A new foundation technology is to be introduced at RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm. The company will install special collars around 3 monopile foundations. The ‘collared monopile’ is designed based on a RWE patent and the detailed design was developed by the German civil engineering company JBO. The new technology will provide additional support for lateral loading, increase the bearing capacity and improve the structural integrity of the entire foundation.
When target penetration is reached, the foundation collars will be implemented at three wind turbine locations. Bladt Industries was selected as manufacturer and Deme Offshore will transport the three collars from the manufacturer’s load-out port in Aalborg, Denmark, to the Kaskasi construction site near Helgoland. Then the Deme Offshore team will install the steel collars around three of the 38 monopile foundations. The collar will be installed at seabed level in water depths of up to 25 metres. The space between collar and monopile foundation will be filled with grout material to create a stable connection. RWE will carry out accompanying tests to verify that the collar improves the structural behaviour in comparison to standard monopiles. The Kaskasi offshore wind farm will consist of a total of 38 9MW wind turbines.