High Wind NV has started the commercialisation of its Boom Lock© allowing the safe installation of all wind turbine components in winds of up to 15 m/s. The first Boom Lock© was completed in January, consequently installed on GeoSea’s Neptune, and has undergone its final performance trials last weekend.
During these tests in stormy conditions at the REBO site in the port of Ostend, the Boom Lock© actually outperformed the design specs by keeping a 6MW-turbine blade steady in wind gusts of up to 20 m/s. These tests were witnessed by different independent parties, including marine warranty surveyors and turbine manufacturers.
Furthermore, the movements of the hoisted loads were monitored and recorded by engineers of the University of Leuven, allowing High Wind quantifiable and undisputable proof of the Boom Lock© benefits.
Following the successful trials, GeoSea will now use the Boom Lock© in its future wind turbine installation and maintenance projects.
The Boom Lock© is a system that is mounted on an offshore crane, and is designed to control the movement of the crane hook and the payload in such a way that installation time can be drastically reduced. This will result both in considerable cost savings under the form of reduced cost for installation vessels, installation crews and related costs, as well as increased income due to earlier completion of the wind farms, High Wind said.
The company added that the use of the Boom Lock© will seriously increase safety during the installation of the wind turbines as the heavy payloads’ uncontrolled movements in windy conditions will be dramatically reduced.
Although initially developed specifically for the offshore wind installation and maintenance market, other critical lifting operations could also benefit from the increased safety and uptime guaranteed by the Boom Lock©.
The Boom Lock© was developed by a consortium of companies with vast experience in complementary fields such as offshore contracting, engineering, lifting and steel construction. The Flemish Government has supported this breakthrough development by investing in High Wind through its participation fund TINA which invests in “Factories of the Future”.
Image: GeoSea