Parkwind’s German Arcadis Ost 1 project will be the first offshore wind farm that will make use of a floating vessel for the installation of Wind Turbine Generators. This achievement is the result of a year-long joint development between Parkwind, Heerema Marine Contractors and MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.
Parkwind will develop the 257 MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm, 20 km northeast of the island of Rugen in the Baltic Sea. The wind farm will supply green power to about 300,000 German households.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Taking into consideration the difficult soil conditions at the Arcadis Ost 1 site, the partners decided to proceed with the floating installation method. This method avoids all interaction with the soil, reducing the project’s risk compared to a traditional jack up installation, leading to a reduced installation time. It also contributes to an additional reduction of the levelized cost of offshore wind energy.
What is more, it is using a floating installation vessel to establish the WTG components. The vessel will have all turbine components on its deck including a dummy tower, which will provide a stable platform on board the vessel to assemble the nacelle and the blades.
The first step of the procedure will be to lift the WTG tower onto the pre-installed turbine foundation. The second step is the most advanced element in the assembly process, as it includes lifting the nacelle onto the dummy tower and attaching the blades.
In addition, Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven, CEO of Heerema Marine Contractors, stated that in cooperation with MHI Vestas and Parkwind, they started an intensive research to find out the possibilities of installing turbines using their fleet of floating assets. In the Simulation Center, they created an authentic visualization of the local situation, including crane and vessel controls, realistic weather conditions, sea swell patterns and seabed conditions. This collaboration led to an innovative method which will be used for the installation of turbines in the Arcadis Ost 1 wind park.