Two Windfarm Platform Topsides
Heerema Hartlepool, one of the fabrication locations of Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG), has been awarded a contract to fabricate and load out two substation platform topsides for the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm by AREVA T&D UK Ltd on behalf of owners Statoil (formerly StatoilHydro) and Statkraft. Earlier this year Heerema Hartlepool, in tandem with sister company HFG Engineering, successfully completed an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract for the UK’s first offshore windfarm substation, which was loaded out and positioned off the east coast of England in September.
Securing this latest project will safeguard employment at the Hartlepool facility, which is currently also constructing and commissioning the 6,500 tonne Nexen Buzzard Production Sweetening Deck and Bridge, due for offshore installation in the spring of 2010. Between them, the projects in hand in 2009 have provided employment for more than 1,000 personnel at Heerema Hartlepool, with additional supply-chain jobs being created for other companies in the North East region and further afield.
Each of the Sheringham Shoal decks has a length of 30.5 metres, width of 17.7 metres and height of 16 metres, with a weight of approximately 1,000 tonnes. The topsides will be constructed and onshore commissioned in Heerema Hartlepool’s extensive indoor fabrication halls in Hartlepool.They are scheduled to sail out from Hartlepool in September 2010.
Frank Moran, Managing Director of Heerema Hartlepool says: “The award of Sheringham Shoal is another important step for Heerema Hartlepool and HFG in the expanding offshore wind energy sector. It builds on our earlier successes in this area, drawing on our extensive offshore oil and gas experience for this new market. We are proud to be in a position to play our part in implementing the Government’s green energy strategy over the coming years and, especially in these challenging economic times, to continue providing substantial employment in Hartlepool and the North East. We look forward to working with AREVA, Project Managers Wood Group Engineering and owners Statoil and Statkraft to achieve a safe and successful completion of this important project. We will of course continue to serve the oil and gas industry as before, as indeed the Heerema Group has done successfully for almost 60 years”.
Situated between 17-23 km north off the Norfolk coast and due to come on-stream in late 2011, the Sheringham Shoal wind farm will generate 1.1TWh of green energy annually, or enough to power 220,000 British homes. Compared to fossil fuels that’s a reduction of around 500,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm Project is owned jointly by Statoil (50%) and Statkraft (50%) through Scira Offshore Energy Ltd. Statoil is operator for the development phase and Scira will be the operator of the wind farm.