The energy required for this is generated on site, namely in the North Sea, around 47 kilometers off the Belgian coast. The charging connection works hands-free. As the ship approaches, the plug is lowered from the offshore station into a kind of funnel that is mounted on board the ship.

The cable system has a “full passive and active compensation mode” so that it compensates for the ship’s movements due to ocean currents without disconnecting the plug. It is designed for Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) and Service Operation Vessels (SOV), charging them with up to 2 MW and 8 MW respectively. In addition, it can also “supply offshore power to other conventional offshore vessels in standby mode, drastically reducing their emissions from diesel generators,” Parkwind emphasizes.

The operator also emphasizes that the assembly and commissioning of the system in the offshore wind farm took only two days.

The charging system was developed together with the British company MJR Power & Automation. The system has been tested “successfully without any failures, breakdowns or damage to components,” Parkwind emphasizes. MRJ will now use the findings from these tests to further develop its charging system, which it says will be the first commercial offshore charging system in the world. The first deliveries are planned for the first quarter of 2025. However, the companies do not mention whether these will be installed in other Parkwind offshore wind farms or delivered to other wind farm operators.

Kristof Verlinden, Operations and Maintenance Manager at Parkwind, explained the impact: “We strive to make all our activities as sustainable as possible and this represents a groundbreaking innovation for our maintenance vessels, which can now access green energy directly from our wind turbines in their work.”

interestingengineering.com, parkwind.eu