Westermost rough offshore wind farm by East Coast Promotions

COMPANY PROFILE

2015

Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm

www.westermostrough.co.uk

Ground breaking wind energy generation Editorial: Tim Hands

The Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm is under construction at a site 8 kilometres north east of Withernsea in the North Sea, England. An £800 million project, the wind farm will span 35 km2 and boast a generation capacity approaching 210 MW, aiming to power in the region of 200,000 homes each year. O ff s h o re c o n s t r u c t i o n o f We s t e r m o s t R o u g h b e g a n in February 2014 as the i n s t a l l a t i o n o f t h e s i t e ’s foundations was set in m o t i o n , w i t h t h e p ro j e c t re p re s e n t i n g a t o t a l i n v e s t m e n t o f a p p ro x i m a t e l y £ 8 0 0 m i l l i o n ($1.37bn). By the time of i t s c o m p l e t i o n , m o re t h a n £10 million will also have b e e n i n v e s t e d i n G r i m s b y, t o

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p ro v i d e t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n b a s e and permanent operations facilities on the Royal Dock, as well as a purpose-built o ff i c e , w a re h o u s i n g s i t e a n d pontoons. While the wind farm is being developed by D ong E n e r g y, t h ro u g h i t s wholly owned subsidiary We s t e r m o s t R o u g h , t h e s i t e w a s i n f a c t o r i g i n a l l y a w a rd e d t o To t a l E n e r g i e S A , t h e F re n c h

multinational integrated oil and g a s c o m p a n y i n 2 0 0 3 . To t a l t h e n re n o u n c e d , h o w e v e r, a f t e r t h e s c o p i n g p ro c e s s i n February 2007, following its decision not to pursue any o ff s h o re w i n d d e v e l o p m e n t in UK waters, which saw it placed into the hands of DONG E n e r g y. A m o n g t h e l e a d i n g o ff s h o re wind developers in the world,

Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm b o a s t i n g m o re t h a n 2 0 y e a r s ’ experience in the wind power i n d u s t r y, D O N G E n e r g y w a s a w a rd e d t h e p ro j e c t a t t h i s j u n c t u re . T h e c o m p a n y h a s continually displayed its c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e p ro v i s i o n o f re n e w a b l e e n e r g y g e n e r a t i o n , with a total investment to date of £3 billion in the field. With DONG Energy having b e e n a w a rd e d t h e l e a s e f o r t h e w i n d f a r m ’s d e v e l o p m e n t in 2007, consent was given by 2011 for a development consisting of up to 80 turbines, capable of up to 245 MW power and with a turbine tip height limit of 172m ( 5 6 4 f t ) . U n t i l M a rc h 2 0 1 4 , t h e p re s i d i n g d e v e l o p m e n t c o m p a n y We s t e r m o s t R o u g h was a wholly owned subsidiary o f D O N G E n e r g y, s i n c e w h i c h time a 50% stake has been owned in equal parts by the

G re e n I n v e s t m e n t B a n k a n d by the Marubeni Corporation, a sale worth a total of £240 million. As part of the sale, these two buyers committed to investing £500 million in the construction of the wind f a r m , w i t h D O N G t o p ro v i d e operations and maintenance at the site. The announcement then c a m e f ro m D O N G E n e r g y a t the end of January 2013 that it would be taking on the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f We s t e r m o s t R o u g h o ff t h e H o l d n e r n e s s coast, comprising of 35 Siemens 6MW turbines with a t o t a l c a p a c i t y o f 2 1 0 M W. Benj Sykes, DONG Energy Wind Power UK Country M a n a g e r, s a i d o f t h i s pioneering development with an operational life of 20 years: “ We a re v e r y e x c i t e d t o g o a h e a d w i t h o u r n e x t o ff s h o re

w i n d f a r m a t We s t e r m o s t R o u g h . T h i s i s t h e f i r s t p ro j e c t t h a t w e h a v e b ro u g h t f o r w a rd to construction in the NorthE a s t a n d w e a re l o o k i n g f o r w a rd t o w o r k i n g i n t h e a re a . ” S y k e s c o n t i n u e d : “ We a re excited about the potential of this new technology and deploying the 6MW turbine on t h i s s c a l e . We a re c o m m i t t e d t o re d u c i n g t h e c o s t o f e n e r g y t h ro u g h t h e d e p l o y m e n t o f n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s , a n d We s t e r m o s t R o u g h w i l l p ro v i d e a t a n g i b l e e x a m p l e o f h o w w e a re d o i n g just that.” DONG Energy e s t i m a t e s t h a t t h e We s t e r m o s t Rough site will eventually s u p p l y t h e re q u i s i t e e n e r g y t o power 210,000 homes, and will thus make a significant contribution to the UK g o v e r n m e n t ’s g o a l o f i n s t a l l i n g 3 3 G W o f w i n d p ro d u c t i o n

