The world’s first floating wind farm, the 30 MW Hywind Scotland pilot park, is operated by Hywind (Scotland) Ltd. It is currently undergoing maintenance works with its five turbines being revised and repaired. Hywind Scotland delivers enough power to supply around 35 000 homes in the UK. The current total global offshore wind power capacity is 64.3 GW with the UK contributing 22%, making it the second-largest contributor after China (49%).
Hywind Scotland, located 25 km offshore Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, comprises five Siemens Gamesa 6 MW turbines mounted on SPAR-type foundations. This year, the wind turbines are undergoing maintenance at the Wergeland Base, on the west coast of Norway, before being reconnected.
Sarens, a world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental services, has been commissioned by the port of Wergeland, in Gulen, for the replacement of the bearings in the five floating wind turbines. Sarens' scope of work includes the provision of cranes to lift nacelles and blades from the floating wind turbines, transport of these components, and delivery of a skidding system to move the generator in and out of the workshop.
Sarens deployed a range of advanced equipment, including the LR12500-1.0 crane with a tagline system. This posed a significant challenge in terms of delivery and setup, which required precise timing and coordination. Featuring an HDWB2 configuration with a 90-m main boom and a 66-m luffing jib, this crane was pivotal in this project. The crane’s configuration included four tagline winches, ensuring safe and efficient lifting operations. Specialised SPMTs were used for transporting blades and nacelles. A custom-designed lightweight spacer beam was also employed to facilitate the transport of the 75-m long, 26.5-t blades.
This Liebherr LR 12500-1.0 was first used in Rostock, where the brand-new crane lifted the monopiles for their assembly in the Baltic Eagle's offshore wind farm. It was the first unit of this model delivered by the German manufacturer Liebherr.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Autumn 2024 issue
Dive into the latest renewable energy insights in the Autumn issue of Energy Global, out now! The issue starts with an insightful guest comment from Cristiano Spillati, Managing Director at Limes Renewable Energy where he discusses the need for European renewable energy suppliers to accelerate the rate of the energy transition. This is followed by a regional report from Cornwall Insights on the battery energy storage industry in Australia. This issue explores key topics including offshore wind subsea cables, offshore wind support vessels, digitalisation, wind turbine components, and more!