Crane specialist Liebherr has shared images of the recent loading of the first monopiles in Rostock, Germany, for the Danish offshore wind farm "Kriegers Flak."
The wind farm, located south of the Danish coast, and being developed by Vattenfall, will supply up to 600,000 households with electricity in the future and will thus become Denmark's largest offshore wind farm.
The loading of the monopile foundation piles for the project will be handled by Liebherr's heavy-duty gantry crane type TCC 78000, inaugurated in 2019. The manufacturer of the monopiles is the offshore wind specialist EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH, also based in Rostock.
The first of a total of 72 monopile foundations at the Rostock port were loaded from the quayside into the water by the TCC 78000 in May.
For direct loading into the water, the otherwise hollow piles, which are open at both ends, must be sealed watertight in advance with specially constructed sealing caps, so-called plugs. The sealing condition thus created enables the monopile foundation piles, which are over 65 metres long and weigh up to 800 tonnes, to float.
The plug installation is carried out on an area of almost 9000 m² on the Liebherr company premises.
The TCC 78000 heavy-duty gantry crane, inaugurated by Liebherr in 2019, will be used for direct loading from the quay edge into the water.
"Cooperation between Liebherr, EEW SPC and Vattenfall The TCC 78000 offers a maximum lifting capacity of 1,600 tonnes and is used at Liebherr for internal logistics processes in the production, assembly and dispatch of maritime cranes," Liebherr said.
"Thanks to constructive cooperation and a thorough preparation phase, the monopile shipments are proceeding according to plan. The fact that we are now also contributing a part to the largest Danish offshore wind farm makes us a little proud,” says Gregor Levold, General Manager Shipping, and Heavy Lift Handling at Liebherr in Rostock, Germany.
After loading into the water, a deep-sea tugboat transports the monopile foundations towards the "Kriegers Flak" wind farm, which is located about 15 kilometers off the Danish coast.
"Kriegers Flak" is Vattenfall's largest offshore project in Denmark to date. The expected power generation is expected to cover the annual electricity consumption of about 600,000 Danish households.
In mid-May, Van Oord's Svanen heavy-lift vessel installed the first foundation on the seabed at the Kriegers Flak wind farm location.
Installation of the foundations is expected to run into the autumn this year with the installation of turbines starting in 2021.
As mentioned earlier, Kriegers Flak is the latest and largest of Vattenfall’s recent offshore projects in Denmark. The others being Horns Rev 3, which was inaugurated last year, and Vesterhav Syd & Nord, which are scheduled to be in full operation by the end of 2023, at the latest.