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b e f o re 2 0 2 0 . O f t h e p ro j e c t , H e n r i k Poulson, chief executive of D ong E n e r g y, s a i d : “ T h e size and location of the p ro j e c t i s v e r y w e l l s u i t e d a s t h e f i r s t l a r g e s c a l e p ro j e c t with the new Siemens 6 MW t u r b i n e . T h e U K o ff s h o re w i n d market is the biggest in the world.” Acting as one of its m o s t n o t a b l e f e a t u re s , t h e We s t e r m o s t R o u g h o ff s h o re w i n d f a r m w i l l f e a t u re 3 5 S i e m e n s S W T- 6 . 0 - 1 5 4 w i n d turbines, equipped with the w o r l d ’s l o n g e s t ro t o r b l a d e s . I t i s t h e f i r s t o ff s h o re w i n d f a r m to use these next generation t u r b i n e s o n a c o m m e rc i a l basis, which boast a swept a re a o f 1 8 , 6 0 0 m ² a n d re d e f i n e t h e s t a n d a rd s f o r l e a n n e s s ,

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ro b u s t n e s s a n d l i f e c y c l e p ro f i t a b i l i t y w i t h i n t h e w i n d i n d u s t r y. W i t h i t s o u t p u t o f s i x m e g a w a t t s a n d a ro t o r diameter of 154 meters, this is a turbine designed for the m o s t c h a l l e n g i n g o ff s h o re s i t e s b o t h i n E u ro p e a n d e l s e w h e re a c ro s s t h e g l o b e . Building conceptually upon t h e S W T- 3 . 0 - 1 0 1 , S i e m e n s ’ first gearless machine, the d i re c t d r i v e m a c h i n e s o ff e r t h e most compact and lightweight excitation means for electrical m a c h i n e s . A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e S W T- 6 . 0 i s d e s i g n e d t o o ff e r t h e v e r y s a f e s t o f w o r k i n g e n v i ro n m e n t s , w i t h a h e l i c o p t e r- h o i s t i n g p l a t f o r m i n t e g r a t e d i n t h e n a c e l l e re a r allowing easy and safe access for service technicians and a

nacelle which is particularly spacious, and gives technicians easy access to key components.

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS With the first of the turbines’ foundations having been i n s t a l l e d i n F e b r u a r y l a s t y e a r, t h e re s t f o l l o w e d q u i c k l y o v e r the next months, thanks to the work of the dedicated o ff s h o re w i n d i n s t a l l a t i o n vessel, Innovation. Each foundation consists of two key elements, a monopile and a transition piece. The piling stage of the installation tends to last between two and four hours, a time which c a n r i s e s i g n i f i c a n t l y i f g ro u n d c o n d i t i o n s p ro v e t r i c k y. This is also dependent on

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Proudly playing our part in the Westermost Rough Windfarm Round 3 ready, our fleet of crew transfer vessels is available for charter. We have been safely transferring personnel and equipment offshore since 2011

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the availability of a suitable window of weather and s e a c o n d i t i o n s , re s t r i c t i n g o p e r a t i o n s c o n s i d e r a b l y. As main contractor for the foundations, GeoSea has been re s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e t r a n s p o r t and installation. This saw the Innovation loaded in Aalborg with 5 sets of monopiles and transition pieces, which it t h e n t r a n s p o r t e d a c ro s s t h e North Sea to be installed i m m e d i a t e l y a t t h e o ff s h o re

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site, a distance of 500 nautical miles. It is a rather laborious p ro c e s s , u s u a l l y w i t h a w e e k ’s gap between each batch of foundations, as the vessel has to leave the site to collect t h e n e w m a t e r i a l s . H o w e v e r, the use of a new and highly sophisticated piling frame, a s w e l l a s i m p ro v e d j a c k i n g p ro c e d u re s d e v e l o p e d b y G e o S e a ’s i n - h o u s e e n g i n e e r i n g department, allows the Innovation to work in higher

sea states and thus enable d e c re a s e d c y c l e t i m e s . T h e w i n d f a r m ’s t u r b i n e s have contributed to some of the major milestones in t h e t i m e l i n e o f t h i s p ro j e c t , notably in the successful e re c t i o n o f t h e f i r s t i n A u g u s t l a s t y e a r. D u n c a n C l a r k , We s t e r m o s t R o u g h p ro g r a m m e d i re c t o r f o r D o n g , d e s c r i b e d the significance of the event to t h e s i t e ’s o v e r a l l d e v e l o p m e n t : “This is a major landmark in

