- UK engineering expertise at the heart of cutting edge foundations design
- Design work targets most efficient foundations design at innogy’s Triton Knoll
BRITISH engineering and design expertise is helping deliver cost-reductions at innogy-owned Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm, as its key project subcontractor Atkins targets new designs which will be more efficient than anything else currently in operation.
UK-based engineers Atkins, subcontracted to Triton Knoll’s preferred foundations supplier Smulders Sif Steel Foundations JV, is looking to apply cutting edge design techniques to the monopile foundations for all 90 of the wind farm’s new MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines and its two offshore substations.
innogy’s Richard Hughes, foundations package manager for Triton Knoll, explained: “It’s very exciting to know that UK engineering expertise will be at the heart of driving the design of a monopile foundation which has the potential to be lighter than any currently installed in comparable site conditions, so helping to deliver cost reductions at Triton Knoll.
“We’ve worked very closely with Atkins and our preferred foundations supplier Smulders Sif Steel Foundations JV to share our own experiences and knowledge and help support the delivery of real innovation. innogy and Triton Knoll are key members of the industry-wide Pile Soil Analysis Group which aims to find ways of reducing costs across the sector by implementing new methods of designing monopile foundations. We expect Triton Knoll to be one of the first projects to see the results of these improvements delivered on the ground.”
Andy Thompson, market lead for offshore engineering at Atkins, said: “Bigger turbines create different engineering challenges; given Triton Knoll is the first offshore wind farm to use the V164-9.5 MW turbine, we’re taking a unique approach to addressing the design questions posed by the project, drawing on all our previous offshore experience, in both wind and oil and gas.
“Our UK-based team has many years of experience working on offshore wind farms around the world, and we’re looking forward to putting that expertise into action on the project. Our industry continues to learn at an extraordinary pace and Atkins’ innovative work designing and engineering various parts of an offshore wind farm has been key to helping lower costs for industry and, ultimately, the consumer.
“We’re extremely pleased to have been selected as the designer for the Triton Knoll project. This is an important project for us, and helps Atkins maintain the momentum we’ve already built in pushing engineering design boundaries. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with the very competent Smulders SIF Steel Foundations Joint Venture to provide structures that help enable the continued reduction in the cost of energy generated by offshore wind.”
Atkins’ design contract will advance technological capability in the UK market. For much larger turbines, efficient design supporting turbine infrastructure is critical and as turbines get bigger, more effective and efficient designs for weight, fabrication and installation, as well as increased collaboration across the supply chain, has been crucial to the success of the industry.
The company said that critical national infrastructure projects like Triton Knoll have also been key to exporting UK skills to other offshore wind markets. Atkins added that China, Taiwan and the US all want to use experience gained in the European market, both companies and people who have done it before. The accelerated programmes in other countries mean there are plenty of potential opportunities for innovative UK suppliers to be involved in exporting to the global offshore wind market place.
The Triton Knoll offshore wind farm will be located 32kms off the Lincolnshire coast. It is sited in an area where Atkins has extensive experience in XL monopile and transition piece design engineering.
Triton Knoll is an innogy-owned(1) offshore wind farm, and has a planned installed capacity of 860MW(2) capable of supplying the equivalent of over 800,000 UK households per year, with renewable electricity.
The project was awarded a Contract For Difference (3) in September 2017, and expects to trigger a capital expenditure investment of around £2billion into much needed UK energy infrastructure. This will enable the delivery of some of the lowest cost energy generation for UK consumers.
It is now progressing towards a financial investment decision likely in 2018 with full onshore construction starting shortly after, and offshore construction starting in 2020. First energy generation could be as early as mid-Q1 2021, with the project expecting to begin commissioning in 2021.
For more information about Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm, please visit: www.tritonknoll.co.uk
Ends
| Media Contact | |
| Mark Fleming
Triton Knoll Communications Manager
M: 07825 608096 |
Paul Childs
Atkins external Communications Manager, Energy T: +44 207 1212828 |
Editors notes
(1) Ownership
Triton Knoll is 100% owned by Innogy Renewables UK Ltd (innogy).
(2) Energy Generation
It is estimated that the average annual generation expected at the site could be equivalent to the approximate domestic needs of an expected minimum of 800,000 average UK households.
Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and correlated with long term reference data. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent figure may change as further data are gathered.
Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4100 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household figures from the UK National Statistics Authority.”
(3) CFD award and consents
Triton Knoll was awarded a Contract for Difference on Monday 11 September 2017.
In July 2013, the Secretary of State granted consent for the offshore array element of the project (turbines, offshore substations, inter array cables etc). In September 2016, the Secretary of State also granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Electrical System (ES) which connects the power generated from the offshore array into the national grid onshore. The ES consent includes the offshore export cable, the onshore underground export cable, an intermediate electrical compound at Orby, and a new substation at Bicker Fen, ultimately ensuring the delivery of energy potentially into an anticipated 800,000 UK homes once the wind farm is fully operational.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, employing some 18,300 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. We build long term trusted partnerships to create a world where lives are enriched through the implementation of our ideas.
You can view Atkins’ recent projects on our website.
Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a global fully integrated professional services and project management company and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure. From offices around the world, SNC-Lavalin’s employees are proud to build what matters. Our teams provide comprehensive end-to-end project solutions – including capital investment, consulting, design, engineering, construction, sustaining capital and operations and maintenance – to clients in oil and gas, mining and metallurgy, infrastructure and power. On July 3, 2017, SNC-Lavalin acquired Atkins, one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. www.snclavalin.com
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innogy SE
innogy SE is Germany’s leading energy company, with revenue of around €44 billion (2016), more than 40,000 employees and activities in 16 countries across Europe. With its three business segments Grid & Infrastructure, Retail and Renewables, innogy addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonised, decentralised and digital energy world. Its activities focus on its
23 million customers, and on offering them innovative and sustainable products and services which enable them to use energy more efficiently and improve their quality of life. The key markets are Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as several countries in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe, especially the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. In renewable power generation, the company is also active in other regions, e.g. Spain, Italy and the MENA region (Middle East, North Africa), with a total capacity of 3.7 gigawatts. As a leader of innovation in future-oriented fields like eMobility, we are represented in the international hot-spots of the technology industry such as Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, London and Berlin. We combine the extensive expertise of our energy technicians and engineers with digital technology partners, from start-ups to major corporates. With planned capital investments of around €6.5- €7.0 billion (2017-2019), we are building the power market of the future and driving forward the transformation of the energy market.
Renewables
With an installed capacity of more than 900 megawatts in offshore wind and with over 1900 megawatts in onshore wind, innogy is one of the major operators in Europe. We plan, build and operate plants to generate power and extract energy from renewable sources. Our aim is to take the expansion of renewables in Europe further in the short term, both on our own and working with partners. We believe that working together in this way is the key to making the energy transition a success. Currently, we are particularly strongly represented in our home market, Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. At the moment we are focusing on continuing to expand our activities in onshore and offshore wind power. We are also looking at entering new markets and technologies, such as large-scale photovoltaic plants.
Further information: www.innogy.com