Germany – DEME Offshore completed the final XXL monopile installation at Parkwind’s Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Rügen.
The foundations were put in place using the DP3 system by DEME’s new floating installation vessel Orion, which was working on its first project. The 28 XXL monopiles, which have a diameter of 9.5 m and a length of up to 110 m, are the largest monopile foundations ever installed, weighing more than 2,000 tonnes each.
The Arcadis Ost 1 project by Parkwind is situated in the Baltic Sea, north-east of the Kap Arkona Cliffs, in Germany’s 12 NM Zone, with water depths of up to 45 m and difficult soil conditions. Later this year, it will receive its 27 Vestas V 174 – 9,5 MW wind turbines, which will generate enough clean electricity to power up to 290.000 homes.
The 5,000-tonne crane and custom, motion-compensated pile gripper system on Orion, which was powered by LNG during the installation campaign, can handle enormous XXL monopile foundations. The crew is able to upend and drive the monopiles, which are transported horizontally on deck, thanks to the integrated motion compensated pile gripper tool. The motion compensated gripper maintains the monopiles vertical and stable despite waves and vessel motions when combined with the vessel’s DP3 capability.
Innovative tools
In addition, this was Orion’s first project using a full set of brand-new specialized tools. These cutting-edge tools include a new automated monopile lifting spreader beam to enable the horizontal lifting of the XXL monopiles, an adjustable monopile sea fastening system, automated quick-lifting tools to avoid manual handling on deck, as well as several new noise mitigation systems.
Parkwind, PMV, and OstseeWindEnergie GmbH, a project company of the three partners Oberhessische Versorgungsbetriebe AG, Stadtwerke Bad Vilbel, and WV Energie AG, worked together to develop Arcadis Ost 1. The wind farm will start producing green energy in 2023, when it will be able to power 290,000 homes.
