Wärtsilä and Aker Solutions
have agreed to combine
their fields of expertise to
develop a new and environmentally
sound concept for offshore wind
farm installation vessels. According
to the contract, which was signed
earlier this year, Wärtsilä will provide
the new installation vessels with the
ship design, electrical power
generation, propulsion machinery
and high-end automation, whilst
Aker Solutions will supply the
jacking system. Wärtsilä, together
with Aker Solutions, will also offer a
24/7 global support service for
maintenance, repairs, and
component supply to the vessels.
The two companies have selected
the best technologies for this custom
designed installation vessel, which
enables a highly efficient way of
setting up offshore wind power
generation. The three Wärtsilä
6L34DF and two Wärtsilä 9L20DF
dual-fuel engines, that will provide
main and auxiliary power for the
vessel, can operate on liquefied
natural gas (LNG) with low
emissions. Similarly, heat from the
engine cooling system will be utilized
to generate drinking water, and to
supply hot water for use by the crew.
The accommodation heating on
board will also use the same heat
source, while absorption chiller units
will provide air conditioning during
summer months.
Aker Solutions has applied its indepth
knowledge of the offshore
drilling market to develop a
continuous hydraulic jacking
system for truss legs, which has
been customized for high
performance turbine installation
vessels. This jack system has great
benefits in regard to redundancy,
and has a robust design for
operations in harsh environments.
The new vessel concept will be
marketed as a complete package. It
will fulfill the industry's
requirements for large deck space,
sufficient crane capacity, year-round
and all-weather operational
capability and cost-efficient
operating systems.
The market for offshore wind
farms is rapidly developing as
demand for renewable energy sources
increases. Since Northern European
offshore wind farms tend to be in
shallow waters of 50m or less in
depth, so-called jack-up vessels are
used for the installation work. At the
installation site, the vessel lowers
massive legs to the seabed on which
the vessel is jacked-up until it is above
the waves. A hydraulic grip system is
used for this jack-up operation.