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Enormous wind turbines far out at sea: The constant revolving of the huge rotor blades on wind turbines exemplifies the huge potential of offshore wind energy to generate large amounts of clean electricity. With a nominal rating of up to 15MW1 – and this figure is rapidly increasing – the crucial role played by offshore wind turbines for the energy revolution is absolutely undeniable.
The German Wind Power at Sea Act
The German government is pushing ahead with the energy revolution through its Wind Power at Sea Act.2 This has been in force since 1 January 2017, has been amended on several occasions, and it regulates the tender processes, authorization and expansion of offshore wind farms. The act therefore creates the underlying legal conditions in order to accelerate the construction and operation of these units. Additional measures introduced by the government, like (offshore) network planning, have created a situation where comprehensive regulations are available to cover the expansion of offshore wind power in Germany. The goal is to achieve installed output of at least 70 gigawatts by 2045 in order to guarantee the reliability of supplies through renewable energy sources in the long term.
The importance of wind power logistics
Smooth logistics planning work and efficient implementation are essential if these ambitious goals are going to be reached. Dedicated wind power logistics corporations are facing up to this complex logistical challenge.
They guarantee smooth operations for the wind farms out at sea, ranging from transporting the heavy wind turbine components, some of which weigh hundreds of metric tons, for construction purposes to regularly supplying and maintaining the offshore wind farms. Special means of transport like ships, platforms and helicopters are required for this in order to transport the necessary components and technicians to the wind farms. These kinds of requirements are fundamentally different from those needed for onshore logistics operations and are crucial for fully exploiting the potential of renewable energy sources in the offshore field. Logistics therefore plays an essential role in realizing the energy revolution, particularly in the field of offshore wind energy.
Project logistics for offshore wind turbines
Project logistics services play the critical role in constructing and operating the complex infrastructure. They involve the careful planning, organization and completion of the transport operations for large components like foundations, monopiles, towers and rotor blades, which weigh several hundred metric tons and are transported across huge distances. Special ships and heavy-duty cranes are crucial for this in order to prevent any delays and high costs – as well as having access to suitable port capacities. Close cooperation between the manufacturers, logistics services providers, ports and installation corporations is also essential so that the components can be supplied and installed efficiently. If corporations have the necessary flexibility and experienced experts, they are also able to cope with challenges like adverse weather conditions or technical faults.
Supplies for offshore wind farms
Two important aspects of offshore wind energy involve providing supplies and maintaining offshore wind farms. As these wind parks are far away from the coastline, regular supply trips using special ships are necessary in order to transport spare parts, fuel and technicians. These vessels are equipped in such a way that they can successfully cope with the difficult conditions out at sea and reliably handle the transfer operations to platforms and wind turbines. The responsible technicians often live on board the ships or on service platforms near the wind farms during their work assignments in order to be able to provide direct services – particularly if the wind farms are located far away from dry land.
The main season for maintenance work is (still) the summer when the weather conditions are more stable. However, technology, which is becoming increasingly efficient, is pushing the boundaries of what is feasible further and further into the winter period with the result that work is now being performed in many cases throughout the year. In addition to maintenance work for offshore wind farms, wind power logistics involves supply services such as garbage management and storage. By cooperating with specialist experts in offshore logistics like Rhenus, it is possible to maximize the operating times and minimize downtimes.
Best practice example: cooperation between XERVON Wind and Rhenus
Rhenus provides transport operations along the entire logistics chain for the offshore sites operated by the independent service provider, XERVON Wind. Both corporations work together closely in order to fulfil the logistical requirements of maintenance campaigns and ensure that all the necessary resources are available quickly and without any complications. One example of specialist wind power logistics is the joint completion of maintenance campaigns offshore. Rhenus is responsible for the logistics operations here. This involves selecting, making available and operating the vessel and providing the necessary logistics in the port up to and including the use of offshore warehouse keepers on board the Service Operations Vessels (SOVs). XERVON Wind, on the other hand, focuses on planning the technical campaigns and completing the maintenance of the offshore wind farms. Because the two partners focus on their respective core areas of expertise, it is possible to ensure a rapid response speed and this helps guarantee the operations of the offshore wind turbines.
You can learn more about the other measures that Rhenus adopts for wind power and how logistics specialists cope with the high targets set for expanding offshore capacities in the “Logistics People Talk” podcast.
Outlook: challenges and opportunities for wind power logistics
The expansion of offshore wind energy requires a high degree of logistical expertise and innovative capacity in order to be able to make full use of the opportunities that it offers. Bottlenecks in port and transport capacities represent one of the greatest hindrances, as the ports must have adequate space and special equipment in order to store and load the enormous components. The growing need for infrastructure and the increase in the number of offshore wind farms are aggravating these capacity problems: The demand for resources like ships, storage capacities and specialist workers is high and the infrastructure urgently needs to be enlarged. The expansion of offshore wind power will only succeed if investments are made in port capacities and new logistics concepts are introduced.
Another crucial factor involves the close cooperation between logistics corporations, port operators and wind turbine manufacturers. It will then be possible to increase efficiency by making joint use of resources and creating synergies. However, innovative approaches like the use of digital technologies to optimize planning and delivery processes will also help make wind power logistics more efficient and enable corporations to reach the targets that have been set.