A contract to design and build a jacket foundation for Humber Gateway’s offshore substation has been won by Harland & Wolff (H&W). The job represents H&W’s first commission to build a jacket for an offshore wind project.
H&W will deliver the jacket during the first three months of 2014. The 219MW offshore wind farm is due to be fully commissioned in 2015.
News that Humber Gateway developer, E.ON, has chosen H&W for the job is the latest sign that the Belfast-based company is becoming an increasingly important offshore wind supplier. To date, it has been involved in six UK and one German offshore wind farms: Gwynt y Môr, Ormonde, Robin Rigg, Barrow, Dogger Bank, Firth of Forth and Bard Offshore 1.
The company has also been earmarked to build a PelaStar floating offshore wind platform, should a demonstration project planned for waters off Cornwall receive approval next year.
H&W designed and built the topsides for Gwynt y Môr’s two offshore substations. It also recently constructed three Universal Foundation suction buckets, with two of these since deployed within the Dogger Bank development zone and the third due for imminent installation within Firth of Forth. H&W and Universal Foundation share the same parent company, Norwegian marine group, Fred Olsen.
Speaking with “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç Offshore about this latest contract win, H&W’s David McVeigh described jacket foundation design and fabrication as "something we’re very comfortable with", thanks to the company’s offshore oil and gas experience.
From E.ON’s perspective, H&W is "a well-proven supplier", according to project manager Matthew Swanwick. "Generating wind power out at sea is a real technical challenge, both during the construction and operational phases of projects, and that is why it is so important to work with reliable and experienced fabricators," said Swanwick.
As previously reported, Dutch steel fabricator Sif will supply about four-fifths of Humber Gateway’s turbine foundations, with north east English firm, TAG Energy Solutions, supplying the remainder.
.png)
.png)
