Game-changing wind foundation
The world’s first Seatower Cranefree Gravity foundation will be deployed at the Fécamp offshore windfarm in the English Channel, 13km off the coast of Normandy.
Norway’s foundation designer Seatower will work together with Eiffage Travaux Publics and MT Højgaard to deliver the project for Fécamp development partners EDF Energies Nouvelles, DONG Energy and wpd offshore.
The three partners have selected Seatower’s game-changing design because of the pioneering technology’s promise to cut construction costs and reduce installation risks for the offshore wind sector.
Seatower’s foundation is a concrete structure placed on the seabed, specifically designed for the next generation of windfarms that will be built in deeper water and with bigger turbines.
The company said that the foundation offers improved safety and reliability of installation compared with current techniques as it relies on ordinary towing vessels rather than weather-sensitive crane vessels.
The Fécamp demonstrator project scheduled for early 2015 is the final step in Seatower’s objective to move the foundation design to full-scale manufacturing and deployment.
By Anne-Marie Causer
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