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1. Heavy Lift Vessel ‘Innovation’ installing XL Monopiles and Transition Pieces at the Westermost Rough project (UK). 2. The Jack-Up ‘Neptune’ installing Monopiles and Transition pieces on the Northwind project (BE). 3. ‘Neptune’ installing Wind Turbines at the Thornton Bank project (BE).

• • • • • • • • • •

Drilling and piling of large diameter monopiles Installation of transition pieces Jacket installation (pre-piling / post-piling) Grouting activities Wind turbine erection Installation works with Jack-Up platforms Foundation and wind turbine logistics EPCI contracts Accommodation units Directional drilling

GeoSea nv Member of the DEME Group Haven 1025 - Scheldedijk 30 . B-2070 Zwijndrecht, Belgium T +32 3 250 53 12 . F +32 3 250 55 41 info.geosea@deme-group.com . www.deme-group.com/geosea

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the construction phase of this p ro j e c t a n d i t s a c h i e v e m e n t i s a g re a t c re d i t t o t h e D o n g Energy team and our supply chain partners,” a sentiment echoed by Michael Hannibal, c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f o ff s h o re f o r S i e m e n s W i n d P o w e r. “Only a few days after our D6 wind turbine obtained its final certification it is in place f o r c o m m e rc i a l o p e r a t i o n . We a re v e r y p ro u d t o a c h i e v e this milestone on the way t o e n h a n c i n g e ff i c i e n c y a n d l o w e r i n g t h e c o s t o f o ff s h o re wind energy with our innovative d i re c t d r i v e t e c h n o l o g y. ” Following somewhat rapidly w a s t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o p e r a t i o n ’s conclusion, which came at the e n d o f M a rc h t h i s y e a r. T h i s e n t a i l e d t h e l a s t o f t h e f a r m ’s

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35 installations being lifted into position by the specialist jacku p v e s s e l S e a C h a l l e n g e r, w i t h Duncan Clark again describing the importance of seeing this i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e p ro j e c t t h ro u g h t o c o m p l e t i o n . “This is a significant m i l e s t o n e f o r t h e p ro j e c t i n which all the partners involved a re b re a k i n g n e w g ro u n d f o r t h e i n d u s t r y b y o ff s h o re deployment of 6MW turbines. It is also an important step in re d u c i n g t h e c o s t o f e n e r g y f ro m o ff s h o re w i n d . O v e r 9 0 0 people have been employed o n t h e o ff s h o re c o n s t r u c t i o n p ro g r a m m e , a n d re a c h i n g installation of the final turbine with high levels of safety p e r f o r m a n c e i s a c re d i t t o t h e i r g re a t t e a m w o r k . O u r f o c u s i s

n o w f u l l y d i re c t e d t o s a f e l y finishing the commissioning w o r k o n t h e re s t o f t h e turbines, ensuring that they a re a l l d e l i v e r i n g c l e a n , g re e n energy to the UK grid this s u m m e r. ”

FIRST POWER DELIVERED In the midst of the allimportant business of ensuring c o r re c t a n d t i m e l y i n s t a l l a t i o n of all turbines at the site, DONG Energy was able to re p o r t i n S e p t e m b e r l a s t y e a r the delivery of first power to the grid, just weeks after the first turbine had been put in p l a c e . “ T h e p ro c e s s h a s g o n e e x t re m e l y w e l l , ” s a i d S a m H a l l , lead commissioning manager f o r We s t e r m o s t R o u g h . “ T h e e n e r g i s a t i o n p ro c e s s

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As a special service for our customers in the construction branch, such as STX, we offer our Point-to-Point Construction Service. This service involves:  Cutting of pipes to fix length, bevelling & tapering  Circumferential welding  Production and assembly of attachments like cones, shim plates or ring stiffeners  Weld beads  End profiling

