Modelling Installation and Construction of Offshore Wind Farms

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Stempinski ◽  
Sebastian Wenzel ◽  
Jan Lüking ◽  
Luigi Martens ◽  
Mahboubeh Hortamani
Keyword(s):  
Wind Energy ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
Heavy Lift ◽  
The North Sea

While the offshore climate in the North Sea bears a great potential for the exploitation of reliable and powerful wind energy it poses a challenge for the constructors of offshore wind farms. Large heavy lift jack-up vessels (HLJV) are employed to transport the components of the wind energy converters to the offshore location. After a preloading and jacking procedure, subsea lifts of tripod foundations weighing up to 950tons as well as tower and nacelle installations at large heights need to be undertaken. As typical offshore wind farms consist of 80 or more separate wind turbines the installation works are conducted in a serial manner — often through the winter season. Thus, many critical offshore operations are conducted consecutively on the basis of daily or weekly weather reports. These operations cannot rely on optimal weather conditions therefore planning and engineering has to cover appropriate wind and wave conditions taking into account contingencies for uncertainties in the reliability of weather windows as well as in the soil conditions. This paper shows how the weather criteria derived from numerical seakeeping and structural simulations are taken into a project simulation model covering 90 separate serial installations. Based on hindcast re-analyses installation simulations are conducted in multi-seasonal weather scenarios. This enables the quantification of the suitability of a particular marine spread and its associated installation processes in combination. The risk profile of weather related delays are derived.

Sea-Keeping Analysis of an Offshore Wind Farm Installation Vessel During the Jack-Up Process

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip H. Augener ◽  
Hannes Hatecke
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Offshore Wind Farm ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Jack Up

Offshore wind farms are not planned in sheltered and shallow waters any longer. Especially in the North Sea there exist many approved offshore wind farm projects at water depth between 30 and 50 meters. In particular the installation process of these projects is strongly influenced by weather conditions and the sea-keeping capabilities of the installation vessels. For reliable planning of the entire project, not only the weather statistics, but also the vessel’s sea-keeping capabilities need to be known accurately. For this purpose different kinds of sea-keeping analyses can be conducted. In this paper a sea-keeping analysis is presented, where the focus is upon the jack-up process. For the numerical computation the sea-keeping code E4ROLLS is applied. The results of this sea-keeping analysis are operational limitations for the jack-up process, caused by two different criteria derived from jack-up classification requirements.

scholarly journals Stable Ships for Smooth Servicing of Offshore Wind Farms

2014 ◽  
pp. 179-183
Author(s):  
Matthew Shanley
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Irish Sea ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Irish Sea

There is a rapid increase in the number of offshore wind farms in European waters to help meet renewable energy targets. Wind turbines are being installed in progressively more exposed areas of the North Sea and the Irish Sea, with the eventual aim of placing them in the Atlantic Ocean. As offshore wind farms require regular maintenance, being able to access the wind turbines during rough sea conditions is a key issue for profitable operation. The operation involves transferring personnel from the service ship to the wind turbine. The current wave height limit for this is 1.5 m, slightly less than 5 feet, increasing this results in significant savings over the lifetime of the wind farm. Each wind farm service ship has 12 maintenance crew. Imagine you are one waiting on port for the sea and weather conditions to be right so that you can head out to the wind ...

Accessibility assessment for operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms in the North Sea

Wind Energy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Martini ◽  
Raúl Guanche ◽  
Iñigo J. Losada ◽  
César Vidal
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
Operation And Maintenance ◽  
The North Sea

Wind wake effects of large offshore wind farms, an underrated impact on the marine ecosystem?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Schrum ◽  
Naveed Akhtar ◽  
Nils Christiansen ◽  
Jeff Carpenter ◽  
Ute Daewel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Ocean Hydrodynamics

