Tekmar Group, a UK-based offshore services provider, has announced the involvement of its operating companies; Ryder Geotechnical, Agiletek Engineering, Tekmar Energy, and Pipeshield International in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project (CVOW) on the East Coast of the US.
The 12 MW CVOW project is the first offshore wind project in US federal waters. It includes the deployment of two 6MW commercial-scale offshore wind turbines that will help to determine the best practices for future offshore wind projects located on the East Coast.
Ryder Geotechnical, which specializes in geotechnical design and analysis, was the first group company to support the project, delivering a Cable Burial Risk Assessment (CBRA) on behalf of Ørsted in 2019. The CBRA was performed during the design stage of the project to quantify the risk to the subsea export and array cables from external sources.
Tekmar Energy, which provides subsea protection solutions, has since supplied Seaway 7, the renewables business unit of Subsea 7, with TekLink cable protection systems and TekDuct cable crossing protection for the construction phase of the project. AgileTek Engineering, a provider of advanced engineering analysis, performed product design verification analysis on behalf of Tekmar Energy.
"CVOW is one of several recent contracts awarded to Tekmar Energy by Seaway 7 and marks a clean sweep for the company in the US offshore wind sector, having previously supplied cable protection systems for Block Island offshore wind farm," Tekmar Group said.
Pipeshield International, which provides concrete stabilization and protection solutions, was also awarded a contract from Seaway 7 to design, manufacture and supply 30 bespoke concrete mattresses and associated lifting equipment for the protection and stabilization of subsea cables on the wind farm. Pipeshield has developed a solution incorporating heavy density minerals, a high-quality concrete mix and their patented N2 edge blocks to provide what it says are the industry’s most stable mattress.
James Richie, Tekmar Group’s CEO said “We are delighted to be part of one of the very first projects in the US. The emerging US offshore wind sector is a big opportunity and we hope to be able to share our leading services and technologies with future US renewable energy projects. CVOW is also another great example of Tekmar Group’s complementary technologies and services working together to support multiple stages of an offshore project”.