Bard 1 Transformer Platform and Jacket

The contract was awarded to Harland & Wolff by German offshore construction company Weserwind GmbH on behalf of BARD Engineering GmbH. Bremerhaven-based Weserwind GmbH commissioned the Belfast yard to assemble and erect the 4,400 tonne tubular jacket sub-structure of the offshore transformer platform in the yard’s main 556m x 93m Building Dock. The jacket was fabricated from 2m and 1.5m tubes and had overall dimensions of 60m x 60m x 58m high.

• Services: Fabrication & Construction
• Client: Weserwind GmbH
  BARD Engineering GmbH
• Project: BARD 1 Transformer Platform and Jacket
• Date Commenced: 1 March 2009
• Date Delivered: 7 October 2009

Once the jacket was substantially complete H&W had the contract to offload the transformer platform and float this into the base of the jacket structure. The topside transformer (upper section) dimensions were 42m x 42m x 25m high and weighed 3,340 tonnes. The units were then joined by strand jacks and the 7,739 tonne combined weight was floated with the combined buoyancy of both units.

The transformer is located 90km northwest of the island of Borkum within the area Allgemeine Wirtschaftszone (AWZ) in the North Sea. In addition to the 80 wind turbines of type BARD 5.0 (5MW each), the transformer platform is connected to the individual high-voltage cables from the wind turbines. The power transmission is bundled through the platform. This prototype delivery and installation method raised a number of unique challenges which were overcome by the combined efforts of our customer and the H&W engineering and construction teams.