RSL were chosen to supply Dimensional Control services to Smulders projects to help assist during the fabrication stages of the EOWDC foundations. A contract for assembling pioneering suction bucket foundations for Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) was awarded to Smulders Projects at the Hadrian Yard facility in Newcastle Upon-Tyne.
The ground-breaking 92.4MW EOWDC, off Aberdeen Bay, is believed to be one of the first UK offshore wind projects where suction buckets will be deployed on a large scale. Through being paired with 11 of the world’s most powerful turbines, the suction buckets will also create an industry first.
The suction buckets enable faster offshore installation of the EOWDC, while keeping noise to a minimum, and allow easier decommissioning as the installation process is reversed. As such, the technology will contribute to driving down the cost of clean power as offshore.
