Vessels of the future

Transcription

1 Vessels of the future PAGE 2 Looking to the future PAGE 4 Purpose-built solution PAGE 7 Major project

2 INTERVIEW Looking to the future Ole Jacob Wang Nielsen, Regional Manager at A2SEA, discusses the group s capacity and aims in the offshore wind sector with Steve Welch SW: What vessels does A2SEA currently have? OJ: We have four vessels in operation, which are used offshore for both foundation and turbine installation. We are installing turbines and foundations at three sites: SEA JACK is installing monopiles at Teeside Offshore Wind Farm, SEA WORKER is undertaking work at the London Array project and we are managing turbine installation at Sheringham Shoal with a third party jack-up. In addition to that we have our two semi-jack up vessels which are mainly making progress on the service and component replacement for offshore wind. At the moment SEA JACK is booked up until early 2013 and SEA WORKER until May 2013 and the other vessels are available on shorter notice. SW: Do you have anything planned in terms of new vessels, new partnerships or new capacity? OJ: We ordered a new installation vessel in 2010, which we will receive at the end of this year. Additionally, earlier this year we ordered a second installation vessel for delivery in 2014 so at the moment we have two new vessels underway. We also entered a partnership last year with Teekay Corporation, one of the leading ship- 2 SUMMER 2012 OFFSHORE WIND ENGINEERING

3 INTERVIEW ping companies in the world, to deliver new installation vessels - we are focussing on future foundation installation, especially jacket foundations. SW: What are currently the most exciting developments in the offshore wind industry? OJ: We re now starting to reach a level on the turbine size. This is likely to stay in the 5-7MW class for some time and will have to be proven in terms of reliability and maintainability before the next big leap in size. However, we are not yet sure where we will end up with foundations over the coming years. There are lots of new designs coming up at the moment - we know that we are moving away from monopiles and towards jackets, tri-piles and gravity foundations. For us as vessel operator and installer, it s a big challenge to design and invest in new vessels when we don t know what the foundations will look like and how they will be installed. We are however confident that jackets in some form - be it four legged, three legged, pre- or post-piled - will be a major part of the future foundations. SW: In the UK, which ports do you operate from? OJ: We go wherever the vessel can go - the final decision on ports is with the developers. However, in several projects we are actually involved in the process in terms of what is needed and which ports we would prefer to use based on the vessels we ve got. Port selection can cause delay to the projects because we are limited to how efficiently we can do the installation based on the port facilities. SW: How can we achieve cost reduction in the offshore wind industry? OJ: There are several areas where cost reduction can be obtained but I think there s a lot of saving to be made in terms of longer commitments to the supply chain. Standardisation would greatly help bring down costs - it s difficult to achieve but is maybe also where there s a lot of saving to be made. There could be standardisation in using the same technology or same vessels on a number of projects. SW: The UK Round 3 zones are set to begin installation at a similar time. Will there be enough vessel capacity? How much involvement does A2SEA plan to have? OJ: There are a lot of new vessels coming to the market in 2012 and 2013, so there should be a level between supply and demand from now until After 2015, when we expect Round 3 to start and Germany to increase capacity, there s a need for additional vessels. For A2SEA s perspective, if we can be involved in one or two of the Round 3 projects we will be happy. SW: Round 3 will see changes in the manufacturing process - how will this impact upon A2SEA s work? OJ: The main change will be in the new vessels that we are bringing to the market. We will be going from bringing out two to three turbines at a time to putting six to eight turbines on a vessel. That should hopefully match with what comes out of the factory. The main manufacturing change will be that they have to move production to a port and not do it inland transporting the turbines by road as they do today. SW: What do you think the role of helicopters will be in future installation and operations - are they really suitable for more than just emergencies and why? OJ: Helicopters will play a key role in the overall mix of bringing people and parts to and from the wind farms. There is no one size fits all solution in offshore wind. Helicopters are very effective in windy conditions when crew boats are not, so they could help increase accessibility to the turbines. SW: How is the market currently looking? OJ: In the UK, we hope that there is enough long-term certainty for projects to go ahead. We are seeing some concerns about political support after if the UK can ensure market certainty it will be able to attract manufacturing jobs. That should be the UK s focus. Once Germany gets past its grid challenge we also expect Germany to be a strong market. SW: Why should developers choose A2SEA? OJ: With six very different vessels to choose from in our fleet, we are able to choose the right vessel for the job. That gives us a lot of flexibility in any project. Additionally, we have built up experience and know-how in the organisation having worked on numerous projects - that experience is definitely of high value to the customer in the execution phase. OFFSHORE WIND ENGINEERING SUMMER

