technical event for experts in the wind industry.
The goal is to provide a clear path to commercial imple-
mentation of 66kV array grids by reducing both uncer-
tainty and time to implementation.
www.66kv-offshore-wind.com
2nd International Conference Giant Offshore Wind TurbinesNovember 30 – December 2, 2015
Bremen (Germany)
The conference will focus on new designs, supply chain
industrialisation, current prototypes as well as experience
from wind farms already installed. Expert speakers will
present technical challenges which come along with new
offshore turbine classes.
www.giant-offshore-turbines.com
Customs clearance for offshore windDecember 3, 2015
Bremen (Germany)
This seminar is aimed specifically at the operational staff
of companies that install, operate and maintain offshore
wind farms, and are responsible for the export of the
equipment with the customs clearance.
www.bav-seminar.net
Wind Operator Congress EuropeDecember 8 – 10, 2015
London (England)
This event’s aim is to unite leading owner operators,
OEMs and service providers in the pursuit of the strate-
gies, models, tools and practices to deliver operational
excellence across Europe’s wind power operations.
www.europe.windoperatorcongress.com
WINDFORCE Baltic Sea 2016January 27 – 28, 2016
Bornholm (Denmark)
WINDFORCE Baltic Sea offers a unique focus on the chal-
lenges in the Baltic Sea. The two day conference targets
on experiences and questions concerning offshore wind-
energy in the Baltic Sea. The conference will be continued
annually, every year in another country of the Baltic Sea.
www.windforce.info/balticsea/
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After three successful years of cooperation the offshore wind clusters of North-west Germany (represented by WAB and its subsidiary germanwind), South Denmark, East of England and Region Møre in Norway have issued a Joint Action Plan (JAP) for a cost effective progression of the offshore wind servicing industry. In September, the JAP has been presented at the ECOWindS’s final conference in Lowestoft, UK and has been the basis for a fruitful exchange on increasing inno-vation in offshore wind among more than 100 delegates from Europe.
ECOWindS shows the way to cost reduction
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ragenda for research, development and innovation specif-
ically for OWS industry in Denmark, Germany, Norway,
the UK and elsewhere in Europe. The recommendations
within the JAP provide an agenda for collaboration in
the development of new and improved OWS business
models, technologies and other concepts in support of
offshore wind cost reduction targets. It has been built
upon the evidence of industry priorities identified and
was established through a consultation workshop with
stakeholders and a preceding validation process.
The particular focus of ECOWindS lies on OWS,
a distinct subsector of the offshore wind value chain
which includes the processes of assembly, installation,
operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
Therefore the ECOWindS’s JAP is a complement to
intern
al
48 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
W hile the European offshore wind sector
is relatively young and fast grow-
ing, reducing costs across the value
chain is still one of the biggest challenges for the in-
dustry. Therefore the FP7-EU funded project ECOWindS
(i.e. European Clusters for Offshore Wind Servicing)
has been initiated to provide support. “Its objective is
to pave the way for new research and understanding
of how the costs of offshore wind serving (OWS) can
be driven down through research, innovation and cross-
border cooperation” explains ECOWindS coordinator for
the German Offshore Wind Cluster, Susanne Findeisen
from germanwind.
One of the key results of ECOWindS is the Joint
Action Plan, a roadmap and international, cross-regional
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49
other research agendas on wind power presented or
under development by other organisations (e.g. EERA
and TPWind).
The eight actions recommended by the ECOWindS
JAP are:
> Establish a long lasting joint initiative for knowl-
edge sharing and innovation between regions.
> Develop a value proposition for OWS as an industry
in itself.
> Develop an OWS specific mission-orientated
research, development and innovation programme.
> Drive for international OWS specific standards.
> Develop OWS specific skills and training
programmes across regions.
> Develop an OWS industry database.
> Establish OWS specific test sites and research
infrastructure.
> Drive regulatory harmonisation on occupational
Health & Safety.
The JAP, being one of the key results of ECOWindS,
has been presented at the Final Conference in Lowestoft,
UK. The progamme was complemented by contribu-
tions from senior representatives from the offshore
wind business including MHI-Vestas, Siemens Wind
Power, James Fisher & Sons, DNV-GL and Fraunhofer
IWES. They presented their perspectives on the most
significant opportunities for cost reduction, and de-
tailed innovations they are already bringing in to ad-
dress their cost challenges.
The conference has been received very well and
facilitated a lively exchange about the topic. It became
clear that the ECOWindS’s JAP reflects and supports
the ongoing activities and future tasks of the offshore
wind service industry. It was one of the conclusions of
the conference, that the ability to consistently make
cost savings will also be strongly influenced through
the design and construction phases of developing
offshore wind farms in preparation for robust and
reliable operation in the future. Therefore a holistic
view across the full value chain is essential to take
offshore wind servicing closer to its cost reduction
targets.
While the project ECOWindS has come to an end this
October, work will continue. The consortium plans to
work on facilitating the implementation of the JAP. The
complete JAP and published reports can be downloaded
from the ECOWindS website ( www.ecowinds.eu). The
website will be up and running for the next two years.
ECOWindS is a joint project of ten partners: WAB and
its subsidiary germanwind (D), Offshoreenergy.dk (DK),
Aalborg University Denmark (DK), DTU The Technical
University of Denmark (DK), Nautilus Associates Ltd.
(UK), OrbisEnergy – Nwes Property Services Ltd (UK),
ORE Catapult (UK), Ålesund Kunnskapspark AS (NO) and
Ålesund University College (NO). ECOWindS is funded
by the European Commission, under the 7th Frame-
work Programme.
For further information, please contact:
Susanne Findeisen
WAB e.V.
Barkhausenstr. 2
27568 Bremerhaven
Phone: +49 (0) 471 - 39177-21
Fax: +49 (0) 471 - 39177-19
www.germanwind.info
Take advantage of the newly added value of the WAB membership
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50 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY 4|2015
Unmanned alternativeDiving is an expensive and risky business. For this reason,
operators and service providers are increasingly turning to
robots for underwater inspections. Nevertheless, they cannot
fully replace their human workmates.
Getting more complexIn Germany the grid connection of offshore wind farms has
long been a virulent topic. Now, also in the UK the projects’
distances to the coast are getting longer and therewith the
topic of grid connection and cable is becoming more complex.
The next issue will be published on March 10, 2016For further information see www.offshorewindindustry.com
Knowing what is approaching
In order to plan installation and service reliably,
solid weather forecasts are indispensable.
Wind speed and wave height are just two of
the many relevant variables. Weather services
increasingly adjust to the special requirements of
offshore wind energy.
outlookPh
oto:
SM
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www.senvion.com
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