CCM BV has loaded the first batch of reused monopile covers for energy company RWE’s Thor Offshore Wind Farm in Denmark on the cargo vessel Frisian River in the Netherlands. The batch with monopile covers will be transported to the port of Thyborøn.
The monopile covers, a necessary stopgap in the stage between the foundations and the tower of a wind turbine being installed, were originally manufactured for Vattenfall’s Hollandse Kust Zuid Offshore Wind Farm. Back then, Vattenfall challenged its suppliers to come up with a sustainable alternative for the in general single-use covers in the market.
Wieringerwerf-based CCM designed a circular monopile cover made of fibre-reinforced polyester panels strengthened with steel beams and bolts. The design features not only material that can be reused over time, but also a cover that can be used several times over in the construction of other offshore wind farms.
After the Hollandse Kust Zuid-project, CCM bought back the same covers so that they could be reused for other offshore projects. This is now being the case with RWE’s 1.1 GW Thor Offshore Wind Farm. CCM, in cooperation with RWE, Enersea BV, Femto Engineering and Theuws Groep, made the former temporary monopile covers of Hollandse Kust Zuid suitable for reuse.
Thor Offshore Wind Farm
Thor will be built in the Danish North Sea, on the west coast of Jutland, approximately 22 kilometres from Thorsminde in the municipality of Holstebro. The wind farm will comprise 72 offshore wind turbines by Siemens Gamesa (SG 14-236 DD). Offshore construction work is expected to start spring this year, using Thyborøn Port as the construction base. Source: CCM / RWE