Houlder joined Gael Force to deliver an Offshore Wind Moveable Met Mast design (M.M.M.) to greatly enhance the flexibility available to wind farm developers during project planning and evaluation phases. The met mast design’s key deliverable is a re-usable resource that can be towed between sites and within fields without costly and time consuming offshore construction. The mast structure can be towed into position from shore negating the need for specialist Installation Vessels. The M.M.M. has been designed to operate in most likely European wind farm locations.
The use of Gael Force’s proven Sealimpet Floating Gravity Base, which can be flooded with water or evacuated using compressed air, means the structure can be lowered into place and then re-floated to be moved on once a task has been completed.
The Gravity Base forms a stable platform in a wide range of seabed conditions. It supports a tripod and monopile structure on which a lattice mast or an alternative construction sits. Stability was considered to support a superstructure with a total weight of 150t.
The Offshore Wind Moveable Met Mast design project utilised Houlder multidisciplinary teams of engineers, naval architects and partners to design a step change in wind farm development.
