Offshore Wind
In the last 20 years, offshore wind has come a long way. Two decades ago, it was an early-stage conceptual technology that posed significant economic and technical challenges to the energy industry. Today, it is a proven market where developers can take on projects with both technical and commercial certainty. Offshore wind now delivers viable renewable energy for a more sustainable world. The market is globalising. The market is scaling. The asset lifecycle is extending in more challenging and deeper waters.
Offshore Wind Revolution
Kent has been at the heart of the offshore wind revolution, delivering technical solutions to master the industry’s toughest problems and drive down the LCOE to make offshore wind a mainstream renewable energy source. When it came to figuring out the first floating platform, we were there. We’ve also been there to deliver 70% of the UK’s offshore wind farms and assisted governments with crafting their long-term wind strategies. We delivered the first certified project using the PISA geotechnical design that produced much lighter monopiles than industry standard, and even deeper WTG on projects such as Triton Knoll.
Leading the way in offshore wind
Figuring out technical solutions that resist the heaviest of storms while also delivering commercially viable projects, is what we’re about. In the last decade we’ve delivered:
Pushing the boundaries with world-class expertise
Our knowledge and experience in fixed and floating wind is unrivalled, taking projects from fuzzy concepts to flowing electrons with robust technical and economic performance. We continually strive to push the boundaries of water depth, seabed type, standardisation, optimisation and asset management.
The offshore wind team at Kent is a dedicated partner to our customers working through the full project life chain. From early stage master planning and lease bidding, through FEED and detailed design, to integrating delivery and supply chain models. Finally, we can commission, startup and advise into the operational, maintenance and life extension phase.
Our project, commercial and design services are supported by the most technically skilled experts in structural, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation, naval architecture, marine, geotechnical, safety, reliability and environmental engineering.
Together, we deliver:
Master planning
Working with governments and developers to plot offshore wind master plans
Front end advisory
- Assessment of commercial and technological risks and advise through the project lifecycle
- Guiding developers through seabed leasing, consenting and power subsidy competitions
- Holistic wind farm planning and design using our WindVision Tool
- Technology evaluation and selection for both fixed and floating developments
- Concept and FEED design of WTG foundations and offshore substations (fixed and floating)
- Technical safety
- Reliable cost estimation and financial modelling for FID
- Technical due diligence to advise investors and banks on wind farm investments
- Grid connection and power system design and support
Engineering and delivery phase
- Detailed engineering of WTG foundations – monopiles, jackets and floating
- Detailed engineering of fixed and floating offshore substation platforms
- Design of marine systems for floating platforms
- Transportation and Installation (T&I) studies
- Design of condition and structural health monitoring systems (CMS/SHM)
- Owners engineer and PMC services during fabrication, installation, and commissioning
- Commissioning services
- Telecoms engineering and procurement
Operations and maintenance phase
- Operations & maintenance advisory services
- Strategic asset management planning
- Integrity management engineering – risk-based inspection, load and condition monitoring, corrosion protection, fatigue re-assessment, repair strategies
- Power boost and controller upgrade planning and implementation
- Digital Twins
- Life extension studies
- Decommissioning studies
Adjacent services and capabilities
Wind to Green Hydrogen:
Harnessing offshore wind to power the production of hydrogen
Wind to O&G & Industrial Assets:
Electrical wind generation to existing O&G infrastructure to decarbonise hydrocarbons
Offshore Substation EPC:
Full service offering through strategic partnerships
Reuse of Existing Infrastructure:
Leveraging existing industrial infrastructure for offshore wind
Our technology
WindVision
It allows visibility of conflicting design priorities and manages expert input across disciplines. Our clients have found it to be the most cost-effective service available, delivering more commercially viable considerations.
Fixed offshore wind projects
Floating Offshore Wind
Offshore substations:
Process Safety Management in the Offshore Wind Industry
In this Tech Talk, our expert Process Safety Engineers explain how the fundamentals of process safety can be implemented in offshore renewables projects and how the UK offshore wind industry must adapt to comply with the principles laid out by the regulator.
Smart, effective, and efficient offshore wind design
As the offshore wind industry has grown in size and complexity, so has the design of wind farms and foundations. In this session, our specialist Offshore Wind Engineers present a new generation of tools that allows designs to be undertaken faster and more efficiently.
Addressing the challenges of floating offshore substations
The growth in floating offshore wind farms, especially in deep waters, brings some unique challenges. In this Tech Talk, our expert Naval Architects discuss recent developments and their benefits in the design of floating substations. They showcase how Multi-Objective Optimisation techniques streamline early design stages.
