RWE commences construction of North Sea meteo mast
RWE will construct a research mast 75 kilometres off the coast of IJmuiden, which will measure meteorological influences at sea. It will be the first meteo mast in Europe to be constructed this far offshore. The results of the study into wind speeds, ocean current and sea undulation, will be used, among others, in the research and development (Far and Large Offshore Wind) programme by the FLOW-consortium.
‘The realistic surveying of the meteorological conditions is of vital importance to the development of offshore wind farms’, says Laut van Seventer, RWE's manager of offshore wind development Benelux. ‘Our meteo mast will contribute to the insight into influences that, until now, could not be properly measured this far offshore.’
The meteo mast
The nearly 100 metres tall meteo mast will be constructed on a 26 metre foundation, 75 kilometres off the coast of IJmuiden in the offshore wind-area ‘IJmuiden’, part of the Nationaal Waterplan. When designing the mast, account has been taken of the possibility of mounting sensors and meters at four different heights (between 30 and 100 metres) to detect and register wind speeds, wind directions, temperature and pressure variations. The meteo mast will also be designed to measure currents, wave heights and wave lengths to assist in the design of safe and cost-effective foundations for wind turbines.
In operation September 2011
The meteo mast's foundation has a diameter of nearly 3.5 metres. The meteo mast will have a self-sufficient energy supply. Electricity will be generated with the aid of solar panels and small wind turbines. If construction proceeds according to plan, the meteo mast will be put in operation in September 2011. The installation will be carried out by Van Oord Offshore, commissioned by RWE.
Van Oord
Van Oord will construct the meteomast as EPCI- contractor.
FLOW Consortium
The FLOW project was started in 2009 by Dutch companies and knowledge institutes Essent-RWE, Eneco, TenneT, Ballast Nedam, Van Oord, IHC Merwede, 2-B Energy, XEMC Darwind, ECN and the TU Delft. On that occasion, the partners formulated a business plan that enables the involved parties to take a leading position on the European market for offshore wind farms. In addition to the opportunity for additional employment, the Dutch government intends to reach the European goals for sustainable energy (14% by 2020) with the aid of Wind at Sea. The objective of executing the FLOW Plan is to achieve a cost reduction of 20% (by 2015) through Far Shore wind power by 2015 (compared to 2010). The knowledge about and experience with far shore wind farms situated in deep waters are still limited. The purpose of FLOW is to increase the reliability of these types of wind farms, to accelerate the development and, at the same time, to reduce the risks and costs.
Published: 17 February 2011