London Array moves into Ramsgate

London Array (LA) has selected Ramsgate for their own O&M base for phase one of the project that will see 175 turbines of 3.6MW each installed around 20km offshore at their closest point. The development will further promote Ramsgate’s new lease of life, offering the prospect of the port becoming an active centre for renewable energy operations in the area for many years to come.

With the increase in the scale and pace of UK offshore wind farm projects, attention is currently focused on the race to provide turnkey style solution ports able to load out completed turbines while also having the potential to establish turbine production facilities at the location. This centralising of manufacturing and delivery operations avoids the expense of transferring components to a suitable port for onward shipment to another port for transfer to the installation vessel.

The recent agreement between Siemens and ABP for the development at Hull is an example of such thinking. Complex considerations involved include proximity to the wind farm site, sufficient water depth and quay length for the installation vessels, sufficient adjacent land for production facilities, and a suitable pool of specialist skills ideally locally sourced.

In the shadow of these large scale supply chain operations, however, is the requirement to provide an O&M base for the remaining life of the wind farm. Round One and Two developers can consider smaller ports closer to the site for the relatively small support craft providing access for the maintenance teams. This has led to new windows of opportunity for such ports, often used to operating a mix of commercial and leisure activities. A

recent visit by MJ to the London Array base at Ramsgate provided an insight into how in the early days of the construction phase they are establishing themselves locally, with the aim of making the port the hub of activity throughout the life of the wind farm.

Once the successful developer has been selected, part of the competitiveness factor evaporates. Developers certainly don’t have to compete on commodity markets for fuel to generate energy. Natural synergies exist between each development and a surprising degree of cooperation was evident at Ramsgate, including the addressing of opportunities that benefit both London Array and Vattenfall in what can almost be described as a ‘connecting door’ arrangement between the two sites.

London Arrays’s construction management team currently occupies temporary accommodation while next door the permanent O&M building is being built by Mansell Construction Services takes shape on a 2,500 sq/m site. The building will contain a 24 hour manned, computerised monitoring and control centre, workshop, office and storage area. Facilities for up to 100 staff will be provided with the building due to open in September 2011.

Pontoons supplied by Marine Designs Ltd will be installed in the port area, which together with fuelling facilities will provide accommodation for up to six support vessels. Limited dredging will be carried out in the area of the pontoons.

Once the wind farm is operational around 90 full time staff will be permanently based at Ramsgate and, like Vattenfall, London Array is keen to employ local people where possible. Thanet is an area of high unemployment where the leisure and tourism industry has traditionally provided the bulk of employment locally, rather than the specialist skills associated with the wind energy industry.

Being a coastal area there is a source of marine experience in Thanet, particularly associated with the commercial fishing and leisure activities at Ramsgate harbour. London Array and Vattenfall have worked with Thanet College and the local JobCentrePlus to develop wind industry induction courses designed for people who have no previous experience in offshore wind farm work but who come from an engineering background.

The number of associated contractors and service providers with a project of this scale is enormous, from the manufacturers of the turbines themselves to the local provision suppliers, hoteliers and taxi services. London Array is again actively identifying local businesses that can benefit from the opportunities. A business interest day held in Thanet attracted over 200 local companies and to date over 25 such enterprises are now part of the established network of local suppliers and service providers at either Ramsgate or the sub-station at Cleve Hill, near Graveney on the north Kent coast.

While Ramsgate hosted A2SEA’s jack-up Sea Jack during the construction phase of TOW, it is not anticipated that the port will be used for loading out the installation vessels for London Array.

Siemens is supplying the turbines, which will be transhipped from Esbjerg to Harwich, while a joint venture of Danish company Aarsleff and Germany’s Bilfinger Berger GmbH will supply and install the monopile foundations and transition pieces, transhipped to Harwich from Aalborg. Installation is due to commence in February 2011 involving MPI’s newbuild installation vessel MPI Adventure, which is due to make its debut at London Array together with A2SEA’s jack-up Sea Worker.

By Peter Barker