4 INSTALLATION 4 SUMMER 2012 OFFSHORE WIND ENGINEERING

5 INSTALLATION A2SEA offers tailored solutions for foundation installation Purpose-built solution A2SEA is 100% dedicated to installation and service solutions for the offshore wind industry. Since 2002, their fleet of two semi-jacked vessels and two jack-ups have installed more than 750 turbines and 350 foundations making them both pioneer and world leader in offshore wind. A2SEA currently has two dedicated offshore wind installation vessels under construction. The first of these is due for delivery in the final quarter of It is named SEA INSTALLER and will be key to installing the next generation of offshore foundations and turbines efficiently and safely. The second vessel will be delivered in This new vessel has an impressive 900 tons crane and will be able to meet the development in the offshore wind industry, installing larger turbines in deeper waters. Many of A2SEA s techniques and processes are setting standards for best practice throughout offshore wind, providing solutions that can help bring down the cost per MW of clean energy. A2SEA s project portfolio includes: Horns Rev 1 & 2, Greater Gabbard, Walney, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet, Robin Rigg, Kentish Flats, Burbo Bank, Scroby Sands, London Array, Ormonde, Sheringham Shoal, Baltic 1, Arklow Bank, Lillgrunden, and upcoming work on Anholt and Teesside.. A2SEA and Teekay Corporation A2SEA has signed an MOU Agreement with Teekay Corporation to design, deliver and operate a new generation of transportation and installation vessels. Able to work on more challenging sites in deeper waters, the new vessels will handle the installation of new types of foundations, such as tripods and jackets, that are likely to be commonplace in offshore wind construction. This cooperation is based on A2SEA s extensive know-how of offshore installation and Teekay s unique experience of operating large vessels controlled by dynamic positioning (DP). The design phase on the vessel started in 2010 and a full FEED study is currently being conducted. Engineering has been completed to a stage where conversion specifications and drawings have been issued to potential yards. Yard pricing is expected by middle/late May 2012 and a FID is expected to be concluded prior to July With the currently known delivery times for critical items the conversion is expected to be completed by 1 August A2SEA is committed to developing an innovative vessel design that can OFFSHORE WIND ENGINEERING SUMMER

