Condition monitoring of an offshore wind farm

The Project

The Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm is Normandy’s first such project, and key to France’s national aims for a transition to sustainable energy. Monitoring the ongoing structural condition of the turbines is vital to protect the investment and extend operational lifespan. Contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics turned to UBY to provide the monitoring solution.

Summary

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Client : EDF Renewables, Enbridge-CCP Investments, WPD Offshore

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Contractor : Bouygues Travaux Publics

Project type: Offshore structural monitoring

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Value: €1.8 million

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Project duration: 36 months

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Project completion: 2023

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UBY solution: UBY Structure

Site Overview

Fécamp is only the third offshore wind farm in French history, and a major project. The 60 square-kilometre farm comprises 71 large turbines, anchored with gravity-based structures. It is expected that 770,000 people will depend on the project for energy for the next 25 years.

The Challenge

The installation lies 13 to 22 kilometres offshore. The turbines are laid on the seabed at depths of 25 to 30 metres, and are exposed to mechanical stress as well as stress from the elements. Monitoring the condition of these assets is crucial for guaranteeing their stability and operational lifespan, mitigating risk to failures and allowing for planned maintenance.

UBY Solution

A range of factors required monitoring including corrosion, pressure and potential movement. Being a large site, there are too many turbines to cost-effectively monitor them all individually, so the structural monitoring team at Bouygues Travaux Publics selected a representative sample of 7 turbines for observation.

Following the system design phase and before the first concrete pours, UBY installed a network of sensors and cables on the concrete reinforcements and strain gauges. The internal platform of the structure was also monitored over time, as well as various parameters relating to the external environment once offshore.

Specific sensors deployed included:

Smart pressure sensors (concrete reinforcements)
Corrosion sensors (strain gauges)
Accelerometers, clinometers, PH sensors, H2, H2S and O2 sensors (internal platform)

UBY designed, manufactured and installed three data acquisition units to aggregate the data and transmit to the client’s servers.

For further details on the soloutions deployed download the full use case here:

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Benefits

The Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm represents a significant milestone as Normandy’s inaugural offshore wind energy project, aligning with France’s national transition towards sustainable energy sources. UBY’s monitoring solution is helping to safeguard this substantial investment by providing insight relating to the condition of the turbines, allowing the client to make informed decisions and extend the assets operational lifespan.

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