A group of companies has achieved a major component exchange (MCE) on an offshore floating wind turbine while it remained on site at the Scottish Kincardine Offshore wind farm, located south-east of Aberdeen. The new process was delivered through a collaboration of technologies and expertise from LiftOff, Vestas, Dragados, Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Limited (KOWL), and Cobra Wind International Limited (CWIL).
The recently completed in-situ generator exchange on a Vestas V164-9.5MW turbine was done using LiftOff up-tower crane technology and specialised teams from LiftOff and Vestas, without the need for large offshore cranes or towing the wind turbine to port. The full project was executed from an offshore support vessel (OSV), supported by crew transfer vessels (CTVs).
To perform the process, a GenHook up-tower crane, supplied by LiftOff of the Netherlands, was temporarily installed atop the Vestas turbine. After Vestas prepared the wind turbine generator and decommissioned the old generator, LiftOff lifted it from the nacelle and lowered it to the deck of the floater, where it was then transferred to the OSV. Using the same methodology, the replacement generator was then transferred to the floater and lifted into the nacelle.
During this operation, load-control mechanisms were installed to manage the load during the lifting activities, as the floating wind turbine is constantly moving due to wind, waves, and currents. The team planned the operations using several weather forecasts as well as real-time motion monitoring to ensure a safe operation. The entire execution phase of the project with the OSV was accomplished in less than a month, including the full mobilisation and demobilisation of all equipment.
The 50 MW Kincardine Offshore wind farm, owned by Dragados, is 15 km off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It became fully operational in 2021.
