Does it sound like something you’d need in your loft water tank, or maybe something to fix a leak in your plumbing system?
No. The Suction Bucket Jacket is something that could profoundly affect the offshore wind industry. DONG Energy has collaborated with the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) to bring about an innovative and ground-breaking new foundation that could help to cut costs from offshore wind farms.
An innovative new foundation that could help cut the costs of electricity from offshore wind farms has been successfully deployed by DONG Energy as part of its collaboration with the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator.
Tove Feld, Vice President of DONG Energy, said:
“It’s a great day for us. We’ve now installed the very first Suction Bucket Jacket in the offshore wind industry. The reduction in the cost of electricity and our ability to utilize some of the more challenging sites further from the coasts and in deeper water show some of the potential that this concept has. I’m very excited to see that the cooperation between the partners in this project, not least with Carbon Trust in the UK, is paying off with specific results.”
Tom Delay, Chief Executive, the Carbon Trust, added his comments:
“We believe innovative foundation designs, such as the Suction Jacket technology play an important role in our efforts to cut the cost of energy from offshore wind. This foundation has been designed for serial fabrication and will save costs across design, fabrication, and installation through to operation. Full-scale demonstrations are the last critical step before a new innovative design can be considered for commercial projects. We are very enthusiastic about this design and the impact it will have on the industry and we have been very pleased to collaborate with DONG Energy and the other OWA partners to realize this demonstration.”
The Suction Bucket Jacket is equipped with a comprehensive monitoring system providing data and many companies are looking to see if it is viable. If it is, expect to see it used offshore in UK waters in the next five years!