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David Lambkin

Metocean specialist
+44 (0)23 8071 1874

Metocean criteria to support Morgan and Mona offshore wind farm development

bp and Energie Baden-Wüerttemberg AG (EnBW)

Design criteria

Morgan and Mona are planned fixed offshore wind farms in the eastern Irish Sea. When completed, they will have a combined potential generating capacity of 3GW, sufficient to power approximately 3.4 million UK households.

As part of the development of the wind farm sites, Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) and bp required metocean design and operating criteria to support the cost-effective design, integrity and safe operability of the wind farm structures and export cable corridors, consisting of:

  • Detailed wind and hydrodynamic (wave, water level and current) modelling studies
  • Supporting wind and metocean load analysis (extremes, joint events, misalignment and fatigue loads)
  • Derivation of additional metocean and oceanographic variables at the site

Solution and delivery

ABPmer was commissioned to deliver the detailed metocean information, providing bp and EnBW engineers with a validated metocean Basis of Design for each wind farm area, as well as support during the certification process.

Numerical simulation, or modelling, provides the prolonged data sets needed for robust design bases. Our in-house numerical hindcast model system, SEASTATES, was used to nest bespoke high-resolution flexible grids covering the Irish Sea, including fine grid sections covering the wind farm sites and potential export cable routes.

The models provided 43 years of continuous hindcast timeseries of key metocean parameters which, when calibrated and verified against appropriate measurements, form the basis for state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical analyses.

To derive the metocean criteria needed by the engineering authority and bp and EnBW’s engineering teams, our specialists used their extensive suite of state-of-the-art data analysis tools, consistent with the latest guidelines and standards, ensuring they encapsulate the latest methods and theory. Rigorous quality control throughout the project meant that any errors were captured, and the clients had complete confidence in the project results.

Outcome

The results of this exercise, and ABPmer’s significant experience, served as essential inputs to a safe and cost-effective basis of design.

We are proud to have a significant and successful track record in projects like Morgan and Mona, having been involved in many of the major offshore wind farm developments in UK and European waters.


ABPmer supports marine infrastructure design with comprehensive metocean information to minimise uncertainty, maximise efficiency and ensure compliance with international standards. Find out more about our design criteria services.

David Lambkin

Metocean specialist
+44 (0)23 8071 1874

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