Substation platform installed before schedule and final jacket in place

895 tonne substation platform installed at Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm

Jackets going on piles - Ben Barden photography.

Vattenfall reached an exciting and pivotal stage in the project programme when the substation platform was successfully installed 3 weeks earlier than scheduled, highlighting the commitment and hard work of all those involved with the project.

The final wind turbine foundation, also known as a jacket, was installed on the 24th October. This marks a major milestone on the project and takes Ormonde very close to the half waypoint in the programme enabling the commencement of the cable installation, which is the next key stage in the project.

Ormonde is the first large scale commercial wind farm in the world to employ the British built lattice type of jacket foundation and Vattenfall is delighted that installation has been completed successfully. The substation platform was fitted out over a five month period in Barrow in Furness by local firms Areva and Agrilek.

Before fitting out, the platform weighed 525 tonnes but with two transformers and supporting equipment added it now weighs 895 tonnes. The substation took six hours to install, the first four hours to complete the preparation work and the final two hours to lift, set down and secure on the jacket foundation.

 

SSP lifting to jacket - Matthew Green photography.

The completed wind farm will comprise of thirty wind turbines, all the jackets have now been installed by craneship Rambiz at the Ormonde offshore wind farm, the electrical substation platform for the project also sits on one of the jackets. Both the substation platform and the foundations were fabricated in Methil, Fife.

Anders Dahl, Head of Vattenfall Wind Power said, “ I am delighted that Ormonde, which is one of our nine wind farms being constructed during 2009-2011, is progressing so fast and well. After completion of the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, this is yet another significant achievement for Vattenfall in the UK and an important step towards delivering climate neutrality in 2050 through power generation from renewable energy sources as one of the cornerstones”.

David Hodkinson, Director, Head of Development at Vattenfall Wind Power in the UK, said: "This is a great achievement for our team and our suppliers. Vattenfall is committed to developing the UK supply chain to help us deliver our ambitious offshore wind development programme, which includes the 7,200 MW East Anglia Round 3 programme where we are in joint venture with Scottish Power Renewables.

 

Ormonde is the first large-scale offshore wind project featuring the type of oil and gas 'jacket' foundation structures that are being considered for use in Round 3. We are therefore delighted that at Ormonde these structures, together with the offshore substation platform, have been manufactured in the UK, supporting hundreds of jobs in Scotland and England."

BiFab Managing Director John Robertson said: “Congratulations to all at Vattenfall. This is an exciting project for the UK and Europe and we are delighted to have been a key supplier. Throughout the project, we have experienced good teamwork between our companies and trust that the Vattenfall Ormonde Project will give the industry confidence to allow other offshore wind projects to be developed.

This Vattenfall Ormonde Project is the world’s largest jacket substructure development to date. We are continually developing our designs to reduce costs and are investing in additional facilities to meet market demand. BiFab operations will be able to produce 150 structures per annum and we are also looking at further expansion opportunities. We wish the Vattenfall team continued success with the next phase of the Ormonde Project and Round Three developments”.

The Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm is located off the coast of Barrow in Furness, Cumbria and on completion the 30 wind turbines will have a total capacity of 150 megawatts. This is sufficient to supply over 100,000 homes per year with clean power.

It is now halfway in the construction phase with onshore works having commenced in autumn 2009 and offshore work starting in May this year. The development work is due for completion during 2011 and first power is expected later that year.