VIDEO: Boom Lock Fights Off High Winds

High Wind tested the Boom Lock system on a 6MW Senvion wind turbine blade, helping the blade be completely still in wind conditions of 15m/s average wind speed and gusts up to 20m/s.

The test also proved the benefit of the intelligent guidance system on heavy loads like nacelles and towers, High Wind said.

The Boom Lock is a system that is mounted on an offshore crane, and is designed to control the movement of the crane hook and the payload in such a way that installation time can be drastically reduced. This results both in cost savings under the form of reduced cost for installation vessels, installation crews and related costs, as well as increased income due to earlier completion of the wind farms, High Wind said.

The company added that the use of the Boom Lock increases safety during the installation of the wind turbines as the heavy payloads’ uncontrolled movements in windy conditions are reduce.

Increasing the wind speed limits for offshore wind installation is in the top five of drivers which can help reduce the LCOE for offshore wind energy.