Vattenfall has said its 1500MW Hollandse Kust Zuid Wind Farm will be one of the first to use reusable monopile covers.
Before offshore wind turbines can be installed, their foundations need to be laid first.
On top of each set of foundations stands a monopile with a cover, a temporary solution used to cap the huge tube.
In the past, covers tended to be written off and destroyed after use.
However, those used in the construction of the Hollandse Kust Zuid Offshore Wind Farm are durable, can be reused and will last as long as 10 to 15 years, Vattenfall said.
The reusable covers have been manufactured by CCM.
Michiel Kraak, CCM’s managing director, said: “We manufactured and assembled monopile covers for the HKZ and will reuse all covers in other offshore projects.
“We have already found a customer for a vast majority of the covers. Vattenfall was our first customer and gave us the impetus to enter this market. That is extremely thrilling.”
According to Kraak, the secret of the polyester panels lies, among other things, in their interchangeability.
He said: “Redesigning the work platform of a newly built wind farm may allow various panels, e.g. entrance or translucent panels, to show themselves to be more useful in a different location.
“In addition, we can stretch the panels by making the metal frame they are attached to a little wider.
“This allows them to be used for monopiles with diameters of, say, eight metres or more.”
Another unique feature of the new design of the durable monopile covers was that CCM, the selling party, would buy back the covers after use under the sales contract concluded.
Kraak said: “Because the covers are reusable, we will eliminate many additional CO2 emissions.”
“Eventually, the time will come when the panels will reach the end of their service life. The steel will then be recycled.
“We are currently working with a party that can process the glass fibre-reinforced composite into new raw materials using a new technique. This allows all the material to be reused.
“We will soon be conducting some initial studies with a research institute to make sure this takes place. It would be really nice if we could actually launch this revolutionary new technique.”