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Triton Knoll poised for offshore construction

By: Tom Russell 09/01/2020 innogy

Foundations General Vessels

Offshore construction is underway at the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm. The vessel fleet that will carry out foundation installation has already begun to mobilise and will look to install the first foundations as soon as weather conditions are favourable.

Offshore construction starts with the installation of turbine monopile foundations and transition pieces. Each steel monopile weighs on average 600 tonnes and is around 54 metres long - longer and similar in width to the cabin of an Airbus A380/ The foundations design, by UK engineering firm Atkins on behalf of lead contractor 3SF (a Smulders Sif Joint Venture), is a major innovation and has saved the equivalent of over 3 Eiffel Towers worth of steel in the manufacturing process, while preserving the strength of the asset.

Seaway7’s installation vessel Seaway Strashnovarrived on site this month (January) and will install the 90 turbine foundations as soon as weather conditions are favourable. The vessel is 183metres in length and can lift up to 5,000 tonnes.

Two high-tech offshore substation platforms (OSPs) and their foundations, as well as over 600 kilometres of sub-sea export and array cables are also to be installed at the site. Offshore array and export cable installations are scheduled to begin later in 2020, following the planned completion of seabed clearance and preparation works.

Julian Garnsey, project director for Triton Knoll and innogy, said: “We are looking forward to a busy year installing Triton Knoll’s innovative foundations and offshore substation platforms, further demonstrating innogy’s continued commitment towards ever more sustainable electricity generation for consumers.”

Located 32km off the coast of Lincolnshire in the east of England, Triton Knoll is being owned by innogy (59%), J-Power (25%), and Kansai Electric Power (16%) with innogy managing the construction as well as the long-term operation and maintenance works, on behalf of its project partners.

The wind farm will feature 90 V164-9.5 MW turbines mounted on monopile foundations connected by over 100km of cabling. The wind farm is expected to produce first power in 2021. Once fully operational, it will be capable of generating enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of over 800,000 typical UK households

A fleet of vessels, many operating out of Grimsby’s Royal Dock, will support the construction of the wind farm. The 83 metre long Service Operations Vessel Esvagt Froude will support works and the site and visit Triton Knoll's newly constructed Grimsby port facilities, where all offshore construction activity and longer-term operations and maintenance will be coordinated. The SOV has been charted to help the construction team and will regularly enter the port to change crews and re-stock supplies.

East coast and UK firms like Specialist Marine Consultancy (SMC), Seacat, Hull’s Precision Marine Survey Ltd and Carlbom Shipping Ltd, will also play key roles in supporting the offshore activities in 2020.

The first Seacat vessel arrives in Grimsby this winter and will be joined by its sister vessel in the spring. Both vessels will support the movement of personnel throughout the construction work and will eventually be available 24-7 as required by the project. One of the Seacat’s first jobs is to transfer teams from east coast firm Specialist Marine Consultants Ltd (SMC) to site. SMC’s role is to inspect and maintain the newly installed offshore assets.

Construction of a multi-million pound turbine pre-assembly base at Teesside’s Able Seaton Port will get underway in the new year, equipping the port for the first time to be able to host the assembly and installation of turbines, with first components due to arrive the later this year.

Onshore progress was made during 2019 to construct the project’s electrical system, which consists of a 57km underground onshore export cable, a new landfall connection and purpose-built onshore substation. Construction is due to finish in 2020 and will ensure the project is all set to transmit power, via the offshore substations which were mechanically completed in 2019, into the national grid network and ultimately over 800,000 UK homes.

In 2021, the focus of construction will shift to the installation and energisation of the powerful 9.5MW turbines, with Triton Knoll anticipating the first electricity to flow from the wind farm into the UK National Grid later that year.

For more information on wind farm developments, vessels and click here. Alternatively, click here for our interactive map of offshore wind farms, infrastructure and ports.

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Triton Knoll poised for offshore construction

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