Energy

Offshore wind energy will play a key role in the energy turnaround. Ever since the launch of “alpha ventus,” the first German wind farm with 60 MW, in 2010, more and more wind farms have been put into operation. By the end of 2016, these farms reached a cumulative capacity of 3.900 MW. The German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) determines an expansion of capacity up to 15.000 MW by the year 2030.

Due to the constant rise of system performance, larger water depths, and an increasing distance to the coastline, traditional installation procedures are stretched to their very limits — especially in the area of the foundations. In cooperation with its partners MARIN, Naue and Hochschule Emden/Leer, abh INGENIEUR-TECHNIK GmbH initiated the project “HEWIS — High Efficient Wind Farm Installation System,” a MariGreen subproject as part of the Interreg Europe research programme.

The system’s main purposes are the installation of floating platforms, a high availability of components in the wind farm, and the integration of scour protection into the construction process. Scour protection is built from geotextile sand containers. It is guided over the erected foundation pile by use of a lift and pole braces, and then lowered to the bottom of the sea. An international patent application for the scour protection system has already been filed.