The photo is sourced from fredolsen1848.com
The technology is called to cut idle time, related to replacement of gearboxes, generators, and blades of the coastal wind turbines. Customarily, above water structures of wind machines are disassembled with subsequent transportation onshore, where spares are assembled. The Fred. Olsen’s 1848 specialists in response have suggested a suite of technical solutions for the floating service of the wind turbines (Floating Maintenance Solution): its key element is a supply vessel with onboard 150-ton telescopic crane with foldable swinging boom.
The crane during maintenance works will be installed onto floating foundation column and later, in remote control mode, dismantle spent blades and attach the new ones. The innovation is targeted at the wind machines with up to 15 megawatts (MW) rating and up to 150 m high.
The Fred. Olsen’s 1848 development in the event of successful passing a path from the prototype to commercial product will possibly reduce operating expenses of marine wind energy. For example, in the USA in 2020 specific costs of repair and maintenance of coastal wind turbines are 3.5 times higher than for terrestrial installations ($35 against $10 per megawatt-hour generation, according the International Energy Agency)
Another point of weakness of the wind generators – high capital cost – also is not ignored by renewable sources of energy equipment vendor-companies. For example, Wind Catching Systems has designed a wind farm, which externally looks like a grid, comprising of 126 small turbines. Due to high total coverage of blades, the five analogous machines will be capable of generating the same quantity of electric power as 25 coastal wind generators with consolidated power of 375 MW.
