Offshore staff
RIDING MILL, UK — Osbit has provided twin wind turbine tower lifting tools to GE Vernova’s Offshore Wind division, initially for use in construction of the Dogger Bank wind farm in the UK southern North Sea.
This is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Vårgrønn, and it will be located 130 km from the coast of northeast England.
Osbit’s DNO-approved tools will be used to lift and rotate the turbine tower sections of GE’s Haliade-X13MW wind turbines, with a rotor diameter of 220 m.
All components were assembled and loaded out from Osbit’s Port of Blyth site.
The systems employ electrically operated pawls to engage with the tower and are integrated with the crane via lifting straps. They also use electrical power to remove the risk of environmental impacts that can take place with hydraulic systems.
Handheld ruggedized tablets that control the tools are designed to drive all functions wirelessly, while a CCTV suite provides additional visibility for operators below.
The systems will support movement of the towers from their construction site onto an offshore vessel, and the subsequent installation from the vessel of each monopile foundation offshore.
For Dogger Bank, Jan De Nul’s new Voltaire jackup vessel, designed to accommodate installation of larger turbines, is managing the program. Osbit’s systems will work with Voltaire’s main crane, which has a capacity of more than 3,000 metric tons.
The Dogger Bank wind farm will feature a total of 277 turbines and is due to start operating in 2026.
08.09.2023
