Ecosse IP’s Floating Offshore
Wind Tension-leg System:
FLOWT
Webinar, 29th April 2020, 12-1pm
in conjunction with Subsea UK
Mike Wilson
Chairman & Chief Technology Officer
Ecosse IP FLOWT System
Benefits
• Can be assembled at port
• Towed from shore, no crane vessel required
• Micro-pile template typically 50% of cost of monopile
• Enables cheaper/more reliable power take-off cable
• Suitable for all water depths
• Wide range of seabed types
• Can be used to power offshore oil platforms
• Or be installed as part of a wind farm
Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Ambient Lifter
Micro Piled Template
Floating Transition Piece
Tension Leg Foundation
Components
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Ambient Lifter (AL)
Buoyancy based subsea lifter
Simple, scalable, robust technology
Towable to site
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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AL Benefits
06/05/2020
• Simple components & technology
• Low cost local deployment
• Robust subsea solution at any depth
• Can be used in wide weather windows
Ambient Lifter Benefits
• Expensive, location dependent
• Availability limited, weather dependent
• Mobilisation/Demobilisation costs very high
Heavy Lift Vessels
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Micro-Piled Template (MPT)
Micropiles are currently used in onshore wind foundations
Subsea Micropiles Ltd has a patented Subsea micropilingsolution
Small footprint foundation template, grouted micropiles, suitable for all seabed types
06/05/2020
Courtesy of Contech Engineered Solutions
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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MPT Benefits
29/4/2020
•Suitable for rock and other seabed types
•1/10th weight of standard Gravity Based Foundations
•Half the cost of suction bucket installations
•Can be installed in deep-water in wide weather windows
Micro-Piled Template Benefits
•Suction Bucket only suitable for certain seabed types
• Jacket type foundation not suitable for deep water
•Gravity based foundations large and expensive to install
Other Foundation Types
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Floating Transition Piece (FTP)
Can be towed to site by tug or low-cost vessel
Combination with tension legs minimises movement
Provides firm base for any standard wind turbine
Enables lower cost power export cable
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
Sketches NOT to scale
FTP Benefits
29/4/2020
• Can be towed to site with TLF wires attached
• Ballasting eases TLF connections to micropile template
• Enables use of lower-cost power take off cable
• Presents easy to use installation point for wind turbine
Floating Transition Piece
• Turbine is subject to pitch, yaw & roll
• Dynamic riser gives single point of failure and is more expensive
• Less effective in challenging weather conditions
Alternative base & Dynamic Riser
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Tension Leg Foundation (TLF)
Tried and tested technology in oil and gas
Uses vertical anchoring wires
Small footprint foundation connection
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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TLF Benefits
29/4/2020
• Turbine remains vertical
• Smaller movements in bad weather
• Enables lower cost power-export riser
TLF Benefits
• Turbine is subject to pitch, yaw & roll
• Large area footprint of anchoring wires and anchors
• Dynamic riser required to export power – single point of failure
Existing Anchoring Solutions
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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FLOWT Installation Storyboard
System Benefits
• Assemble at port & tow from shore
• Install without expensive crane vessel
• 50% of cost of monopile, more secure than drag-embed
anchors, smaller footprint than traditional anchor wires
• Enables cheaper/more reliable power take-off cables
• Suitable for all water depths & wide range of seabed types
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
Sketches NOT to scale
Ambient Lifter is used to float out the micro-
pile template, towed from shore using a tug or
anchor handler vessel (AHV).
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Ballast is pumped into the Ambient Lifter and it
lowers the micro-pile template to the seabed.
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Ballast is removed from the Ambient Lifter and
it returns to the surface to collect the subsea
drilling unit.
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Ambient Lifter manoeuvres the micro-pile
drilling unit to the template, and each micro-pile
is drilled into the seabed, activated by an ROV.
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Grout is injected through the micropiles
to provide the foundation strength
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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The floating transition piece, wind
turbine and tension leg wires can be
assembled onshore and towed out to
site using an AHV or tug.
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Once in position, the
transition piece is ballasted
down and the tension
wires are manoeuvred into
place, guided by an ROV, to
secure the wires onto the
micro-pile template.
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Ballast is removed from the
floating transition piece which
rises and creates tension in
the wires.
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Power take-off cable is pulled
through lock-off collar and J-
tube and connected to EIP-
proprietary connector in the
Floating Transition Piece
29/4/2020Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020
Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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The turbine can be connected to an
offshore platform to provide power
– or connected into the windfarm
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Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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EIP Floating Offshore Wind Study
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Carried out for EIP by Pale Blue Dot Energy in
2019, funded by Zero Waste Scotland.
Study examined:
• Global floating offshore wind market outlook
• Explored opportunities for FLOWT in oil
and gas – supply of power to oil and gas
platforms during late life or decommissioning
– deliver power where it is required
– contribute to Net Zero basin
• Examined global potential market size for
floating offshore wind farm mooring systems
• Explored ways in which to deliver combined
technologies to the market
Nippon Foundation Project
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Carry out engineering/testing to determine feasibility of cost-effective floating offshore wind turbine mooring system on different seabed types.
• Ambient Lifter installation of Micro Piled Template
- Without a crane vessel, in a wide range of water depths
• Floating Transition Piece withTension Leg Foundation tendons
- Small low-cost towing vessel can be used
• Connection ofTLF tendons to Micro Piled Template
- Small seabed footprint, minimises turbine movement
• Transition Piece (turbine installation will be by Japanese partners)
- Easy & quick installation of the turbine
- Power take off cable can be installed by wind farm contractor
- Integrated mooring system, cheaper than fixed offshore wind
JAPANESE PARTNERS: JAPANESE FUNDERS:
SCOTTISH PARTNER: SCOTTISH FUNDERS:
SUB-CONTRACTORS:
Nippon Foundation Project Partners
Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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FLOWT Summary
• Towed from shore, no crane vessel needed
• Micro-pile template typically 50% of cost of monopile
• All water depths, wide range of seabed types
• Power offshore oil platforms – Net Zero basin
• Cheaper/more reliable power take-off cable
• Small footprint wind farm foundations in all water depths
• Will reduce Levelised Cost of Energy for floating
offshore wind to lower than LCOE for fixed offshore
wind at water depths greater than 50m
Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System
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Questions?
Contact
Mike Wilson
+44 7801 307801
www.ecosse-ip.com