Enerpac won a contract by Saipem to supply the Hydraulic Levelling and Fixation System for the installation of 64 transition pieces (TP) at the offshore wind farm in France. The Enerpac system is designed to allow accurate levelling and fixation of the transition pieces on the monopile foundation, enabling maximum turbine power generation.
Grouted connections are widely used in offshore wind turbine construction to transfer multiple loads from the transition piece fitted on top of the monopile foundation. The transition piece is first lowered onto the monopile and levelled. It is then grouted into position to fix the TP to the monopile.
For the Calvados offshore wind farm, each transition piece will be 24 meters high and weighs approximately 500 tons. Each TP will require six fixation cylinders and six levelling cylinders to ensure accurate levelling and fixation on their monopile foundations. In total, Enerpac is supplying 768 custom-built cylinders to Bladt Industries A/S production facilities in Aalborg, Denmark, who are responsible for the fabrication and assembly, before load-out, of all the transition pieces.
Located more than 10 km off the French coast in water depths ranging from 22 to 31m, the Calvados offshore wind farm will comprise 64 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines with a total capacity of 450 MW.