ecosse ip’s floating offshore - subsea uk

Ecosse IP’s Floating Offshore

Wind Tension-leg System:

FLOWT

Webinar, 29th April 2020, 12-1pm

in conjunction with Subsea UK

Mike Wilson

Chairman & Chief Technology Officer

Ecosse IP FLOWT System

Benefits

• Can be assembled at port

• Towed from shore, no crane vessel required

• Micro-pile template typically 50% of cost of monopile

• Enables cheaper/more reliable power take-off cable

• Suitable for all water depths

• Wide range of seabed types

• Can be used to power offshore oil platforms

• Or be installed as part of a wind farm

Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System

Sketches NOT to scale06/05/2020 2

Ambient Lifter

Micro Piled Template

Floating Transition Piece

Tension Leg Foundation

Components

29/4/2020 3Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020

Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Foundation System

Sketches NOT to scale

Ambient Lifter (AL)

Buoyancy based subsea lifter

Simple, scalable, robust technology

Towable to site




AL Benefits

06/05/2020

• Simple components & technology

• Low cost local deployment

• Robust subsea solution at any depth

• Can be used in wide weather windows

Ambient Lifter Benefits

• Expensive, location dependent

• Availability limited, weather dependent

• Mobilisation/Demobilisation costs very high

Heavy Lift Vessels

5CONFIDENTIAL EIP



Micro-Piled Template (MPT)

Micropiles are currently used in onshore wind foundations

Subsea Micropiles Ltd has a patented Subsea micropilingsolution

Small footprint foundation template, grouted micropiles, suitable for all seabed types

06/05/2020

Courtesy of Contech Engineered Solutions

6CONFIDENTIAL EIP



MPT Benefits

29/4/2020

•Suitable for rock and other seabed types

•1/10th weight of standard Gravity Based Foundations

•Half the cost of suction bucket installations

•Can be installed in deep-water in wide weather windows

Micro-Piled Template Benefits

•Suction Bucket only suitable for certain seabed types

• Jacket type foundation not suitable for deep water

•Gravity based foundations large and expensive to install

Other Foundation Types

7Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020



Floating Transition Piece (FTP)

Can be towed to site by tug or low-cost vessel

Combination with tension legs minimises movement

Provides firm base for any standard wind turbine

Enables lower cost power export cable




FTP Benefits

29/4/2020

• Can be towed to site with TLF wires attached

• Ballasting eases TLF connections to micropile template

• Enables use of lower-cost power take off cable

• Presents easy to use installation point for wind turbine


• Turbine is subject to pitch, yaw & roll

• Dynamic riser gives single point of failure and is more expensive

• Less effective in challenging weather conditions

Alternative base & Dynamic Riser




Tension Leg Foundation (TLF)

Tried and tested technology in oil and gas

Uses vertical anchoring wires

Small footprint foundation connection




TLF Benefits

29/4/2020

• Turbine remains vertical

• Smaller movements in bad weather

• Enables lower cost power-export riser

TLF Benefits

• Turbine is subject to pitch, yaw & roll

• Large area footprint of anchoring wires and anchors

• Dynamic riser required to export power – single point of failure

Existing Anchoring Solutions




FLOWT Installation Storyboard

System Benefits

• Assemble at port & tow from shore

• Install without expensive crane vessel

• 50% of cost of monopile, more secure than drag-embed

anchors, smaller footprint than traditional anchor wires

• Enables cheaper/more reliable power take-off cables

• Suitable for all water depths & wide range of seabed types




Ambient Lifter is used to float out the micro-

pile template, towed from shore using a tug or

anchor handler vessel (AHV).




Ballast is pumped into the Ambient Lifter and it

lowers the micro-pile template to the seabed.




Ballast is removed from the Ambient Lifter and

it returns to the surface to collect the subsea

drilling unit.




Ambient Lifter manoeuvres the micro-pile

drilling unit to the template, and each micro-pile

is drilled into the seabed, activated by an ROV.




Grout is injected through the micropiles

to provide the foundation strength




The floating transition piece, wind

turbine and tension leg wires can be

assembled onshore and towed out to

site using an AHV or tug.




Once in position, the

transition piece is ballasted

down and the tension

wires are manoeuvred into

place, guided by an ROV, to

secure the wires onto the

micro-pile template.




Ballast is removed from the

floating transition piece which

rises and creates tension in

the wires.




Power take-off cable is pulled

through lock-off collar and J-

tube and connected to EIP-

proprietary connector in the


29/4/2020Issued by Ecosse IP Ltd 29th April 2020



The turbine can be connected to an

offshore platform to provide power

– or connected into the windfarm




EIP Floating Offshore Wind Study



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Carried out for EIP by Pale Blue Dot Energy in

2019, funded by Zero Waste Scotland.

Study examined:

• Global floating offshore wind market outlook

• Explored opportunities for FLOWT in oil

and gas – supply of power to oil and gas

platforms during late life or decommissioning

– deliver power where it is required

– contribute to Net Zero basin

• Examined global potential market size for

floating offshore wind farm mooring systems

• Explored ways in which to deliver combined

technologies to the market

Nippon Foundation Project



06/05/2020 24

Carry out engineering/testing to determine feasibility of cost-effective floating offshore wind turbine mooring system on different seabed types.

• Ambient Lifter installation of Micro Piled Template

- Without a crane vessel, in a wide range of water depths

• Floating Transition Piece withTension Leg Foundation tendons

- Small low-cost towing vessel can be used

• Connection ofTLF tendons to Micro Piled Template

- Small seabed footprint, minimises turbine movement

• Transition Piece (turbine installation will be by Japanese partners)

- Easy & quick installation of the turbine

- Power take off cable can be installed by wind farm contractor

- Integrated mooring system, cheaper than fixed offshore wind

JAPANESE PARTNERS: JAPANESE FUNDERS:

SCOTTISH PARTNER: SCOTTISH FUNDERS:

SUB-CONTRACTORS:

Nippon Foundation Project Partners



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FLOWT Summary

• Towed from shore, no crane vessel needed

• Micro-pile template typically 50% of cost of monopile

• All water depths, wide range of seabed types

• Power offshore oil platforms – Net Zero basin

• Cheaper/more reliable power take-off cable

• Small footprint wind farm foundations in all water depths

• Will reduce Levelised Cost of Energy for floating

offshore wind to lower than LCOE for fixed offshore

wind at water depths greater than 50m



29/4/2020 26

Questions?

Contact

Mike Wilson

[email protected]

+44 7801 307801

www.ecosse-ip.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ecosse-ip.com/

ecosse ip’s floating offshore - subsea uk

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