Released on: December 20, 2007, 4:59 am

Press Release Author: Eon Energy

Industry: Environment

Press Release Summary: The Resolution has been brought in as a temporary replacement
for the Lisa A, the jack-up vessel originally tasked with carrying out the
installation of the turbine foundations.

Press Release Body:


E.ON, one of the UK\'s leading green generators, has announced that offshore
construction of its £325m Robin Rigg Wind Farm has started in the Solway Firth.

The company has confirmed the jack-up vessel MV Resolution arrived in Belfast
yesterday (DEC 18) and will now begin the mammoth task of installing the first of 60
turbine foundations, each weighing up to 280 tonnes - the equivalent of around 70
fully grown African elephants - and two substation foundations.

Ian Johnson, Senior Project Manager for E.ON UK, said: \"The Resolution will use six
massive legs, each almost half the length of a football pitch, to lift itself out of
the water and create a stable platform from which we can work.

\"We use an 80 metre crane to lift the foundations off the deck of the vessel and
then drive them into the sea bed with a 140-tonne anvil and an incredibly powerful
hydraulic ram.\"

Each foundation consists of a monopile, which is a steel cylinder 50 metres long and
4.3 metres in diameter, and a large yellow transition piece, which is fixed over the
top of the monopile and forms the base to which the turbine towers and substation
platforms are fitted.

The turbines will be supplied by Danish firm Vestas and are 80m to hub height with a
blade diameter of 90m, meaning they will be a maximum of 125m above sea level.

The MV Resolution is the world\'s first purpose-built vessel for carrying out the
installation of offshore wind farms and is one of only a handful of vessels capable
of carrying out the construction of what will be one of world\'s largest offshore
wind farms.

The jack-up vessel, which was in the Solway Firth last year to carry out tests on
the site, is expected to work through the remainder of December and January.

\"We\'re going to be out there as weather permits through the winter period to ensure
enough foundations are installed to enable us to start erecting the turbines in the
Spring and Summer,\" said Ian.

\"Onshore work and the manufacture of the offshore substations have been progressing
well and we hope to have Robin Rigg fully commissioned by Spring 2009 as planned.
We\'re sure that when completed it\'ll make a significant contribution in the fight
against climate change.\"

At 180MW Robin Rigg will generate enough clean, green energy to power up to 117,000
homes and displace the emission of 200,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.

The Resolution has been brought in as a temporary replacement for the Lisa A, the
jack-up vessel originally tasked with carrying out the installation of the turbine
foundations.

The Lisa A is currently in Belfast undergoing repairs after sustaining damage to one
of its legs while in the Solway Firth in September. It is expected to return to
work on the site once the repairs have been completed.

The MV Resolution is currently chartered by Centrica and has been successfully
installing foundations on its 180MW Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farms. An agreement
has been struck between E.ON, Centrica and the vessel owners MPI to use the
Resolution on Robin Rigg to augment the existing installation vessels being used
there.

\"We\'re grateful to Centrica and MPI for giving us the opportunity to use the
Resolution for a short period this winter and again next summer. It\'s a great
example of how the industry can work together to maximise the usage of scarce
resources such as installation vessels,\" said Ian.


Web Site: http://www.eonenergy.com

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