ABS Group certification services for giant wind farm

MAY 5, 2016 — U.K. headquartered ABS Group Ltd. has received a contract to provide project certification services from DONG Energy Wind Power A/S (DONG Energy) for the planned Hornsea Offshore Wind Farm Project One.

Expected to be fully commissioned and in operation by 2020, Hornsea will have up to 240 wind turbines and a capacity of 1,200 MW, making it the world’s first offshore wind farm to exceed 1,000 MW capacity.The wind farm project development is located 120 km off the Yorkshire coast and covers approximately 407 square kilometers.

ABS Group’s certification scope will cover Quality Assurance/Quality Control document review and manufacturing inspection of three offshore substations (OSS) and one reactive compensation substation (RCS), including the topsides and foundations.

Inspections will be carried out in several European countries.”We are proud to support DONG Energy on this new record size offshore wind farm project,” says Torsten Muuss, Director of Renewable Energy for ABS Group. “Due to the long distance from shore, an RCS – in addition to the OSS – will be needed approximately halfway along the cable route to compensate the reactive losses in the export cable. These three OSS and one RCS will be manufactured in a very short time of about two years, and ABS Group will support DONG Energy to meet this timeline and the quality standards and requirements by mobilizing, in total, about 30 inspectors and engineers in five European countries.

“The development of these large offshore wind farms will benefit the offshore wind industry through more cost-effective and adaptable projects.”