Dounreay Tri Offshore Wind Floating Platform

Kent worked with Swedish company Hexicon as engineering partner to design the world’s first commercial scale multi-turbine offshore wind floating platform for their demonstration site at Dounreay off the North coast of Scotland.

We pushed the boundaries of design to support Hexicon in maximising energy yield. Experience in innovative, transformational work, both in the renewables and oil and gas sectors, enabled the project team to go one step further to make the exciting concept a reality.

Our extensive experience in floating wind played a key role in developing the concept and winning the work. The complete integrated design capability provided by Kent to Hexicon demonstrates how our experience across a range of both floating and fixed offshore wind projects can add real value to clients

We provided a complete design solution to Hexicon minimising interfaces and thereby increasing quality and reducing cost. We undertook the complete pre-FEED, FEED and detailed design of the platform which included:

• The complete design of the mooring system, hull and tower
• Coupled aero-hydro analysis
• Global and local strength analysis
• Global and local fatigue analysis
• Appurtenance design
• Mechanical and marine systems design
• Electrical system design
• Hull instrumentation and control systems design
• Mooring system analysis and design
• Consenting support
• Geotechnical survey planning
• Wind tunnel testing
• Wave basin testing
• CFD turbine spacing studies

Since completion, we have continued to improve the Hexicon concept, taking it further and de-risking it. We are confident that we have delivered a solution that can be designed, fabricated, installed, operated and decommissioned within the client’s requirements.

New developments in the design of the floating structure's mooring system increased the efficiency of the weathervaning platform which in turn reduced CAPEX and maximised energy yield.

Our close co-operation with the turbine supplier allowed us to include the tower design as part of the platform design. This more holistic approach allowed for a better integrated and optimised overall solution allowing CAPEX to be minimised.