First Subsea said it will provide platform mooring connectors to the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm.
The company, part of the First Tech Group based in Aberdeen, has confirmed its secured the contract with Spanish developer and construction company Cobra Group to provide platform mooring connectors (PMCs) for the Kincardine offshore wind farm, off the coast of Aberdeen.
The PMC was developed by the Lancaster-based company specifically for floating offshore wind market. The PMCs will be used to connect the semisubmersible platform to mooring lines at water depths between 45 meters and 143 meters. The connector will allow the mooring lines to be pre-laid on the seabed, prior to the arrival of the wind turbine structure.
Once the structure is in place, the end of the mooring line will be collected from the seabed anchor and connected into the PMC located on the platform’s hull. The connector will then automatically engage and provide an efficient and strong mooring system.
The PMC technology eliminates the need for mooring hardware such as fairleads, sheaves, chain tensioners and chain lockers. Removing the traditional connection systems significantly improves the known fatigue issues associated with fairleads, according to First Subsea. An additional benefit of the PMC allows the hookup installation to be performed more efficiently using smaller offshore vessels, which in turn reduces project costs.
The Kincardine floating wind farm is a 50-megawatt (MW) pilot project 15 kilometers off the coast, south of Aberdeen. It began generating renewable power in September last year with the installation of the first turbine.
The project will be completed next year with the installation and commissioning of an additional five 9.5 MW turbines each installed on a floating substructure.