TP fixation

Situation

The Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm is located 8 km off the British coast in Liverpool Bay. With a total of 32 Vestas wind turbines each with a 8 MW capacity, the offshore wind farm will have a total capacity of 256 MW.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the British government has set an ambitious target: by 2020, 15% of all energy must be obtained from renewable sources. After completion in 2017, the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm will be making a valuable contribution towards achieving this target. Green power will then be supplied to 180,000 households, generated by this wind farm. Van Oord’s heavy lift installation vessel 'Svanen' played a crucial role in the construction of the offshore wind farm.

Challenge

In the second phase of the construction of a wind turbine, a transition piece (TP) is positioned on to a foundation pile, also called monopile (MP). Every TP weighs about 270 tons. A crane lifts the TP and slides it over the foundation pile with a 7 meters intersection. The TP is placed perfectly vertical on the foundation pile with a maximum deviation of 0.3 degrees. After that, the TP will be fixed on to the foundation pile.

Solution

For precision positioning of the TP on the foundation pile, 75 ton custom made Holmatro cylinders are used. In the hollow space between the TP and the foundation pile grout is poured in order to anchor the two elements to each other permanently. During the setting process, the cylinders keep the elements perfectly in position, regardless of the weather conditions. The complete TP fixation system that we provide for the construction of the Burbo Bank Extension wind farm, consists of 192 cylinders each with a capacity of 75 tons, 192 hose cutters, sets of hoses and hydraulic pumps to operate the system.

Would you like to know more about this project? Contact us via e-mail [email protected] or call +31 (0)162 751500.

Walney Extension offshore wind farm

Commissioned by Van Oord, we also we supplied a TP fixation system for the Walney Extension offshore wind farm. This offshore wind farm is located in the Irish Sea, approximately 19 km off the Walney Island coast in Cumbria. The wind farm will consist of 87 wind turbines: 40 Vestas and 47 Siemens wind turbines with a total capacity of 660 MW. Van Oord will transport the foundations, monopiles and transition pieces from the various suppliers in Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom and then install the foundations at the offshore wind farm site. The installation work will start in spring 2017. After completion in 2018, this park will deliver sustainable energy to 460,000 households.

The complete TP fixation system that we provide for the construction of the Walney Extension wind farm consists of 522 cylinders each with a capacity of 75 tons, 522 hose cutters and sets of hoses with a total length of ca. 7 kilometers.

Would you like to know more about this project? Contact us via e-mail [email protected] or call +31 (0)162 751500.

Rentel offshore wind farm

Commissioned by Iemants (Smulders Group), we supplied a TP fixation system for the Rentel wind farm.

In 2017 starts the construction of Rentel, the fifth Belgian offshore wind farm. By the end of 2020, the wind farm will be completed. Rentel consist of 42 wind turbines. It will produce 309 megawatts (MW) and 1.1 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. The new turbines will be the largest so far in the North Sea.

The complete TP fixation system that we provide for the construction of the Rentel wind farm consists of 252 cylinders each with a capacity of 50 tons, 252 hose cutters and 42 sets of hoses with a total length of ca. 16 kilometers.

Would you like to know more about this project? Contact us via e-mail [email protected] or call +31 (0)162 751500.

Watch the video about Holmatro TP levelling and fixation systems: