EOWDC Project Lands Its First Jacket Foundation

North-east Scotland has marked a UK offshore wind first following the installation of the first pioneering suction bucket jacket foundation for Vattenfall’s 11-turbine European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in just 15 hours.

The EOWDC in Aberdeen Bay is the first offshore wind project to deploy the foundations at commercial scale with each of the 11 steel jacket foundations weighing in at almost ten Boeing 747s.

One of the world’s largest and most versatile floating cranes – the 25,000 tonne Asian Hercules III which has a lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes – lifted and installed the first 1,800 tonne structure on Sunday, March 25.

Gunnar Groebler, Vattenfall’s senior vice president of Business Area Wind, said: “The EOWDC is a cornerstone of Vattenfall’s and the industry’s drive for innovative cost reduction in offshore wind. To be fossil free within one generation a climate smart offshore wind programme embracing science and technology is really important for Vattenfall. Where appropriate, we are keen to see the EOWDC’s novel approach to foundations – along with all its other innovations – rolled out to the rest of the industry.”

Adam Ezzamel, EOWDC project director for Vattenfall, said: “The first installation of the suction bucket foundations is a major accomplishment for the EOWDC project team, our contractors and the offshore wind industry. Suction bucket jacket foundations – which can each be installed with a single offshore lift, virtually without noise and within a matter of hours – bring considerable environmental benefits. They are lowered into the water where the upturned buckets are rapidly embedded into the seabed to create a secure foundation for installation of the world’s most powerful wind turbine later this spring.

“By enabling faster and smarter installation, the technology will drive down offshore wind costs considerably, provide a further foundation option at challenging sites, whilst also allowing an easier and complete decommissioning. These foundations are the first visible structures offshore for the EOWDC which we hope will go some way to help establish the North-east as a centre for offshore wind innovation.”