KEY OPPORTUNITY MOORING ANCHOR SYSTEMS

Mooring is the element that fixes and flexibly connects the floating substructure to the anchoring point on the seabed. The choice of mooring system depends on variables such as the depth, the type of floating platform and the meteorological conditions (waves, currents, winds). In floating wind, catenary mooring has been deployed for semi-submersible, spar and barge-type substructures.

Several components compose a mooring system: mooring lines, connectors, clump weights and anchors.

The table below shows component number projections for Scotland based on

Anchors are the elements that connect the moorings to the seabed. The anchor type used depends on the mooring system configuration, characteristics of the seabed and the environmental loads.

› Drag anchor

› Suction anchor

› Driven piles

› Drilled piles

› Gravity anchor

› Vertically loaded

Bruce Anchor is a British company specialising in drag-embedded anchors and associated equipment design. Originally the company provided anchors for the oil and gas industry, but has since successfully diversified into offshore renewables. Bruce Anchor has been involved in multiple floating offshore wind projects both in the UK and abroad. The company is developing a drag embedded anchor specifically for floating offshore wind. This anchor will be able to provide the same holding capacity as bigger units, but at a significantly reduced weight and, as the consequence of reduced weight, at a fraction of the transportation costs.

Component Per Substructure Total

› Improvements in design standards, standardisation of components,

› Use of novel materials (including synthetic rope)

› Optimisation of array layouts

A more integrated design interface between anchors, mooring system and substructure would enable further benefits and speed up installation and major repair operations.