Alpha, a Sparrows Group company, has been awarded a contract to undertake turbine platform modifications in support of a new walk-to-work system at an unspecified offshore windfarm on the east coast of the UK
A team from Alpha and Sparrows will manufacture and install push-on plates, access gates and handrails to 88 turbine platforms as well as the A-deck platforms on each of its two substations.
Once completed, the modifications will enable motion-compensated gangways from offshore support vessels to be safely connected to the platforms, allowing maintenance technicians to walk directly from the vessel to the turbine.
The new access system will deliver a safer method of personnel transfer while eliminating the requirement for costly and time-consuming crew transfer vessels, reducing CO2 emissions and delivering a greener, more efficient solution.
Sparrows Group chief executive Stewart Mitchell said, “As the number of windfarms in the UK increase and developments move further from shore, walk-to-work systems utilising support vessels are becoming increasingly popular over crew transfer vessels, which involve taking trips to the field from the shore every day. It allows technicians to be accommodated on board the vessel and remain in the field to complete a campaign, negating lengthy daily transit times and maximising efficiency.”
Manufacturing activities are already underway at the group’s facility in Aberdeen with installation on-site at the windfarm scheduled to take place later this year.
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