<p>The North Sea is a world-wide hot-spot in offshore wind energy production and installed capacity is rapidly increasing. Current and potential future developments raise concerns about the implications for the environment and ecosystem. Offshore wind farms change the physical environment across scales in various ways, which have the potential to modify biogeochemical fluxes and ecosystem structure. The foundations of wind farms cause oceanic wakes and sediment fluxes into the water column. Oceanic wakes have spatial scales of about O(1km) and structure local ecosystems within and in the vicinity of wind farms. Spatially larger effects can be expected from wind deficits and atmospheric boundary layer turbulence arising from wind farms. Wind disturbances extend often over muliple tenths of kilometer and are detectable as large scale wind wakes. Moreover, boundary layer disturbances have the potential to change the local weather conditions and foster e.g. local cloud development. The atmospheric changes in turn changes ocean circulation and turbulence on the same large spatial scales and modulate ocean nutrient fluxes. The latter directly influences biological productivity and food web structure. These cascading effects from atmosphere to ocean hydrodynamics, biogeochemistry and foodwebs are likely underrated while assessing potential and risks of offshore wind.</p><p>We present latest evidence for local to regional environmental impacts, with a focus on wind wakes and discuss results from observations, remote sensing and modelling.  Using a suite of coupled atmosphere, ocean hydrodynamic and biogeochemistry models, we quantify the impact of large-scale offshore wind farms in the North Sea. The local and regional meteorological effects are studied using the regional climate model COSMO-CLM and the coupled ocean hydrodynamics-ecosystem model ECOSMO is used to study the consequent effects on ocean hydrodynamics and ocean productivity. Both models operate at a horizontal resolution of 2km.</p>

scholarly journals A Spatial Analysis of the Potentials for Offshore Wind Farm Locations in the North Sea Region: Challenges and Opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gusatu ◽  
Yamu ◽  
Zuidema ◽  
Faaij
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The North Sea

Over the last decade, the accelerated transition towards cleaner means of producing energy has been clearly prioritised by the European Union through large-scale planned deployment of wind farms in the North Sea. From a spatial planning perspective, this has not been a straight-forward process, due to substantial spatial conflicts with the traditional users of the sea, especially with fisheries and protected areas. In this article, we examine the availability of offshore space for wind farm deployment, from a transnational perspective, while taking into account different options for the management of the maritime area through four scenarios. We applied a mixed-method approach, combining expert knowledge and document analysis with the spatial visualisation of existing and future maritime spatial claims. Our calculations clearly indicate a low availability of suitable locations for offshore wind in the proximity of the shore and in shallow waters, even when considering its multi-use with fisheries and protected areas. However, the areas within 100 km from shore and with a water depth above –120 m attract greater opportunities for both single use (only offshore wind farms) and multi-use (mainly with fisheries), from an integrated planning perspective. On the other hand, the decrease of energy targets combined with sectoral planning result in clear limitations to suitable areas for offshore wind farms, indicating the necessity to consider areas with a water depth below –120 m and further than 100 km from shore. Therefore, despite the increased costs of maintenance and design adaptation, the multi-use of space can be a solution for more sustainable, stakeholder-engaged and cost-effective options in the energy deployment process. This paper identifies potential pathways, as well as challenges and opportunities for future offshore space management with the aim of achieving the 2050 renewable energy targets.

scholarly journals The ecology of infrastructure decommissioning in the North Sea: what we need to know and how to achieve it

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1109-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M Fowler ◽  
A -M Jørgensen ◽  
J W P Coolen ◽  
D O B Jones ◽  
J C Svendsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Complete Removal ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

AbstractAs decommissioning of oil and gas (O&G) installations intensifies in the North Sea, and worldwide, debate rages regarding the fate of these novel habitats and their associated biota—a debate that has important implications for future decommissioning of offshore wind farms (OWFs). Calls to relax complete removal requirements in some circumstances and allow part of an O&G installation to be left in the marine environment are increasing. Yet knowledge regarding the biological communities that develop on these structures and their ecological role in the North Sea is currently insufficient to inform such decommissioning decisions. To focus debate regarding decommissioning policy and guide ecological research, we review environmental policy objectives in the region, summarize existing knowledge regarding ecological aspects of decommissioning for both O&G and OWF installations, and identify approaches to address knowledge gaps through science–industry collaboration. We find that in some cases complete removal will conflict with other policies regarding protection and restoration of reefs, as well as the conservation of species within the region. Key ecological considerations that are rarely considered during decommissioning decisions are: (i) provision of reef habitat, (ii) productivity of offshore ecosystems, (iii) enhancement of biodiversity, (iv) protection of the seabed from trawling, and (v) enhancement of connectivity. Knowledge gaps within these areas will best be addressed using industry infrastructure and vessels for scientific investigations, re-analysis of historical data held by industry, scientific training of industry personnel, joint research funding opportunities, and trial decommissioning projects.

Co-location of passive gear fisheries in offshore wind farms in the German EEZ of the North Sea: A first socio-economic scoping

2016 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 794-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Stelzenmüller ◽  
R. Diekmann ◽  
F. Bastardie ◽  
T. Schulze ◽  
J. Berkenhagen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document