New Monopile Installation Method Attracts Major Backer

January 5, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

TSC Offshore Corporation, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based CMIC Ocean En-Tech Holding, and Offshoretronic have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop and commercialize a solution aimed at changing the traditional methods of installing monopiles on offshore wind farms.

The next generation offshore wind turbine units between 15-20 MW capacities are expected to enter into the market in 2024-2030 and will be installed in water depths of 40-70 metres.

This will require a new generation of monopiles with 100-130 metres in length, 12-15 metres in outer diameter, and a weight of up to 5,000 mt.

The transportation and installation of monopiles typically takes up to four days per installation cycle and accounts on average for 20 per cent of the cost of the installation of a wind turbine, mainly due to the necessity to deploy high-cost vessels with heavy lift cranes to install monopiles safely and effectively, the companies said.

Designed by the Barcelona-based Offshoretronic, the unique tilting and lifting beam + roll-on concept is said to be tailor-made to safely perform transportation and installation of the next-generation monopiles on which wind turbines are installed.

This solution is expected to largely reduce the costs and the installation time required, and is expected to result in a significant reduction of operational risks during loading in ports, up-ending, lifting, and installation offshore.

This solution is designed to be installed on a jack-up platform and has been showcased in a concept vessel, Vitruvian, which is said to be able to transport and seamlessly install monopiles of up to 5,000 mt.

The Vitruvian vessel design is marketed under the newly listed company, WinDecom, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Offshoretronic.

What separates this concept from the others is the horizontal handling of the XXXL monopiles which starts at the fabrication yard.

The monopiles are placed on the installation vessel by SPMT transporters. A roller on the tilting and lifting beams is said to allow for a smooth roll-on and roll-off at the offshore location.