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A wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) is a vessel specifically designed for the installation of offshore wind turbines. There were 16 such vessels in 2020.[1]
Most are self-elevating jackup rigs. To enable quick relocation in the wind farm it is self-propelled. It also has a slender ship shaped hull[2] to achieve a quick turnaround time with the vessel carrying several foundations or wind turbines each time.[3] Azimuth thrusters are used to position the vessel during jack-up operations.[3] Some vessels use the thrusters in dynamic positioning (without jacking up) to keep the vibrating pile driver steady when installing foundations.[4] Some may carry five modern wind turbines and lift 700 tonnes 125 metres (410 ft) above deck.[5][6]
A vessel can cost[7] $335 million, or $220,000 per day.[8] A 3-year leasing may cost €90 million.[9]
The fleet of 16 vessels are scheduled to expand to 23 vessels by 2023, of which seven can handle the largest turbines.[8][1] The fast growth of turbine size challenges even the largest vessels.[10] In China, lack of suitable vessels are slowing the construction of offshore wind farms.[11]
A supplement to crane-equipped WTIVs can be crane-less feeder vessels with motion compensation.[12][13] Some WTIVs have a crane but no legs.[14][15]
Projects include a 155 m (509 ft) crane height, and lift capacity of 1,600[16]–3,000 tonnes.[17]
Some WTIV use biodegradable hydraulic fluids to minimize ecosystem impact during leaks.[18] In Korea, some vessels are approved for liquefied natural gas.[19]
Construction of the four-legged US Jones Act-compliant Charybdis started at Keppel in Texas in late 2020, at a cost of 715 million dollars,[20][21][22] scheduled for the 700 MW Revolution Wind in 2023 and the 924 MW Sunrise Wind in 2024.[23] Such vessels require 500–800 MW of installation per year for five years to be economical.[24] The Jones Act makes it much more difficult to install offshore wind, introducing complications of transferring parts between ships and raising costs.[25][26]
- ^ a b "Havmølleproducent: Vi mangler installationsskibe nu". Søfart (in Danish). 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020.
- ^ DNV installation vessel design software
- ^ a b Pacific Orca Wind Farm Installation Vessel
- ^ "Kaskasi breaks ground with new ways to install monopiles". Riviera. 6 May 2022.
On Kaskasi, Seaway 7 also utilised .. vibro pile driving technology to reduce underwater noise emissions
- ^ "Pacific Osprey's new upgraded crane boom is on its way to Denmark for installation". www.windtech-international.com. 2020.
- ^ Snyder, John (11 March 2020). "New class of installation vessels to handle 'super-sized' wind turbines". Riviera Maritime Media.
- ^ "Eneti orders second 20 MW wind turbine installation vessel". Offshore Energy. 2 December 2021.
- ^ a b Dixon, Gary (25 August 2020). "Offshore wind players losing out on deals due to lack of ships". TradeWinds | Latest shipping and maritime news.
- ^ "Huadian Heavy Charters Mega Jack-Up Capable of Installing 20 MW Offshore Wind Turbines". Offshore Wind. 4 January 2022.
- ^ Sanderson, Cosmo (23 November 2023). "'World's biggest offshore wind vessel already struggling to keep pace with turbines'". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news.
- ^ "Too few and too small: the vessel crunch hobbling China's offshore wind dash". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news. 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Dutch firms unveil US offshore wind feeder vessel design". www.offshore-mag.com. 21 April 2021.
- ^ "DEME and Barge Master Develop Feeder Solution for US Offshore Wind Projects". Offshore Wind. 5 May 2022.
- ^ Snieckus, Darius (29 November 2019). "New 'no-legs' crane vessel launched for next-generation jackets | Recharge". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news.
- ^ Radowitz, Bernd (25 November 2022). "Turbine in at Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm using 'world's first floating installation' method | Recharge". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news.
- ^ "Swire Blue Ocean to upgrade two turbine installation vessels and build new one". Riviera. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Snieckus, Darius (20 December 2022). "New chapter | Giant Voltaire jack-up heads for North Sea to build world's biggest wind plant | Recharge". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news.
- ^ Foxwell, David (16 June 2021). "Technical issue halts work on Saint-Brieuc offshore windfarm". Riviera. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Samsung Heavy Industries secures AIPs for environmentally friendly turbine installation vessel". Riviera. 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Keel laid for first Jones Act-compliant turbine installation vessel". www.offshore-mag.com. 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020.
Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. This will be the first Jones Act-compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel. Its hull and infrastructure will use more than 14,000 tons of domestic steel. crane .. boom length of 426 ft (130 m) and lifting capacity of 2,200 tons.
- ^ "Turbine-installing ship is Dominion's big bet on offshore wind". Energy News Network. 8 March 2022.
- ^ Ferry, Tim (1 August 2024). "Costs soar to $715m for US' only wind installation vessel on new turbine specs and financing". rechargenews.com.
- ^ Lewis, Michelle (2021-06-01). "The US gets a game-changing offshore wind farm installation vessel". Electrek.
- ^ Tremblay, Matt (2 August 2021). "The complicated U.S. regulations for offshore wind vessels". Windpower Engineering & Development. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021.
- ^ "The Jones Act: How a 100-year-old law complicates offshore wind projects". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
- ^ "How US protectionism is holding back the country's offshore wind plans". Canary Media. 2024-02-19. Retrieved 2024-02-19.