Page 11 - North American Clean Energy March April 2015

in one area can signiicantly impact another. For instance, new foundation designs for Despite future eforts for standardization, the industry can still expect to see substantial

turbines can either reduce or increase the price of installation and/or maintenance. An diferences in designs depending on location. What’s appropriate for a North Sea wind site
understanding of such issues early on in a project (and in a holistic way) is a necessary step might be completely diferent than what’s best in Mediterranean waters. And, to some
to arrive at an optimal, long-term solution and design.
extent, the drive for larger ofshore wind developments has resulted in higher variability
Maintaining open communication lines with experts in each ield is often the key to and more bespoke designs for ofshore support structures. After all, the larger turbine

bridging new information with past experience. Truly reducing costs in the ofshore wind capacity means fewer turbines for a given power plant size, thereby reducing the impact of
industry requires input from organizations with a high-level overview of the diferent savings due to standardization in designs.
disciplines. Incentives are also helpful for project success. For example, a supplier may feel Until the industry reaches more maturity, the coming years will likely see a variety of

they need to produce the lowest cost solution for their piece of the project to win a bid, but loating platform designs deployed, along with suction bucket concepts and larger-than-
the efects of that decision may lead to less favorable return-on-investment (ROI) over time.
ever monopiles. Each will have a particular suitability according to water depth, turbine
It’s simple: Developers with the proper tools and access to the right information can type, and seabed conditions. It will take some time for the ofshore wind industry to
make better decisions regarding every element of their wind project.
develop and decide which design is most economical for a given site.

Why different designs are needed
Final thoughts
Although ofshore wind farms make use of high wind speed sites with low turbulence, With high levels of uncertainty in regulatory support from governments and low levels of
the variability in metocean conditions and seabed proiles, coupled with diferent grid capital available for investment, it’s a challenging time to develop new technology. he fall

connections and distance to shore, makes for a high degree of variation between diferent in oil price adds to these challenges, but can also lead to opportunities.
projects.
For those willing to invest to guard against future price rises, the cost of manufacturing,
he current range of sites developed makes for a small fraction of the depth and range transportation, and installation should be lower now than they have been in years. he
covered by the oil and gas industry. Nonetheless, the eiciency required and signiicance time could be right for an explosion of ofshore wind innovation and development, which

of wind turbine loading has led to many shared designs across these sectors. In fact, many could shape the energy landscape for the next generation (and, hopefully, on a global scale),
of the designs used in loating oil and gas structures have been borrowed or adopted for while delivering the cost reductions the ofshore industry needs to lourish.
ofshore wind projects, along with some novel ideas. Even across a single site, savings in A development of standards and guidelines can play a key role in responsible innovation.
steel from using several existing structures often outweighs the cost of developing and Prudent investors need assurance from experienced engineering organizations that costly

manufacturing new and diferent structures.
errors in production or safety won’t be made, and often that must come
Floating ofshore foundations ofer a plethora of new concepts to explore, but eventually through independent review and analysis.
a more standardized design will be likely because of the reduced dependence on water
depth and seabed conditions. For loating support structures, these are primarily a concern James Nichols is the Renewable Energy team leader at Lloyd’s Register Energy.

for the mooring system, which might be a small fraction of the hull cost. herefore, it may
be possible to design loating support structures to certain classes of wave environments, Lloyd’s Register Energy | www.lr.org/energy
so as to better enable mass production.

Unfortunately,

Mother Nature has a Mean Streak.

Fortunately, you have Sika.

Face it, Mother Nature doesn’t always play nice with wind turbines. High winds, hail,
lightning, snow, ice, and even birds can damage blades, reducing their capacity to perform.

When that happens, you need fast, reliable repair products and services that can get your
turbines back on line. That’s why the world’s leading wind turbine producers consistently

turn to Sika. Our expertise and experience in the wind energy industry are second to none
with a full range of repair products that consistently meet the industry’s toughest

speciications. You can’t stop Mother Nature when she gets mean, but fortunately
you have Sika to get turbines turning again. For more information, visit

www.sikausa.com or call 248.577.0020.

©2015 Sika Corporation. All rights reserved.

Sika Corporation 30800 Stephenson Highway, Madison Heights, MI 48071 Phone: 248.577.0020 www.sikausa.com Follow us on

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