6 INSTALLATION cope with the next generation of foundations. Our aim is to provide a costefficient concept that is unrestricted by factors that the second generation vessels coming onto the market now face, such as water depth and sea bed. We at A2SEA alongside Teekay Corporation believe we have found the concept that will drive down the cost of foundation installation and will also reduce the installation time, says Kaj Lindvig, chief sales officer at A2SEA A/S. By having a floating installation vessel we are able to carry pre-assembled foundations straight out to site. We are very excited by this venture and the prospect of developing a pioneering foundation installation technique. Our experience from shuttle tanker operations and ability to access suitable existing tonnage, paired with A2SEA s extensive experience from the offshore wind sector, provides the ideal basis to jointly develop an optimised vessel for the installation of offshore wind foundations, says Stein Rynning, senior vice president, Teekay shuttle tankers and offshore. This will give our customers greater efficiencies, lower costs per unit, and shorter installation times. The vessels will be owned and operated by Teekay while A2SEA provides project management and operational expertise. with the foundation structures as possible. The seafastening and release equipment will be remotely operated and hydraulic so there is no welding needed, and we also avoid divers and anchors during installation, continues Nielsen. With so little human intervention on deck, costs are lowered, planning is simpler and safety increases extensively. A new life Well-maintained oil tankers could be converted by A2SEA into vessels for offshore wind purposes. The concept involves converting an existing Aframax DP Shuttle Tanker into a Foundation Installation Vessel (FIV). After 20 years, these vessels are deemed no longer fit to transport oil [by marine certification societies] but they have a fatigue life of 35 years and are still in prime condition for other uses, including transporting foundations for offshore wind turbines, says Ole Jacob Nielsen, regional manager of A2SEA Ltd. We believe that this will reduce the cost of installing foundations; this is done by reducing the installation time as the FIV can take four to seven jacket foundations in a round trip. Additionally, there is no time used to pre-load and for jacking, as this is a self-propelled floating vessel. The tanker has been built to encounter harsh weather conditions and rough sea state and because of this it is robust even with tidal variations. As it is floating, the operation is not dependent on water depth or the seabed conditions. During the design phase, safety has been a very high priority, and this means finding ways of reducing the need to handle components manually. We want as few people intervening At present A2SEA is in talks with several potential clients, looking at future solutions and possible opportunities for its FIV concept. Please get in contact if you would like more nformation about A2SEA and Teekay and our Floating FIV concept. FIV specifications: Length: 246m Breath: 42m Draft harbour: 8.5m Draft transit/installation mode: 13.5m Deadweight: 106,877 tonnes Planned operational capabilities: 3m Hs, two knots tidal current, 25 knots wind Offshore crane: 1,000 tonnes Skidding system: Heavy duty for heavy structures Deck area: Approx. 6,500m 2 Accommodation: 90 persons Dynamic positioning: Kongsberg Class II Helicopter deck: 26.2m for S 92 Average service speed: 13 knots The final specifications are subject to a current wind test/motion analysis study of pre-piling/jacket installation so the following assumptions may be subject to change. 6 SUMMER 2012 OFFSHORE WIND ENGINEERING

7 INSTALLATION Major project A2SEA has recently undertaken work on the Ormonde Offshore Windfarm, gaining experience that will be useful in Round 3 A2SEA s 2011 contract with ODE - which involved installing 30 5MW REpower turbines on Vattenfall s Ormonde Offshore Windfarm - was successfully completed ahead of schedule. The first load out for the project was on 11 March 2011 and the last wind turbine was installed on 1 August 2011, 19 days earlier than planed. The Ormonde Offshore Windfarm is located in the Irish Sea, 10km off Barrow in Furness, and A2SEA s vessel SEA JACK operated out of Belfast harbour. The windfarm is unusual in two ways: firstly it is the first commercial offshore windfarm to use jacket foundations; and secondly it is the first commercial offshore windfarm to install REpower 5MW wind turbines. A2SEA encountered several challenges whilst delivering and planning this project. Logistically, transporting a full rotor with a diameter of 129m and a transit time of 22 hours posed a challenge. There were also critical issues that A2SEA faced whilst in port. SEA JACK was unable to jack-up in port so this meant the group could not use the vessel s crane for loading; there were also sailing restrictions within the port and a very narrow channel to contend with. In order to reduce the learning curve and risk associated with the project, A2SEA spent two days using a simulator with all those involved in the tow out of the SEA JACK vessel. This proved very successful and helped deliver the project ahead of schedule. The Ormonde Offshore Windfarm gave the company a glimpse into larger scale projects and what the future will bring, considering the development plans for the coming years. The group s success in using jacket foundations and in installing 5MW wind turbines demonstrates that with the right planning, know-how and project setup, A2SEA is ready to move forward to UK Round 3. Ormonde Offshore Windfarm: key project data Vessel used: SEA JACK Service provided: Installation of 30 Repower 5MW WTGs Dates: February to August 2011 Project size: 150MW Client: Vattenfall/ODE Location: Belfast/Barrow OFFSHORE WIND ENGINEERING SUMMER

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