Cimc Raffles will build the world's largest wind turbine installation capable of installing a new generation of large offshore wind turbines.
It is reported that Norwegian company OIM Wind and its financial partners have recently signed an engineering, procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with CIMC Raffos to build 1+1 BT-220I Wind power installation ship, which is scheduled to be put into operation by the end of 2022 and operated by OSM Maritime of Norway.
The design of the BT-220I wind power installation ship was developed by OIM in collaboration with CIMC Raffles and its Swedish subsidiary Basstech.According to OIM, the new ship will be the largest of its kind and will be able to transport and install four "XXL" wind turbines, including towers over 130 metres high.Such wind turbines, which will start operating in 2023, could be bigger than the forthcoming GE 13MW and Siemens 15MW turbines.
The BT-220I wind Power Installation ship is fitted with a Huisman heavy crane with a lifting capacity of 2,600 tonnes and a main hook height of 165 metres above deck and 195 metres above sea level, even in the ship's maximum operating water depth of 67 metres.
In addition, the ship has a "very environmentally friendly" design, equipped with an LNG powered engine and an integrated battery pack (ESU), which recyls the kinetic energy that can be converted into electricity and stored in the battery as a rotating power reserve.Kongsberg Maritime will provide all the electronics, instruments, telecommunications, engines, thrusters and anchor winches for the new ship and will be responsible for all works related to Kongsberg Maritime delivery, Mr OIM said.
OIM Wind, which focuses on the global offshore Wind market, said it is in talks with offshore Wind developers in Europe and the United States and is in direct contract negotiations with companies involved in offshore Wind development in the United States.If the company can strike a deal with the US market, it will build ships of the same design as cIMC Raffles's wind installers built in China, but such ships will be built in the US to meet Jones act requirements.
