Yunlin Offshore Windfarm: Marine engineering support for foundation T&I

Project title: Yunlin Offshore Windfarm: Marine engineering support for foundation T&I

Project location: Taiwan

Client: Yunneng Wind Power Co. Ltd [A Skyborn, Totalenergies, EGCO Group and Sojitz Corp-led consortium]

Start date: January 2020

Assets: 80x Monopile Foundations WTG’s; 640MW total installed capacity

Services:

Marine Engineering Support for Foundation T&I
Marine Advisory

Project Summary:

This 640MW offshore wind farm is in the Taiwan Strait, between 8 and 17 kilometres off the west coast of Taiwan, at water depths from 7 up to 35 meters. The wind farm comprises 80 WTGs, whose generated electricity will be fed into the Taiwanese power grid via two onshore substations, powering nearly 600,000 Taiwanese
households with clean electricity.

This project was uniquely challenging in several ways. For example, the soil conditions in the Taiwan Strait made monopile installation challenging throughout the project and the project’s exposure to extreme natural events, including earthquakes and typhoons, required robust engineering.

Additionally, the main T&I contractor was changed part-way through the project, resulting in significant engineering and methodology changes. However, ABL was able to continue to support the project throughout this challenging period by driving up the quality of the procedures and engineering throughout the project, reducing the regularity and severity.

Client Challenges

Yunneng Wind Power Co. Ltd [A Skyborn, Totalenergies, EGCO Group and Sojitz Corp-led consortium] (formerly WPD) requested ABL’s support due to several reasons, including:

Extreme environmental conditions (typhoons, etc.)
Complex T&I methodology involving a large marine spread and multi-body operations
Challenging installation requirements pushing the capabilities of available vessels

Solutions

Detailed engineering studies including:

Motions and transportation analyses
Feasibility studies
Incident support
Design of seafastening equipment
Development of tow manuals
Dynamic mooring analyses
Vessel screening studies
Rigging/lift plan verification

Technical due diligence in relation to the T&I documents and procedures for the Yunlin offshore wind farm regarding:

Safety
Operational performance
Operational efficiency
Good industry practice

ABL was able to identify and assess gaps and potential risks associated with the planned offshore operations and provide solution-oriented guidance on improvement options for the T&I campaign, drawing upon ABL’s extensive experience in the construction of offshore wind farms across the globe.

On-site attendance at key moments throughout the project
to provide:

Operational office support
Completion of vessel surveys, including on/off hire surveys

Results

ABL brought several benefits to the project/client:

Integration of accumulated ABL knowledge from other projects to enhance the operational efficiency and safety of the foundations T&I campaign
Enhanced the clients in-house engineering capabilities, allowing a more robust review of the T&I methodologies proposed by the contractors
Office support to enhance safety, efficiency and ensure best practices are adhered to
Marine assurance of project vessels and equipment, reducing the likelihood of critical failures and project delay
Robust and bespoke engineering analysis carried out in a timely manner

Our Value

As the market-leading provider of marine warranty surveys (MWS) since 1979, ABL has a wealth of knowledge and practical experience in all types of MWS projects.

Management and document control system for optimised project delivery.

Combined with a long-term legacy in marine assurance and risk.

Largest pool of expertise across energy, marine and engineering disciplines.

“ABL’s engineering services in support of the Yunlin OWF is an excellent example of the flexibility and dynamic nature of the organisation. By working across time zones and with a diverse set of skilled personnel, ABL was able to provide robust and timely engineering design and marine assurance services while drawing upon ABL’s unique global track record to proactively contribute to the success of this exciting project.”
Tilo Klappenbach, Country Manager, ABL Germany

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