Ørsted launches data vessel to aid offshore wind development
Offshore

Ørsted launches data vessel to aid offshore wind development

Offshore wind developer Ørsted said it designed and developed an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) for offshore met-ocean measurement campaigns. The measurement data is meant to lower uncertainties in the expected annual energy production for new offshore wind farms.

The Danish company, which has patented the USV concept, has initiated a serial production based on its prototype USV. The expectation is to produce five new USVs by the end of 2023.

The prototype, named Hugin USV, is designed for continuous operation for up to a year at a time. The USV has a built-in navigation system, which enables it to transit from shore at various degrees of autonomy, and it can be controlled both in line-of-sight or from a beyond-line-of-sight remote control center.

The USV is designed as a generic sensor platform and can collect large amounts of data on the wind conditions, the state of the seabed, and biological and ecological measurements, all dependent on the sensor instrumentation chosen for a given operation. Ørsted said the broad range of measurements collected by the USV is essential for the company’s early-phase development activities prior to the construction of new wind farms.

The design, development, construction, and testing of the prototype USV was conducted as part of Ørsted’s innovation program in collaboration with industry partners. The prototype USV is being built by Danish shipbuilder Tuco Marine Group, and the USV control system is delivered by the Norwegian company Maritime Robotics AS.

 The USV can bring measurement equipment to and from our offshore sites without the need for large, specialized support vessels, said Frederik Søndergaard Hansen, program manager and co-inventor. The data collected is meant to help achieve a high certainty about the potential annual energy production of proposed offshore wind farms.

Ørsted said the design reduces the risk for offshore technicians, and provides a wider operational window due to its ability to operate in high sea state conditions. Other approaches require a support vessel to bring measurement equipment to proposed offshore sites.

Other benefits are expected to include lower costs of offshore measurement and internal ownership of the USVs.

The prototype vessel, Hugin USV, has been tested in Danish and Norwegian waters and has been operational during hurricane conditions, where it experienced waves up to nine meters in the North Sea, Ørsted said. Hugin USV has also achieved type validation as a floating LiDAR system by the Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV), enabling it to be used for commercial operations related to wind farm development.

Ørsted, formally known as DONG Energy (Danish Oil and Natural Gas), was originally one of Europe’s most fossil fuel-intensive energy companies before switching gears in 2008 to focus on offshore wind. After selling its North Sea oil and gas assets, DONG became Ørsted, rapidly purchasing and developing offshore wind projects over the next decade-plus.

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