Ocean Installer has been appointed by Cerulean Winds to join the alliance of companies developing the 1GW Aspen floating offshore wind project in the North Sea.
Ocean Installer’s existing fleet of vessels and a skilled workforce, developed over decades working in subsea oil and gas construction, can be transferred to the floating wind sector without significant adaptation, stated the contractor.
Furthermore, Ocean Installer will work in conjunction with fellow alliance member Haventus, owner of the Port of Ardersier, on dry storage of the structures, batched installation and quick connect/disconnect systems to optimise processes and create a convention for how future floating wind projects are installed.
“For FLOW to be successful in the North Sea we’ve got to use expertise and experience from the oil and gas sector to turbo-charge the speed of cost reduction – that is what Ocean Installer are bringing to our project,” said Dan Jackson, Founding Director of Cerulean Winds.
“Using OI’s capabilities, we believe we can develop a standardized process to cut installation costs and make FLOW’s Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) comparable to fixed offshore wind.”
Gregor Scott, UK Managing Director at Ocean Installer, said: “We are very pleased to have been selected as the marine construction and operations partner for the Cerulean Winds alliance.
“It is another reminder of our commitment to using our specialist expertise and collaborative approach to unlock energy, in all its forms, from the global oceans.”
Ocean Installer will provide proven engineering expertise and installation services, post-FID, for the mooring system installation, inter array cables system and marshalling of the floating units during the fabrication phase, tow-out and hook up.
Ocean Installer’s history in supporting floating oil and gas developments, including dynamic flexible product procurement and the availability of its vessels for mooring system installation, makes it well placed to deliver green energy projects in the North Sea.
Aspen, Beech and Cedar will comprise over 300 turbines.