Renewed Energy - new Offshore Renewable Energy Lead

As Lankhorst Offshore gears up for the next phase in renewable offshore energy, it has appointed Neil Schulz as Global Sales Director for Renewable Energy. Mooring rope construction, end terminations and production optimization are just some areas in the spotlight.

Floating offshore wind mooring turbines are the future of renewable wind energy. Bigger and further offshore to maximise their efficiency, however, they face significant mooring challenges. Prior to joining Lankhorst Offshore, Neil Schulz had spent the last three years improving his knowledge of anchors and tensioning equipment for mooring systems at a leading international supplier of subsea anchor systems. It has given him a valuable insight into the dynamics of mooring, developing further his extensive knowledge of fibre rope mooring and deployment.

The Offshore renewables energy market brings many new challenges for mooring systems in shallow waters. Depending on the type of the floater concept used, the mooring system may require ropes that are moderately stiff, or very stiff and in some other cases they may require ropes with high elongation to reduce peak loads. Meeting these demands is where Lankhorst Offshore excels and can offer a range of rope products to suit the project requirements for floating offshore wind.  

Over the past 6 years, Lankhorst Offshore has supplied Gama98® Dyneema® DM20 mooring lines for many floating energy offshore trials. These include WindFloat Atlantic located offshore Viana, Portugal, Kincardine Floating Wind farm, offshore Aberdeen, Scotland, TetraSpar® Demo, offshore Stavanger, Norway and EFGL in the Mediterranean, France.

“Because of these projects, we have unique experience of the challenges involved in mooring floating wind turbines,” notes Schulz. “We know what works and what doesn’t work which allows us to direct our research and product development efforts more efficiently. So that when we advise on the best mooring solution for a particular floater, we’re able to back it up with solid engineering know-how.”

For more information on Lankhorst Offshore and Renewable Energy contact Neil Schulz, email: ns@lankhorstropes.com