ENGINEERINGNET.EU - G&G International will deliver 30 gigantic foundation structures for offshore wind turbines between May and July 2012. It is the largest order that the engineering and construction company has ever received and represents the pressure vessel manufacturer’s definite breakthrough into the renewable energy market. The project will provide at least 25 additional jobs and the company is setting its sights on further growth.
By summer 2013 the German energy supplier EWE and project developer ENOVA plan to terminate the construction of 30 offshore wind turbines close to Borkum located on the German-Dutch border.
The total value of this Riffgat wind farm, which will occupy 6 km², amounts to 400 million EUR. The entire project will literally be anchored to the seabed by the foundation structures supplied by G&G International and its partners.
CEO Patrick van Melis: “Two years ago it was not straightforward for us – as specialists in the construction of pressure vessels for the oil, gas and (petro) chemical sector – to set our sights on these new activities. Nonetheless we made a clear strategic choice. All levels of G&G were involved in the process: we studied and worked the market intensively, from both the customer and supplier’s perspective, and we developed an increasingly keen understanding of design and production techniques. Reinforced by our reputation as a quality and reliable manufacturer of complex pressure vessels for leading multinationals this approach led to our first, smaller commissions for offshore wind energy, which immediately served as references. To date the large-scale Riffgat project is the apogee of our breakthrough into this market sector.”
“EWE and ENOVA’s decision to work with our company came about as the result of the substantial competitive advantage that G&G has built up on many levels. They discovered that G&G doesn’t just possess the skills and capacity to deliver the foundation structures by May 2012; they were also impressed by our sound international reputation and especially by the convincing way in which we are dedicated to the offshore wind market in general and their project in particular."
The foundation structures (monopiles) consist of heavy steel constructions measuring 70 metres long and weighing 650 tonnes that are driven into the seabed at a depth of between 18 and 23 metres.
G&G International will also manufacture 30 transition pieces to connect the foundation structures (the monopiles) to the towers. Each transition piece measures 30 metres in height and weighs 250 tonnes. They are complex constructions with several platforms and places for boat landings, electrical and mechanical equipment and access points to the towers.
The constructions are sustainably designed and finished to provide at least 23 years of service in the extremely onerous and corrosive North Sea environment. They will be delivered to Vlissingen between May and July 2012 as complete units in highly spectacular shipments.
BACKGROUND
G&G International and its subsidiary Geldof Metaalconstructie are both global engineering and manufacturing companies for products such as pressure vessels, storage tanks, storage and handling installations for dry bulk and various large and/or complex projects involving custom-made steel. This knowledge is applied in many industries led by the energy, environment, oil and gas and chemical sectors. Today G&G International is active in the offshore wind energy sector and constructs foundation structures for wind turbines and offshore meteorological measurement towers as well as installation-equipment such as anchoring frames.
