| Work Detail |
Two Scottish companies, Ocean Kinetics and Green Marine (UK), have made a joint venture (JV) partnership to decommission OpenHydro’s tidal energy platform in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
According to Green Marine UK, rapid progress is being made to remove the steel superstructure installed in 2006 at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC’s) Fall of Warness test site, used by OpenHydro for tidal turbine technology development. EMEC awarded the decommissioning contract in early April 2024. The search for the contractor for the removal started in August 2021.
The OpenHydro test rig has two steel piles drilled and grouted into the seabed, with a steel superstructure attached to the piles for a working area. The turbine was previously fixed to the piles with two steel collars, allowing it to be raised and lowered into the tide using two 15-tonne hydraulic winches.
The decommissioning work involves completely removing the steel superstructure, cutting the piles with diamond wire, and disconnecting and terminating the cables.
Ocean Kinetics is providing divers, riggers, welders, and ROV services, while Green Marine is offering offshore management, the Green Isle vessel, moorings, and operational cable expertise forming a package of marine services.
Both companies are jointly responsible for operational engineering, cutting, and heavy lift operations, drawing from the experience managing diverse marine projects such as subsea servers, port gates, aquaculture equipment, and sunken barges weighing up to 1,000 tonnes, as well as the decommissioning of the Buchan Alpha platform, said Green Energy UK.
So far, the OpenHydro superstructure has been dismantled into smaller components for removal from its static base through a series of lifts conducted by the Green Isle.
According to Green Marine UK, rapid progress is being made to remove the steel superstructure installed in 2006 at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC’s) Fall of Warness test site, used by OpenHydro for tidal turbine technology development. EMEC awarded the decommissioning contract in early April 2024. The search for the contractor for the removal started in August 2021.
The OpenHydro test rig has two steel piles drilled and grouted into the seabed, with a steel superstructure attached to the piles for a working area. The turbine was previously fixed to the piles with two steel collars, allowing it to be raised and lowered into the tide using two 15-tonne hydraulic winches.
The decommissioning work involves completely removing the steel superstructure, cutting the piles with diamond wire, and disconnecting and terminating the cables.
Ocean Kinetics is providing divers, riggers, welders, and ROV services, while Green Marine is offering offshore management, the Green Isle vessel, moorings, and operational cable expertise forming a package of marine services.
Both companies are jointly responsible for operational engineering, cutting, and heavy lift operations, drawing from the experience managing diverse marine projects such as subsea servers, port gates, aquaculture equipment, and sunken barges weighing up to 1,000 tonnes, as well as the decommissioning of the Buchan Alpha platform, said Green Energy UK.
So far, the OpenHydro superstructure has been dismantled into smaller components for removal from its static base through a series of lifts conducted by the Green Isle. |
