All Three Yunlin Monopiles that Sustained Pile Runs Now Removed

June 6, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Jumbo Offshore has completed the removal of the last two monopiles that were subject to pile runs during installation in an earlier construction phase at the Yunlin offshore wind farm in Taiwan. The project saw three pile runs, with the first occurring in 2021 and the same again happening in 2022 and 2023. The first of the three affected monopiles was removed last year.

The Dutch offshore transport and installation contractor was hired for the removal of the two remaining monopiles earlier this year by Yunlin’s owner/developer Yunneng Wind Power Co. (YWPC). The contract was an expansion to Jumbo Offshore’s existing scope that encompasses the transportation and installation of the transition pieces for the 640 MW offshore wind farm.

The company started work on removing the two monopiles in the second half of May and deployed its DP2 heavy lift crane vessel Fairplayer for the job.

For the execution of the additional scope, Jumbo Offshore provided a project management team and an engineering construction crew. From the contract signature to the completion of the works, the entire project took only five months, including the Fairplayer’s trip from Europe to Taiwan.

The removal work involved the underwater cutting of the monopiles into sections and the recovery, transport and offloading of the sections. The individual sections were lifted into the vessel’s cargo hold for transportation to a local Taiwanese port and offloading to the quayside.

The Fairplayer vessel was outfitted with an underwater abrasive cutting and lifting tool supplied by Claxton Engineering Services, as well as an ROV supplied by IKM Subsea and survey equipment provided by Reach Subsea.

Jochem Tacx, Package Manager at YWPC, said: “The close interaction of the project teams facilitated an efficient execution, within tight schedule and budget constraints. The hand-on project management approach in combination with the in-house technical expertise, resulted in a well-coordinated monopile removal campaign.”

Located in the Taiwan Strait, between 8 and 17 kilometres off Taiwan’s west coast, the 640 MW Yunlin offshore wind farm will comprise 80 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines installed in water depths of between 8 and 35 metres.

Once completed, the project will be producing enough renewable energy to serve the energy needs of more than 600,000 Taiwanese households.

The project company owning Yunneng Wind Power Co., Ltd. consists of Skyborn Renewables (which holds approximately 32 per cent), TotalEnergies Renewables (approx. 29.5 per cent), EGCO (approx. 26.5 per cent) and Sojitz (approx. 12 per cent).