AREVA Wind showcased new Single Blade Installation (SBI) system at Husum WindEnergy Trade Fair

AREVA Wind highlighted its new single blade offshore installation method at the Husum WindEnergy Trade Fair, held from September 18th to the 22nd in Germany.

With this new method, AREVA Wind is the first offshore turbine manufacturer to enable the installation of blades on the hub in all positions up to 330 degrees and at wind speeds up to 12 m/s.  Several sensors, different safety systems, two batteries and seven cameras ensure correct clamping and safe operation of the installation tool.

Compared to rotor star blade installation, AREVA’s single blade installation method reduces storage requirements as there is no need to transport a fully assembled, space consuming rotor star. This minimizes the number of roundtrips and, combined with operations at high wind speeds, significantly reduces costs for offshore logistics.

The 55 ton remotely controlled yoke and the special installation method was first successfully tested in May at one of AREVA’s prototype sites in Bremerhaven, and underwent since then several extensive optimization sequences. The average time to mount or demount a blade is around three hours.

Jean Huby, CEO of AREVA Wind, highlighted: “AREVA is committed not only to delivering best-in-class turbine technology to its customers, but also to constantly driving innovation in installation and logistics so as to deliver solutions that  produce energy at reduced cost.  AREVA’s single blade installation is a robust and safe option for its customers to optimize offshore logistics and we are looking forward to deploying it on our upcoming offshore wind projects.”