The production of LSAW pipes for the offshore oil and gas industry is the traditional strength of EEW. With more than 75 years of experience in the steel branch, we are able to fulfill our customers’ highest requirements. Apart from standard steel grades used in conventional jacket constructions, the fabrication of high-strength steels for racks and chords for jack-up rigs or low-temperature steels for the use in arctic environments is our daily business. www.eew-group.com

up to first power has been achieved thanks to a huge e ff o r t f ro m t h e e n t i re o n s h o re s u b s t a t i o n t e a m , t h e o ff s h o re construction site team, our contractors and all of the line organisation who support u s . We e n e r g i s e d a l l t h e w a y t h ro u g h t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n s assets of the wind farm in early August and have been working since on the installation and commissioning of the first batch of turbines. Over the coming weeks the first turbines w i l l b e g e n e r a t i n g c l e a n , g re e n electricity and then supplying it t o t h e U K G r i d w h i c h i s a g re a t m i l e s t o n e t o b e a b l e t o re p o r t . ” Part of what makes the development so valuable is the information collected b y t h e N a t i o n a l C e n t re f o r A t m o s p h e r i c R e s e a rc h ( N C A R ) ,

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“All the partners involved in the project are breaking new ground for the industry by offshore deployment of 6MW turbines”

used to find out the extent of t h e p o t e n t i a l p ro d u c t i v i t y o f a wind farm. Using long term re f e re n c e d a t a , t h e m e a n w i n d s p e e d a t We s t e r m o s t R o u g h has been estimated to be 8.3 m e t re s p e r s e c o n d ( m / s ) , w h i c h puts it into the high category in terms of annual average wind s p e e d s i n t h e U K . To h a r n e s s a l l t h i s p o w e r, N e x a n s w a s a w a rd e d t h e c o n t r a c t t o s u p p l y a n d d e l i v e r t h e 5 3 k i l o m e t re s of medium-voltage submarine cable to the wind farm, transported by Combi lift and t o b e p ro t e c t e d b y Te k m a r. Once generated, the power will be collected from the turbines via this cabling system and transmitted to the offshore substation, whose detailed design was won by Ramboll in 2011. The substation is designed to carry the

Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm necessary equipment to complete the high-voltage transmission and distribution, as well as other facilities such as diesel generators, batteries and panels for wind turbine control. Its successful installation marks another significant moment in the wind farm’s construction as a whole, with work now underway to pull in and connect the pre-laid export cable to the substation platform. Duncan Clark described, “a very busy and exciting time for everyone involved in the project, with the successful installation of the export cable, all the monopile foundations and the offshore substation platform.” At the offshore substation, the voltage from the turbines is increased and taken ashore, where the wind farm is connected to the UK national grid at Salt End. Ever at the forefront of the field, DONG Energy is now

“Project BEACon will give us invaluable new knowledge to lower the cost of electricity”

set to install a pioneering radar system at Westermost Rough, to help maximise energy and efficiency returns out at sea. This next step of the project will entail devices producing high-resolution dynamic maps of the wind flow through and around the structures. Nicolai Gayle Nygaard, BEACon technical manager at Dong Energy, said: “The dual-Doppler radars represent the next generation of wind measurement technology. Contrary to standard measurement set-ups, the radars give us the ability to quickly scan the flow field in and around an entire wind farm with unprecedented range and resolution. Project BEACon will give us invaluable new knowledge which can be applied across our entire portfolio to lower the cost of electricity.”

Installation of the offshore Substation In June last year, the installation of the offshore substation was the latest milestone for the Westermost Rough Wind Offshore development. Fabricated in STX France’s St Nazaire shipyard, the offshore substation is positioned within the 35sq km project site, located just off the East Yorkshire coast, it will be linked to the new generation Siemens 6MW turbines via a series of inter-array cables. The offshore substation contains two major sections – the jacket foundation which is fixed to the seabed and the topside which sits on the jacket foundation containing the necessary support systems and electrical equipment. EEW Erndtebrück supplied 1,761 tons of construction pipes for the transformer station and with a diameter of 490mm up to 2,170mm and a wall thickness of 20mm up to 65mm, these were assembled by STX Europe Offshore Energy to form a jacket construction. “Based on its experience and track record, EEW is, for STX, a partner of choice for subcontracting large cylindrical steel structures which are key components for its substations and foundations projects,” STX said in a statement to Total World Energy. The jacket is the foundation of the offshore transformer station - the interface between the energy transmitting facilities. Voltage from the turbines is increased at the substation before the export cable takes the electricity to the mainland - the UK national grid at Salt End, near Hull – generating enough energy to power an estimated 200,000 households and helping with efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in England.

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+44 (0) 1603 411569 info@totalworldenergy.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, 2 Ardney Rise Norwich, Norfolk NR3 3QH