Providing offshore power

Thirty wind turbines are currently being installed at Kentish Flats in the North Sea following successful completion of an offshore piling contract.

Piling specialist MT Hojgaard (MTH) completed the foundations work for Danish utility company Elsam ahead of schedule despite disruption caused by strong tidal currents and high winds.

MTH used a jack up barge fitted with a hydraulic hammer and a specially developed pile gripper to drill and fix the 4300 mm diameter tubular steel piles 32 m into the seabed. The contractor then fixed and grouted into position a 4500 mm diameter transition piece, weighing 82 tonnes, topped with a platform onto the top of the pile.

Completion of the piling work cleared the way for the laying of high power cables late last year ready for main contractor Vestas Wind to install the 2,75 MW turbines onto each platform. The wind farm is expected to be fully operational later this year.