Corrosion monitoring of offshore wind turbine foundations, France
The 64 wind turbines of the Courseulles-sur-Mer offshore wind farm (France) are supported by foundations installed by SAIPEM.
To prevent degradation of these monopiles fixed to the seabed, SOCOTEC Monitoring experts have installed a sensor system to measure potential corrosion development.
Key Information
Project name: Corrosion monitoring of offshore wind turbine foundations
Client: SAIPEM
Location: Courseulles-sur-Mer, Calvados (France)
Date: 2022-2023
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Project overview
With 32,000 employees, the Italian group SAIPEM is a global leader in energy engineering. Initially specialized in the Oil & Gas sector, the group's expertise and capabilities in conducting large-scale offshore operations have led it to diversify its activities into the offshore wind sector.
Scheduled to be commissioned in 2025, a new offshore wind farm is being installed 10 km off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer in Calvados, France. It will feature 64 wind turbines with a total power capacity of approximately 450 megawatts. Within this project led by EDF Renouvelable, SAIPEM is responsible for the foundations, which consist of monopiles weighing several hundred tons installed in holes drilled into the seabed, upon which the wind turbines are subsequently mounted.
The turbines are manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Le Havre, whose construction was supported by SOCOTEC.
Description of Assigned Missions
As offshore maintenance interventions are very costly, SAIPEM enlisted the expertise of SOCOTEC Monitoring to implement a sensor system to closely monitor the condition of the monopiles. Submerged in the seabed, these structures are exposed to significant environmental stresses, particularly seawater, which poses a substantial risk of corrosion.
The Mission
Implementation of a Corrosion Monitoring System
- Design of a system integrating a wide range of sensors measuring the different chemical compounds that appear with corrosion. These sensors will be installed inside a sample of 5 piles located in representative areas of the wind farm.
- Factory Acceptance Test: factory validation of all technical aspects of the sensors.
- Installation of sensors in the monopiles at the port before their installation at sea, new series of tests.
- Commissioning of the installation at sea, to verify that the sensors are functioning properly.
- Sensor data is transmitted in real time via underwater cables to the control room where all data is analyzed by the operations teams.
- Design of a system integrating a wide range of sensors measuring the different chemical compounds that appear with corrosion. These sensors will be installed inside a sample of 5 piles located in representative areas of the wind farm.
- Factory Acceptance Test: factory validation of all technical aspects of the sensors.
- Installation of sensors in the monopiles at the port before their installation at sea, new series of tests.
- Commissioning of the installation at sea, to verify that the sensors are functioning properly.
- Sensor data is transmitted in real time via underwater cables to the control room where all data is analyzed by the operations teams.
