The ‘collared monopile’ is designed based on an RWE patent and will provide additional support for lateral loading, increase the bearing capacity and improve the structural integrity of the entire foundation – especially in difficult ground.
RWE Renewables has signed a contract with DEME Offshore for the transport and installation of the new foundation technology at RWE’s 342-MW Kaskasi offshore wind farm, located in the German North Sea, 35 kilometres north of the island of Heligoland.
“At our Kaskasi offshore wind farm we use innovative technologies that will set standards throughout the offshore industry” said Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Operating Officer Wind Offshore Global at RWE Renewables. “The collared monopile, a patented solution developed in-house, will help to increase stability in difficult ground. Furthermore, Kaskasi will be the first commercial offshore wind farm in the world to use an improved installation method to drive all monopile foundations to target penetration. The vibro pile driving technique will reduce both installation time as well as noise emissions for marine life”.
Bas Nekeman, Business Unit Director Northern Europe at DEME Offshore, added that the company’s versatile fleet of offshore installation vessels enables it to deploy the ideal vessel for the Kaskasi collar installation project and that in close collaboration with the client, DEME Offshore is tailoring the installation techniques and minimising any potential risks.
The Kaskasi offshore wind farm will consist of a total of 38 wind turbines, each of which will have a capacity of up to 9 MW. The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations starting in the third quarter of 2021. RWE will use the “vibro pile driving” installation method, which is an efficient alternative to the conventional method of hammering monopiles into the seabed. This improved installation method could reduce installation time and noise emissions during construction. Kaskasi will be the first commercial offshore wind farm in the world using the vibro driving technique to install all monopile foundations to target penetration.
When target penetration is reached, the innovative foundation collars will be implemented at three locations. The detailed design was developed by the German civil engineering company JBO based on the RWE patent. Bladt Industries was selected as manufacturer. DEME Offshore will transport the three collars from the manufacturer’s load-out port in Aalborg, Denmark, to the Kaskasi construction site near Heligoland. Then the DEME Offshore team will install the steel collars around three of the 38 monopile foundations for which DEME Offshore will deploy the versatile jack-up vessel ‘Neptune’. The collar will be installed at seabed level in water depths of up to 25 metres. The space between collar and monopile foundation will be filled with grout material to create a stable connection. RWE will carry out accompanying tests to verify that the collar improves the structural behaviour in comparison to standard monopiles.
It is expected that the Kaskasi wind farm will start commercial operations in summer 2022. Once all wind turbines are fully operational, the wind farm will supply the equivalent of more than 400,000 homes with green electricity.
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