Offshore wind

Floating wind installation

Our novel floating wind installation method has been designed to upscale the commercialization of offshore floating wind

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Delivering a lower EPC cost
Reducing transport and marshalling costs and infrastructure requirements
Ensuring higher, more efficient, and predictable field delivery

Why install with a floating vessel?

The offshore wind industry is projected to produce 228 GW by 2030, enough to power over 68 million homes. These projects will be at greater water depths and with larger wind turbine generators. Heerema is bringing new solutions for new challenges

Heerema's floating to floating installation method

Heerema's Floating to Floating installation method was developed to deliver solutions to industry challenges, such as efficient use of resources like steel and port infrastructure, offshore logistics and maintenance, and reaching the required scale and rate of installation.

Heerema has developed an alternative method that does not require a wet-tow and removes the need for marshalling yards.

Using the floating to floating installation method floaters can be constructed on land before being dry-towed on a transport vessel to the location. After arrival, they will be installed using Heerema’s floating installation frame to lift the floaters from the vessel. After that, they will be installed on location. Heerema’s floating installation frame will submerge the floaters down by weight, removing the need for high-tech ballasting or tensioning systems and reducing installation duration. The bottom foundation work can be executed in parallel by optimizing the capabilities of Heerema’s semi-submersible crane vessels.

A deeper dive into benefits

Delivering a lower EPC cost

The floaters’ volume and weight are reduced by removing the need for wet-towing. Also, the floater is lifted directly from the transportation asset in the field, which means both the floater and wind turbine generator can be optimized for in-place conditions only.

A low-tech floater design is possible by integrating installation requirements such as ballasting provisions into reusable installation tooling, removing the requirement to build these functionalities into each floater.

Reduction in costs

Reducing transport and marshalling costs and infrastructure requirements

By efficiently using space onboard transport vessels to deliver multiple floaters directly from the fabrication yard to the offshore wind site transport and marshalling costs are significantly reduced.

By removing the need for in-port assembly of the floater and WTG there is less space and draught required in the port and reduced quayside capacity, which helps avoid one-off mega-investments in port areas.

Delivering a higher throughput

Ensuring higher, more efficient, and predictable field delivery

By removing time-consuming and highly weather-sensitive wet tows and mooring connections, higher throughput can be achieved on floating wind projects. The floating to floating installation method means floater and WTG campaigns can be decoupled, reducing supply-chain pressure, and resulting in a more efficient process.

The crane-supported floating to floating installation method is built on proven technologies from the oil and gas floating platform industry. It allows the saving of tons of steel per floater and will reduce overall project CAPEX.

'We want to show an alternative solution for installing offshore floating wind, especially targeting some of the bottlenecks for scaling up. We strongly believe that by opening up to new ways of working and collaboration floating wind can reach the potential the industry is looking for.’

Jeroen van Oosten

Director Wind

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