Foundation and Grout Monitoring Offshore Wind Farm Nordsee Ost

RWE Innogy operates the offshore wind farm Nordsee Ost (NSO) in the exclusive economic zone of the German North Sea. The wind farm consists of 48 SENVION wind turbine generators (WTGs), each with a rated output of 6 MW, which are erected on jacket foundations.

In accordance with the specifications of the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), five Wölfel WTGs are equipped with a comprehensive monitoring system that permanently monitors the support structure (foundation, jacket, grout connections, tower). In addition, three further wind turbines, where there were deviations from the construction permit during the construction phase, were equipped with their own monitoring system in order to permanently monitor the structural behavior there as well.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the authorities, the monitoring systems also monitor the dynamic behavior of the support structure as a function of the ambient conditions (wind, waves, wind turbine operating status).

This data basis is used to determine the current support structure condition as well as the fatigue stress. The general goal of the operator is to integrate the results of the lifetime monitoring of the support structure into the concept for periodic inspections.