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Wärtsilä, in consortium with IMS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, has been engaged by RWE Innogy, the renewable energy arm of the German utility company RWE, as its designer to provide the basic design and consultancy services for a jack up crane vessel. Two such vessels with GL class-approval have been ordered by RWE Innogy to be used for constructing offshore wind farms. The shipbuilding contracts have been awarded to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME), and delivery of the vessels is scheduled for late 2011.

Tailored specifically for year-round construction of offshore wind farms, the Wärtsilä-IMS advanced jack-up crane vessel is designed to remain operational under harsh Northern European sea and wind conditions. It also sets new standards for reliability and environmentally sound operation.

The basic design by Wärtsilä-IMS takes into account the specialised needs involved for the construction of offshore wind farms. The vessels are 100 metres long and 40 metres wide, and feature an 800-ton crane for transporting and handling the foundations for the latest generation of up to 5MW and 6 MW offshore wind turbines, as well as the turbine towers, nacelles, rotors and blades. The vessels have sufficient deck area and deadweight capacity to carry the components for up to four complete wind turbine units or several foundations. For operation in shallow water, a four-point mooring system is used, while in deeper waters a DP2 dynamic positioning system controlling steerable thrusters is employed.

The vessels are designated to undertake foundation and turbine installation at RWE Innogy’s currently planned wind farms – “North Sea East”, “Innogy North Sea 1” and “Gwynt y Môr”.

Source: Wärtsilä

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One hundred and forty turbines, destined for the Greater Gabbard Wind Turbine Park off the east coast of England, are being transported in 36 shipments onboard the BBC Chartering and Logistic ship M/V BBC Konan.

What’s unique about this method of transportation is that Fluor, the EPC contractor responsible for the development of the wind park, requested that the nacelles be mounted with hubs, and the bottom tower sections be shipped with the electronics installed prior to the shipment. This meant that the tower sections could not be shipped lying down, but had to be transported upright on custom-made transport foundations that until this project was only possible when shipped by barge.

Each bottom tower section, which is on deck in an upright position, weighs 90 tons and is 25 m high. The forward position of the BBC Konan’s bridge means that the upright towers do not obstruct the crew’s view. The wind turbine blades measure 52 m in length, and the nacelles with the pre-mounted hubs are the heaviest pieces, weighing 177 tons each.

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Offshore wind farming has picked up steam during the last decade, with more & more countries installing these gigantic turbines in their coastal waters.  The largest wind farm in the world is located of the coast of Jutland, in the North Sea.  An even larger farm has been given the green light for off the coast of Britain.

One of the largest offshore areas in the U.S. with shallow water is off Cape Cod, where a major wind farm has been proposed.

The construction of these farms have given rise to a new class of ship:  the Turbine Installation Vessel.

Turbine Installation Vessels (TIV)

The first purpose built TIV was the TIV Mayflower Resolution, currently known as the TIV Resolution & owned by MPI Offshore.  This vessel utilizes both dynamic positioning & jack-up technology. [Continue Reading →]

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In our country’s race to become more energy independent, offshore wind farms have taken a back seat to the offshore drilling debate that is currently heating up in our politics.  Realistically, we could be seeing these offshore wind farms begin to pop-up off the Atlantic coast sometime in the near future, way before any oil rigs.  CNN.com tells us:

Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct a wind farm off its coast. The project, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is one of several offshore wind proposals that have cleared significant hurdles in recent months.

Proponents say wind offers more long-term energy independence than offshore oil. Residents along the Eastern seaboard are embracing it as a stable-priced, environmentally friendly energy alternative.

“When people see the price of gas hit $4, they are very open to having discussions about alternatives,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group.

Wind energy today accounts for only 1 percent of the nation’s electricity. A May report from the Energy Department concluded wind energy could generate 20 percent by 2030, with offshore sources accounting for nearly 20 percent of that. Projects mostly would be located along the Atlantic coast because the seabed floor elsewhere drops off too quickly to anchor turbines.

Offshore wind farms present a promising source of unlimited energy.  According to an article written by TreeHugger.com, there is as much potential wind power off our coasts as the current capacity of all power plants in the U.S. combined. [Continue Reading →]

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