NLMK DanSteel, part of NLMK Europe Plate and Denmark’s only manufacturer of steel plates, has supplied 200t of plates with special dimensions made from high-strength steel for the construction of experimental foundations for offshore wind turbines as part of The PISA Project, the European research and development programme.
The aim of the project is to improve the construction of foundations for offshore wind turbines in order to reduce cost and, consequently, to raise the investment appeal of wind power. Other participants from the Danish side are DONG Energy and Bladt Industries, the manufacturer of foundations for turbines. The research project is carried out by the UK Carbon Trust as part of the Offshore Wind Accelerator programme (OWA), aimed at promoting offshore wind generation and reducing the cost of wind energy.
Photo courtesy of NLMK DanSteel
Assembly and testing of the foundations for offshore wind turbines manufactured with the use of thick plates supplied by DanSteel will take place in September 2014. Experiments will be held in Dunkirk (France) and Cowden (Great Britain). It is planned that, by the end of 2014, the results of the experiment will be used in order to develop an industrial prototype for the new type offshore wind turbine foundations.
