ECN Releases Offshore Wind Access Report, Introduces O&M Access Tool

Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has released Offshore Wind Access 2017 report, which provides an overview of the existing and under-development access systems for offshore wind operation and maintenance (O&M).

Besides the conventional method of access to the boat landing through crew transfer vessels, motion compensated gangways on the deck of service operation vessels have entered the market during the last decade, moving the maintenance base offshore. The report shows the growth of this market in alignment with the needs for more efficient and safer transfer of technicians and cargo to offshore wind turbines.

In the report, ECN also used a case study to illustrate how its O&M Access tool can be used to evaluate the impact of different ways of access on the performance of the wind farm.

As far as the results of the O&M modelling are concerned, it was made clear that distance from port is crucial for selecting the most suitable O&M strategy, according to ECN.

The case study involved a 720MW wind farm 50km away from shore, and the most cost-effective option showed to be a harbour-based strategy supported by helicopter access. “However, results are based on the model developed in this work and each wind farm needs a separate analysis. In general, accessibility is only one parameter for selecting an access system but a holistic O&M modelling approach is required that takes into account interactions with all parts of the O&M supply chain to make a safe conclusion, as the one proposed by ECN O&M Access tool,” ECN said.