Forewind has appointed Atkins to design the Meteorological (Met) masts for the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm which is located off the east coast of Yorkshire and is potentially the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The masts will gather important meteorological data to help ensure that the wind turbines are designed and orientated to maximise the farm’s power generating capacity.
Project director for Atkins, John Foley , said: “ Met masts provide valuable information for characterising the long term environmental conditions and wind resource that inform the economic viability of a wind project. The robustness of the data relies upon the robustness of the Met masts – as they are to be located in the challenging conditions of deep water and will need to pick up the desired higher wind speeds, the teams will rely on key experience and skills being tested in the industry.”
Dogger Bank has a potential capacity of around 13GW, equal to around 10% of the UK’s projected electricity future requirements. Atkins’ initial role is to conduct the conceptual appraisal for the Met mast sub-structures which will be located in water depths of 22m and 25m. Once the concept is approved, Atkins’ team will also carry out the detailed design for the foundation and topsides.
Peter Geddes, Forewind project manager , said: “ The remote location, harsh environment and testing economic climate present some complex engineering challenges that we are confident Atkins has the expertise to address.”
This contract builds on similar work Atkins is undertaking for six other Met mast projects in the UK including the Narec Demonstrator Project Monitoring Station, and Rampion, just off the UK’s south coast.
[mappress] Source: Atkins, August 23, 2011; Image: Forewind