First turbine installed at Rampion

This week marks the installation of the first of 116 wind turbines at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, with the installations set to continue throughout 2017.

The turbines are being installed by a jack up vessel, the MPI Discovery, which will transport the components for eight turbines in each trip from Esbjerg in Denmark to the Rampion site, off the Sussex coast. Weather dependent, each turbine will take around 24 hours to install from initial positioning at each turbine location and jacking of the vessel.

Carrying eight 80 metre towers, eight nacelles and 24 turbine blades, the vessel will install each turbine in turn. First each tower, weighing approximately 200 tonnes, is lifted, positioned and bolted onto each turbine foundation. Next the nacelle, which houses the generator and gearbox, is lifted and fitted onto the tower, and finally the three blades, each measuring 55m in length, are hoisted and connected one at a time. A second vessel, the MPI Adventure, will support the installation from June onwards.

Chris Tomlinson, Development and Stakeholder Manager for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, said: “After seven years of planning, development and initial construction, we are especially proud to have reached this major milestone, which will see the Rampion project really begin to take shape. The first turbine is a powerful symbol of the engineering achievement that Rampion and other offshore wind farms represent.