LOC Group, at the head of a consortium, has been selected by the Carbon Trust-led Floating Wind Joint Industry Project (JIP) to investigate the infrastructure and logistics challenges faced in the development, construction and maintenance of utility-scale floating offshore wind farms. The investigation report and recommendations, which has been commissioned by the Carbon Trust and JIP partners DONG Energy, ENGIE, Eolfi, E.ON, innogy, Kyuden Mirai Energy, Statoil and Vattenfall, will help drive the commercialisation of floating wind technology.
The LOC consortium includes Portuguese offshore renewables consultancy WavEC and offshore geoscience and geotechnical engineering consultancy, Cathie Associates. The report will first categorise all floating wind platform solutions currently being trialed by the industry, in order to provide recommendations for overcoming foreseeable challenges in the construction of 500MW wind farms, regardless of the type of floating technology being used. LOC’s report will outline the essential logistics needed for the assembly, storage and construction of floating offshore wind platforms, and, in particular, cover the details of dockside construction, marine transportation and installation operations. LOC’s report, taking into consideration all candidate floating platform technologies, will look at the logistical and infrastructure phases of development, installation and maintenance. It will scope the need for port infrastructure and equipment and the use of different vessels types; consider the needs of different turbine technologies; and account for project dependencies that can be avoided or exploited to reduce project risks and costs. The report will also look at how floating technology changes maintenance and repair programmes, including the decision to either conduct repairs on-site or tow turbines to port.