RWE Innogy Names Offshore Installation Vessel ‘Friedrich Ernestine’ (Germany)

Under the name of “Friedrich Ernestine”, the ship will construct the offshore wind farm Gwynt y Môr (576 MW) off the Welsh coast.

The installation vessel, which is the first of its type in the world, is able to transport up to four large-scale offshore wind turbines at the same time, and subsequently install them at sea.

The specialised ship with a length of 100 metres and a width of 40 metres is ideally adapted to installing wind turbines at sea and is one of the most efficient vessel’s of its kind. For the construction work, this vessel’s position is controlled by satellites and can be manoeuvred with almost pin-point accuracy to within just a few centimetres of a targeted location.

The vessel also has extendable steel legs which hold it firmly in place, standing on the seabed. Furthermore the ship is specially fitted with a crane, exerting a lifting force of up to 1,000 tonnes. This transforms the vessel into a jack-up platform from which foundations can be installed and wind turbines constructed.

 Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, Chief Executive Officer at RWE Innogy: “Our investment in these two vessels will help us to close one of the most significant supply bottlenecks in the construction of offshore wind farms. They will give us a decisive time and cost advantage in implementing our ambitious offshore plans.”

In the UK, RWE Innogy is already operating the offshore windfarms North Hoyle (60 MW) and Rhyl Flats (90 MW) off the north coast of Wales. The company also has a 50 % share in the construction of the 504 MW Greater Gabbard wind farm off the southeastern coast of England. It’s fourth offshore wind farm Gwynt y Môr, at 576MW, will be one of the largest offshore wind farms currently in construction in Europe. Once fully operational, energy generation from Gwynt y Môr is expected to be equivalent to the average annual needs of around 400,000 homes.

Other major offshore projects under development in the UK include: Triton Knoll (1,200 MW), Atlantic Array (up to1,500 MW), Galloper (500 MW) and Dogger Bank (approx. 9,000 MW, together with equal partners of SSE, Statoil and Statkraft).

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Source: rwe, September 16, 2011