Description
Wind Power is an up-and-coming technology that is finding its way offshore. Turbines have grown and become more efficient, allowing them to be economically placed in ever deeper waters. In the European North Sea, ideal winds combined with political conditions have led to a recent boom in development and construction activities in the offshore wind sector.
The Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm is scheduled to come online in mid 2010. The field consists of 140 wind turbines and two hub platforms to be installed off the eastern seaboard of the United Kingdom. Once in place, the field will be the largest development of its type in the UK, generating 504MW of electrical power.
Heerema has been part of the design and execution team for the Greater Gabbard field as well as several other developments. In this presentation, we will attempt to give an overview of the offshore wind business, its challenges, and potential through a case study of the Greater Gabbard Farm.
Mike Bateman has worked in the offshore oil and gas business for 15 years. He has served as a structural engineer, project manager, and technology developer at different times in his career, culminating in his current assignment leading HFGE’s efforts in the wind business. Mr. Bateman first became involved in the wind business in 2003 when the turbines began their migration from shore-based systems to offshore wind farms. He has since been involved in three major offshore wind developments in Northern Europe and has worked on projects and/or technology development in the wind field for GE, Siemens, ABB, and British Gas.