Bilfinger to conduct pile testing for Iberdrola’s Wikinger project

Iberdrola has selected German engineering and services group Bilfinger to build, install and test several steel foundations at the location of Wikinger offshore wind project off the coast of the island of Rügen.

Under the €20m contract, Bilfinger will drive steel piles into the seabed at selected locations of the site in the fall of 2014, aimed to optimize the design and manufacture of foundations.

Following a static period of several weeks, Bilfinger will conduct tension and pressure trials under water.

In cooperation with several universities and organisations specialised in subsea geotechnics and engineering, Iberdrola will carry out conduct a similar pile testing on the ground.

Bilfinger’s works findings will be useful for the project and provides valuable information on offshore piling in similar Baltic Sea geological formations which can be found in other projects.

The 350MW offshore wind project is being developed by Iberdrola with an investment of nearly €1.bn.

IBERDROLA Renewables business director Xabier Viteri said: "The Wikinger project is making very good progress and this pile testing work is essential for the project’s engineering solution to be technically and economically optimized."

Covering an area of roughly 34km², the project will feature 70 turbines and one offshore substation to produce electricity equivalent to the consumption of more than 350,000 German households while eliminating the emission of almost 600,000 tons of CO2/year.

The Wikinger project is expected to have a significant impact on economic through the entire supply chain and will also help create jobs.

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Image: Bilfinger to conduct pile testing for Wikinger project. Photo: xedos4/Freedigitalphotos.net.