Sarens PSG’s new Offshore Wind Center in Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone will serve as the base for a study into the deployment of floating wind turbines in the North Sea on an industrial scale.

BlueFloat Energy and Nadara have commissioned the company to investigate techniques for transporting floating foundations from land to sea. That includes deploying completed floating wind structures directly from construction or production facilities to offshore operational sites.

The study team will identify cost, risk and scheduling implications as well as assess their impact on port infrastructure for BlueFloat and Nadara’s projects.

Sarens PSG will draw on the experience of its partner Sarens NV, a heavy-lift and transport provider. In addition, Sarens PSG recently completed a floating offshore wind turbine generator (WTG) integration study for an offshore developer.

That work examined issues associated with the integration of latest/new-generation WTG components onto floating offshore wind foundations, notably, their extreme weight and the need to lift to significant height, which necessitates the use of giant ring cranes.

The study assessed how these types of cranes impact port infrastructure and integration operations, and it identified potential risks, costs and other constraints. It also looked at the future market for large cranes to ensure they remain compatible with emerging floating foundation and WTG technologies.

BlueFloat Energy and Nadara plan to use the results in their future project planning, procurement, capex forecasting and risk management.

The partnership is developing three five floating offshore wind farms in Scotland: 1.2-GW Bellrock project east of Aberdeen, the 900-MW Broadshore project north of Fraserburgh, and (via a collaboration with Ørsted) the 1.5-GW Stromar east of Caithness.

In addition, they have seabed exclusivity agreements for two innovation projects under the INTOG process, Sinclair and Scaraben, both 99.5-MW and situated adjacent to Broadshore.