Firm foundations
Norwegian company OWEC Tower provides the bases that are making the development of large-scale offshore wind farms possible. Per Bull Haugs├©en spoke to Ruari McCallion.
Wind power has been around a long time but it is only over the past few years that it has really been getting into its stride, as countries across the world seek to move to ÔÇÿcleanerÔÇÖ sources of energy. The UK government is betting very aggressively on offshore wind powerÔÇöits third round of offshore wind power licences is in the process of grant, with installation between now and 2020.
So it's an exciting time to be in the wind power business: there's a lot of it about, the turbines are getting larger and the projects bigger. But the turbines need masts and the masts need solid bases, which is where OWEC Tower comes in. Based in Bergen, Norway, it emerged from the offshore oil and gas industry and was established in its present form in 2004. It has been involved in some of the largest schemes already in existence.
ÔÇ£We aren't a typical engineering company,ÔÇØ says Per Bull Haugs├©en, managing director. ÔÇ£We invest, and we continue to invest, in design. Our clients get a complete design service from us. For Alpha Ventus, for example, we installed jackets on pre-installed pipes, on moveable bases.ÔÇØ
Located in the North Sea 45 kilometres north of the island of Borkum, off the coast of Germany, Alpha Ventus is probably OWECÔÇÖs highest-profile current project. GermanyÔÇÖs first offshore wind farm and the first to provide power to the country's main power grid, from later this year it will comprise 12 giant wind turbines, sporting blade diameters of either 116 or 126 metres and each rated at five megawatts. The blades will be able to operate in winds of up to 25 metres per secondÔÇöforce 11, which is a hurricane. Total annual power output from the farm is estimated to be 220 gigawatt hours, enough to meet the energy needs of 50,000 three-person households. The foundations are sunk into the seabed under 30 metres of water and the jacket uses a total of 500 tonnes of steel. The bases are fabricated by Burntisland Fabrications, of Fife, Scotland.
ÔÇ£This is the first time offshore towers have been built with pre-installed piles and grouted connections,ÔÇØ says Haugs├©en. It's another first for OWEC, which provided foundation design services for the pilot Beatrice Field, off the east coast of ScotlandÔÇöat the time, the largest offshore wind farm project in the world.
The largest turbines currently operating produce five megawatts but the company has been working with manufacturers who are about to deploy six to eight megawatt power units. OWEC develops the technology for the bases and licences the projects as complete solutions for offshore wind tower foundations.
While there's a lot happening onshore, that isn't OWECÔÇÖs field. ÔÇ£Our design concepts are aimed at projects in 20 to 80 metre depths. Beatrice was in 47 metres,ÔÇØ Haugs├©en explains. ÔÇ£The projects in the UK's round three go to about 60 metre depths. That's good business for us.ÔÇØ
As the technology progresses, opportunities for efficiencies present themselves. ÔÇ£As we advance with the technology, we can deliver bigger wind farms in one go, so there are benefits of scale available and opportunities to reduce costs dramatically,ÔÇØ Haugs├©en says. ÔÇ£That raises some interesting points. First: the possibility of mass fabrication. We have established (with partners) Bifab Germany, a new company that is working on these technical considerations, which can include increased automation; and we are exploring other ways to reduce costs. Achieve that and the possibility arises to make wind power more competitive, quickly.ÔÇØ
Across the Atlantic, the offshore wind industry is barely out of short trousers but there are some interesting projects for OWEC there also. It is involved with Deepwater Wind, which is investigating possible wind farm sites in the continental shelf all the way from Maryland in the south to Maine in the north. Deepwater Wind has been selected by the state of Rhode Island to construct an offshore wind energy project that will ultimately provide 1.3 million megawatt hours per year of renewable energy, which is 15 per cent of all electricity used in the entire state; but it's this side of the ocean that is currently OWECÔÇÖs chief focus.
ÔÇ£The UK and Germany are very interestingÔÇöthey're going to be the two biggest markets in the whole of Europe,ÔÇØ Haugs├©en says. The UK wants to have 20 per cent of its power from wind by 2020 and if it's going to reach that target, it has to get a move on. The numbers are potentially staggering. ÔÇ£There has been talk of 25,000 megawatts of offshore wind power for the UK. At the moment, the cost is Ôé¼3 million to Ôé¼5 million per megawatt. Multiply that by 25,000 and you can see the market is very big indeed.ÔÇØ Going forward, operations and maintenance will keep wind as a valuable business. ÔÇ£Germany may be even bigger. It has officially granted permits to 25 projects and each looks like being 80 turbines.ÔÇØ
Currently, OWEC has just 10 people on the payroll, with a further 10 in a sister company. But it packs a big punch. In 2008, it had turnover of around Kr25 millionÔÇöand that came from just four employees. It is growing and becoming progressively more influential.
ÔÇ£Two things will help the industry. First, a new generation of installation vessels is a must if we want offshore wind to competeÔÇöeven be highly competitiveÔÇöwith other energy sources in the future. Our close partner NorWind has developed a new type of vessel which can operate in 2.5 metres of waves,ÔÇØ says Haugs├©en. ÔÇ£Second, the companies and utilities should co-operate more closely and develop a longer-term strategy. That will enable us to achieve real benefits of scale, well above the current practice of one-off projects.ÔÇØ
As developments gather pace, the wind looks like it will be blowing in OWEC Tower's direction.
