There is a huge market for offshore wind foundations, both within the North Sea and globally.
Unlike steel foundations, self-buoyant gravity base foundations (GBF) are mass-produced locally using conventional civil engineering construction skills.
They are potentially economical in the water depth range of 35-60m, depending on ground and/or environmental conditions.
Windfarm developer EdF Renewable Energy is building a demonstration project 8km off the coast of Blyth. The GBFs comprise two elements, a concrete caisson and a steel shaft. The caissons are being constructed in the Neptune dry dock on the Tyne by BAM. The shafts are being fabricated in the Netherlands and shipped to Newcastle where BAM will install them into the caisson.
Once assembled the complete GBF will be floated out of the dry dock and towed to Blyth where they will be immersed to take up their permanent position on the seabed. They will then be ballasted with sand and the wind turbine generators installed and generate 41.5MW of low carbon electricity to power 33 000 homes.
| Organisation: | ICE |
|---|---|
| Date: | 02/05/17 |
| Time: | 5.45pm - 8pm |
| Speaker: | Gavin Gerrard, BSc (Hons), C.Eng, MICE, Operations Manager BAM |
| Venue: | Cassie Building Common Room & Room 2.32, Newcastle University, Devonshire Terrace, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU |
| Cost: | FREE |
| Type: | Lecture |
| Contact: | katy.obrien@ice.org.uk |
| Region: | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne |
| Time of Day: | Evening |
| Topic: | Other |