Parkwind’s German Arcadis Ost 1 project will be the first offshore wind farm that will make use of a floating vessel for the installation of Wind Turbine Generators. This achievement is the result of a year-long joint development between Parkwind, Heerema Marine Contractors and MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.
Considering the challenging soil conditions at the Arcadis Ost 1 site, Parkwind looked at possible alternatives to traditional installation methodologies. In joint cooperation with Heerema Marine Contractors and MHI Vestas, the floating installation method was developed. The developed method is based on utilising a floating installation vessel to assemble the WTG components. The vessel will have all turbine components on its deck including a dummy tower. This tower will provide a stable platform on board the vessel to assemble the nacelle and the blades. The first step will be lifting the WTG tower onto the pre-installed turbine foundation. The second step is the most advanced element in the assembly process which includes lifting the nacelle onto the dummy tower and attaching the blades. This process ensures full control over the blades thereby guaranteeing a safe and highly reliable blade assembly. After the Rotor Nacelle Assembly [RNA] on the installation vessel, the complete RNA will be lifted as one piece onto the WTG tower.
Parkwind is developing the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore windfarm. The project, located 20 km northeast of the island of Rugen in the Baltic Sea, will consist of 27 MHI Vestas V174-9.5MW turbines mounted on monopile foundations and one offshore substation.
