Innovative Exchange of Offshore Wind Turbine Components
The demand for expected and unexpected maintenance work increases with every newly installed offshore wind turbine. With a potential of 5,000 5MW blades that need to be exchanged in the coming years, a cost-effective solution is required.
By replacing the jack-up vessel with a floating solution with similar workability, significant costs and time can be saved. With the design of a dedicated turbine maintenance system, TWD together with Royal Wagenborg have come up with an innovative floating removal and installation method.
The vessel independent tool is equipped with a motion compensation system to mitigate relative motions during turbine approach and allows for a safe connection. Once connected, a smart blade handling cart can collect, transport and place blades and other heavy components of the nacelle.
At the moment TWD has successfully performed a technical feasibility study of the concept.