Technip Offshore Wind Showcases Pioneering Technology during Secretary of State for Scotland Visit
19 February 2013
As part of a February tour, The Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore visited Technip Offshore Wind’s Aberdeen headquarters to hear about current and upcoming Technip Projects and how the Company has adapted its Oil & Gas heritage to the development of award-winning, cutting-edge technology geared to providing safe, effective project delivery in the offshore wind sector.
The visit allowed Technip to showcase their new technological innovations geared to improving the health, safety and efficiency of offshore wind cable installation projects, the Renewable Energy Health and Safety award-winning Pull-In Module (PIM)* and the new HD3 Cable Burial Plough* as well as photos of Technip’s new RosCAT (CBT 1100) Trencher.
The Secretary of State said:"Scotland has some of the best offshore wind resources in Europe and my visit to Technip today highlighted the leading role they are playing in the development of the offshore wind industry.
"This Government is determined to ensure that we can secure the full economic and energy security benefits that competitive offshore wind generation can bring. The technological developments that companies like Technip are undertaking is key to helping the offshore wind industry to grow and realise its full potential.”
Ron Cookson, Senior Vice President, Technip Offshore Wind said: ‘Technological innovation is an important focus for Technip Offshore Wind and plays a key role in helping us ensure the delivery of safe and efficient offshore wind projects. We welcome the Minister’s keen interest in the emerging UK Offshore Wind Industry and are delighted to demonstrate the advances we have made.’
The visit to Elrick House, the Company’s Offshore Wind Headquarters in Aberdeen, forms part of the Minister’s tour around a number of energy firms in the North East of Scotland.
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(1) Technip Offshore Wind Ltd, part of the global Technip Group, is a leading provider of specialist offshore wind installation and project management services to the renewable energy industry. With its headquarters in Scotland, Technip Offshore Wind Ltd currently employs more than 120 people at its bases in Aberdeen, Tyneside and London.
*The Pull-In Module (PIM) is a three-leg tripod featuring a self-contained winch, equipment storage, and no bolted connections. It can be installed in any orientation and reduces damage risk to TP. Technip developed the Pull-In Module after identifying pitfalls in existing methods of conventional lifting equipment used to install cables subsea and through J-tubes. The Pull-In Module reduces the safety risks by removing vessel winch wires from operation and introducing compliance to industry standards. The technology also improves operations by reducing vessel dependency time as well as
making the array cable installation process smoother and safer. As a result of its design, the Pull-In Module substantially improves safety during key operational phases and increases operational efficiency (reducing offshore array cable pull-in time by 60%).
The PIM was recently awarded the Renewable Energy Health and Safety Award 2013 by RenewableUK and the Crown Estate.
*The new HD3 cable burial plough was developed for Technip Offshore Wind by Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) and will be used to provide a high performance burial solution for subsea power cables and umbilicals. The system uses the latest technology to ensure effective and reliable cable urial and protection, helping to de-risk the overall cable installation process and provide a cost effective way of achieving effective cable protection for the operation life-cycle of offshore wind farms.
* The CBT 1100 Trenching System was developed for Technip Offshore Wind by Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) specifically for cable burial and can both jet and cut simultaneously. This technology increases burial efficiency by allowing cables to be laid in varying soil types in one pass.
