C3 - Design for safe and cost-effective installation methods.
C - Materials and Manufacturing
Challenges/Opportunities
Marine renewables and deep water offshore wind require reduction of installation costs through innovative methods while maintaining safety levels. Currently, installation approaches involve putting people into a hazardous working environment and this situation needs to be addressed.
Solution
To develop designs of ORE facility that require less offshore human activity during the installation process.
Context and Need
Offshore operations are inherently dangerous; A considerable portion of CAPEX and OPEX is due to installation requirements both for marine renewables as well as deep water wind installations.
Summary
Marine renewables and deep water offshore wind turbines require reduction of installation costs through innovative methods while maintaining safety levels.
Impact Potential
What is the potential impact on CAPEX, OPEX, performance, survivability, reliability, arrays, and adoptability.
Expected potential impact is very high in for safety and CAPEX.
Research Summary
Installation has to a large extent been an afterthought with the primary device design having been optimised for optimum operational costs. Development of installation processes has not been a part of overall concept development and hence generic solutions have not been studied systematically. Carbon Trust and device specific projects have existed but there is no awareness of any generic human-free installation projects.