The Mammoet-Giant Taiwan joint venture has supported construction of The Greater Changhua 1 and 2a Offshore Wind Farms by providing a range of engineering and design services, as well as assisting with the transport and integration of the jackets, ready for load-out.
The farms are about 35 to 60 kilometers off the coast of Taiwan’s Changhua County. They are being constructed as part of Taiwan’s transition toward renewable energy use.
Jacket foundations for the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms are comprised of upper and lower jackets. Mammoet-Giant designed temporary lifting lugs fitted to both the upper and lower jacket sections as they rolled off the production line.
These upper and lower jackets were sat on top of the custom support saddles — also designed by Mammoet-Giant engineers — that were used on the self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) to transport both upper and lower pieces between assembly stations. This method ensured a more efficient transportation process compared to other methods by reducing the time needed.
As part of this project, Mammoet’s PTC210-DS ring crane was deployed for the first time to Taiwan.
The upper jackets weighed 270 tons and were transported in turn about 100 meters from the storage area to the PTC crane, where they were erected so the transition pieces could be fitted. A 750-ton crawler crane was used for the upending operation.
The lifting capacity of the PTC210-DS ring crane allowed up to four jackets to be assembled at once at the same location, fast tracking the assembly work.
Transports of the jackets were conducted using the 96 axle-lines of SPMT in two 4-file 24 configuration, with two transport beams. The beams, measuring up to 24 meters in length, were designed to bear the pile stoppers, allowing the transporters to lift the full jackets using the SPMTs’ integral hydraulic suspension.
During the fabrication peak time, Mammoet tapped into its global network to make sure lifting equipment was available to meet short-term demands.
The PTC 210-DS ring crane’s high lifting capacity, together with the engineering expertise and solutions shown by the Mammoet-Giant team have provided both time and cost efficiency for the operations, according to the Sing Da Marine Structure Corporation.
The Greater Changhua 1 and 2a Offshore Wind Farms will have an installed capacity of 900 MW once completed, enough to provide clean energy to 1 million households in Taiwan. They are also Taiwan’s first large-scale far shore wind farms.
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