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Offshore wind farms : looking to Denmark for leadership

Diminishing fossil fuel resources, rising levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere and climate change are all factors behind the growing sense of urgency to make the world's energy production more sustainable, cleaner and greener. Against this background, it is hardly surprising that renewable energy has rapidly risen in importance on the global agenda.

Among the choice of renewables, wind power has obvious attractions. It is a well-developed and proven technology, its energy feedstock is free, and there are zero CO₂ emissions from power production. As Europe takes on the infrastructural challenge of making wind power a significant component of its future energy mix in response to renewable targets set by the EU, many countries are looking to Denmark for its unrivalled knowledge and experience, especially in offshore wind farms. And where offshore wind turbine foundations are concerned, there is one Danish company among the leaders in know-how: M T Højgaard.

Worldwide expertise

Although MT Højgaard is a relatively new company, founded in 2001, its parentage stretches back to the early 1900s when Højgaard & Schultz and Monberg & Thorsen were founded. The two companies have been involved in virtually every major construction project in Denmark and numerous projects abroad. Today, MT Højgaard is Denmark's leading contractor with a particularly broad experience base in the technological development, casting techniques and applications of concrete and steel both in and out of water.

MT Højgaard uses knowledge and experience from Denmark to build worldwide – and brings back new experience to benefit construction projects closer to home. MT Højgaard has gained its expertise in shoreline and offshore construction from the construction of numerous harbours, tunnels and bridges, from the Maldives and Lebanon to Stockholm and Central London. And not least, MT Højgaard has undertaken the vast majority of the world’s offshore wind turbine foundations.

Offshore pioneers

Air travellers flying into Copenhagen can hardly fail to notice the row of 20 wind turbines stretching in an elegant curve into the bay outside Copenhagen Harbour. Erected in 2001, this was one of the very first wind farms of significant size to be placed in a marine environment. MT Højgaard constructed the foundations for this 40 MW installation, pioneering the use of concrete gravity-based foundations, which still in general remain the most cost-effective solution for offshore wind turbine projects in sheltered areas.

The following year, MT Højgaard constructed the foundations for the first large-scale wind farm outside sheltered waters: the 80 turbine, 160 MW Horns Rev wind farm 14 km out into the North Sea. The foundation type used here is a monopile consisting of a very large, single pile driven deep into the seabed, and subsequently provided with another pile bearing all the secondary steelwork including boat landing, access ladders and platforms. Since Horns Rev, MT Højgaard has constructed foundations for the UK's offshore wind farms on Kentish Flats in the North Sea, Burbo Bank in Liverpool Bay and Lynn & Inner Dowsing off the Lincolnshire coast, and is currently involved in several more offshore projects in British waters: Rhyl Flats in Liverpool Bay, Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth and Gunfleet Sands outside the Thames Estuary.

Meeting Europe's need

Foundations for offshore wind farms is a core business that MT Højgaard aims to maintain and expand in the years to come. But as future wind farm locations move further offshore, new challenges will arise: greater water depths and larger wind/wave forces, more demanding seabed conditions and bigger wind turbines. To meet these challenges, innovation is a must. In order to meet Europe's need for a renewable energy infrastructure based on wind, continued technological advances will be required to create tomorrow's offshore wind parks. MT Højgaard is determined to be among the leaders in making it happen. Because where offshore foundations are concerned, we know how.

Offshore foundations built by MT Højgaard. Projects include:

Wind Farm	Country	Online	No. of turbines
Middelgrunden	Denmark	2001	20
Horns Rev	Denmark	2002	80
Kentish Flats	UK	2005	30
Burbo Bank	UK	2006	25
Lynn/Inner Dowsing	UK	under construction	54
Robin Rigg	UK	under construction	60
Rhyl Flats	UK	under construction	25
Gunfleet Sands	UK	under construction	48

MT Højgaard a/s
Knud Højgaards Vej 9
DK-2860 Søborg
Denmark

Tel.: +45 3954 4000
Fax: +45 3954 4900
Email: bost@mthojgaard.dk
Web: www.mthojgaard.com

 

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