Framo, part of Alfa Laval, has provided its pump technology for the installation of the suction bucket jacket foundations at the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm.
The Norway-based company, a sub-contractor to the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), pumped and anchored a total of 60 suction buckets as foundations for 20 wind turbines at Ørsted’s German project.
“It’s a milestone for Framo. This is the first time our technology has been used to pump so many wind turbines in the same wind farm and is quite unique that so many wind turbines are anchored with suction anchors in one field,” said Jørgen Brandt Theodorsen , Area Sales Manager at Framo.
“Compared with installing monopiles, suction anchor technology has a more environmentally friendly footprint. When pumped in place, the fish does not scare away during the installation process due to noise and it is easy to reverse the operation.”
The team comprising specialists from Framo, NGI and GeoSea pumped the final jacket foundation at the wind farm site off the German north-west coast at the end of July after periods of storm and high waves, Framo said.
The three-legged foundations are more than 50m tall and weigh 950t each. With the MHI Vestas 8MW turbines in place, the structures rise 109m above sea level and have a 164-meter wingspan.
The 450MW Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm will comprise a total of 56 turbines mounted 36 monopiles, in addition to the 20 suction buckets. The project is expected to be fully commissioned in early 2019.