Release
The exhibition spotlight falls on three key areas of expertise on the Fugro Renewables stand (E195) at All-Energy 2011, the UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition and conference. The show sees the launch of a new ROV; information on the company’s operation and maintenance services for all marine renewable energy infrastructure; and their marine environmental consultancy capability.
“With 35 years’ experience in the marine industry, we have already proved our worth to over 50 marine renewables clients working on more than a hundred projects, and are well set to take on more challenges with cost-effective, innovative and highly relevant solutions,” says Tony Hodgson, Global Business Development Manager, Fugro Renewables, established to bring together the expertise of operating companies within the Fugro Group to serve the renewables industry globally.
Tracking arrangement for work class ROVs
A design and development team, led by Jacco Huipen, Fugro’s Subsea Engineering and Tooling Manager, has developed a new tracked arrangement for Fugro work class ROVs. The system was designed and manufactured at Fugro’s base on Denmore Road in Aberdeen.
Fugro already operates tracked ROVs for inspection. The Rocsi system was developed in Germany a few years ago and was the company’s first entry into this market. Rocsi has already seen success offshore as an inspection tracked ROV for cable burial depth and location surveys, but experience showed there was a need for a much more powerful work class system, capable of carrying a comprehensive range of heavy intervention tooling; so the tracked skid evolved, rising to this challenge. The detachable configuration fits below and expands the capability of a normal Fugro work-class ROV, such as the FCV, to make it possible to operate for more realistic periods in extreme tidal currents, like those found on many of the marine tidal sites and wind farms around the UK, and elsewhere in the world.
Jacco Huipen explains: “It was an interesting design project and one which presented the team with a few motivating challenges, such as how to steer a work class ROV in the shallow waters near a beach. The team has come up with a new and novel design which is simple to use, and which adds to the company’s capabilities.”
O&M plays a vital renewables role
Fugro Renewables has an enviable track record in offering operation and maintenance services to the marine community – a role its skilled and experienced teams around the world have been supplying for 35 years.
At All-Energy the focus will be on services available to the offshore wind sector, which include blade indexing access; gearbox removal and installation; transformer changes; scour protection installation and remediation; scour monitoring studies; and ROV services. Operation and maintenance are equally important to the tidal and wave device sectors, where Fugro’s expertise in installation, servicing and decommissioning is highly relevant.
A lifetime of marine environmental expertise
With over a thousand marine surveys undertaken covering nearshore/landfall and offshore requirements, Fugro is one of the leaders in offshore environmental studies. It is on this firm foundation, and by acquisition of specialist companies such as ERT (Scotland) Ltd in 2010, that their Marine Environmental Consultancy work is based.
Expertise pertinent to the marine renewables sectors includes: environmental impact assessment; environmental baseline surveys; fishing interaction surveys; marine resource (interaction) studies; environmental comparative location studies; monitoring environmental effects; and environmental sensitivity studies.
“We are looking forward to two busy and stimulating days at All-Energy 2011, meeting many of our existing clients as well as making contact with those embarking on rising to the challenges of working in the often hostile world offshore,” says Tony Hodgson. “Whatever stage their projects are at we are confident that they can most certainly ‘count on Fugro’ as our display material proudly proclaims.”
Further information from Stand E195 and at www.fugro-renewables.com
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