Wind power boost with new jack-up vessels
9 March 2010RWE Innogy, the renewable energy arm of German utility company RWE, is to take delivery of two new jack-up crane vessels for the installation of offshore wind farm foundations and turbines.
The two vessels are to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd, and will be based on a design by Finnish firm Wärtsilä Corporation and Germany’s IMS Ingenieurgesellschaft GmbH.
Tailored specifically for year-round construction of offshore wind farms, the Wärtsilä-IMS advanced jack-up crane vessel is designed to remain operational under harsh Northern European sea and wind conditions. The basic design by Wärtsilä-IMS takes into account the specialised needs involved in the construction of offshore wind farms, with the vessels measuring 100m-long by 40m-wide, and featuring an 800t crane for transporting and handling the foundations of the latest generation of offshore wind turbines with capacities up to 5MW and 6MW, as well as the turbine towers, nacelles, rotors and blades.
Wärtsilä said the vessels have sufficient deck area and deadweight capacity to carry the components for up to four complete wind turbine units or several foundations. For operation in shallow water, a four-point mooring system is used, while in deeper waters a DP2 dynamic positioning system controlling steerable thrusters is employed.
The vessels are designated to undertake foundation and turbine installation at RWE Innogy's currently planned wind farms North Sea East, Innogy North Sea 1 and Gwynt y Mor. The vessels will be delivered in late 2011.
