First floating turbine installation method to be used for Arcadis Ost 1

Heerema Marine Contractors, Belgian developer Parkwind and MHI Vestas announced today at the WindEurope Offshore Wind event in Copenhagen they will use their jointly developed first floating turbine installation method for the German offshore wind farm Arcadis Ost 1.

The three partners worked on the innovative installation method over the past year. It is based on utilising a floating installation vessel to assemble the turbine 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 will be lifting the WTG tower onto the pre-installed turbine foundation. The second step is the most advanced element in the assembly process which includes lifting the nacelle onto the dummy tower and attaching the blades.

This process ensures full control over the blades thereby guaranteeing a safe and highly reliable blade assembly. After the Rotor Nacelle Assembly [RNA] on the installation vessel, the complete RNA will be lifted as one piece onto the WTG tower.

Challenging soil conditions
Parkwind’s German 257 MW Arcadis Ost 1 project will be the first offshore wind farm that will make use of a floating vessel for the installation. The method is ideal for the challenging soil conditions at the site.

It provides two unique advantages; it avoids all interaction with the soil thereby reducing the project’s risk compared to a traditional jack up installation and this method allows for a reduced installation time. According to the partners this will lead to further reduction of the levelized cost of offshore wind energy and unlock the potential of many offshore areas around the world.

Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven, CEO of Heerema Marine Contractors: “More than one year ago, Heerema Marine Contractors, together with our partners MHI Vestas and Parkwind, started an intensive research to find out the possibilities of installing turbines utilizing our fleet of floating assets. In our Simulation Center, we 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.”

First project with MHI Vestas’ V174 platform
Arcadis Ost 1 is located 20 km northeast of the island of Rugen in the Baltic Sea and. The wind farm will comprise 27 wind turbines on monopile foundations. Parkwind has chosen MHI Vestas to provide their V174-9.5MW turbines. The two companies signed a conditional agreement today in Copenhagen, after the announcement. It will be the first time MHI Vestas’ platform is installed at an offshore wind farm.

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