A new project has been launched in the Netherlands to study the sustainable decommissioning of monopile foundations at offshore wind farms.
The ‘Hydraulic Pile Extraction Scale Tests (HyPE-ST) initiative will carry out research at the Deltares’ water-soil flume facility in Delft and aims at a proof of concept by the end of 2019.
Currently monopiles are removed by cutting them off several metres below the seabed, which leaves behind tonnes of steel buried in the seabed, Deltares said.
HyPE-ST aims to develop an innovative and smart technology to remove the entire monopile.
The research will test scaled monopiles on the possible use of water-pressure to fully retrieve them from the seabed.
Tests will take place in different soil conditions, such as sands with varying densities, clay and layered soils.
HyPE-ST is part of the GROW programme, a joint industry initiative of Innogy, Deltares, DOT BV, IHC IQIP, Jan De Nul Group and ECN part of TNO.
It will also receive finance from the Topsector Energy of the the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and is supported by the TKI Wind op Zee.
GROW director David de Jager said: “The time has come to get more insight in the end of life phase of wind farms.
“To bring the cost down we have to investigate the possibilities of re-use of materials. This project brings offshore wind energy generation one step closer to circularity.”