Parkwind has installed a pioneering boat charging station system at sea, designed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from maintenance vessels and promote sustainable operations. Powered by local, renewable energy sources, this innovative infrastructure investment is a crucial step towards enabling low-carbon water transport.

By utilizing locally-sourced renewable electricity, we are further supporting our mission to generate clean energy while diligently minimizing our environmental footprint. This groundbreaking initiative not only enhances sustainable maritime practices but also reinforces Parkwind's commitment to leading the transition to a greener future.

This innovative system, operational for the first time at the Nobelwind wind farm, enables vessels to use green, locally generated energy directly. The technology, developed by UK-based partner MJR, and integrated and deployed in collaboration with Parkwind, allows ships to connect to the charging cable and thus stay in place while charging, despite sea currents.

The automatic coupling and uncoupling process and charge management have been extensively tested and found to be successful. With this progressive concept, Parkwind aims to strengthen its position as a pioneer in the offshore wind sector and strive for fully sustainable operations.

Nobelwind, which is located 47 km from shore in the Belgian North Sea, is Parkwind’s third offshore wind energy project with 50 turbines installed over 19.8 km² that powers approximately 190,000 households.

Kristof Verlinden, Head of O&M at Parkwind proudly explains, "We are committed to making all of our activities as sustainable as possible and this is a game changer for our maintenance vessels, which can now access green energy direct from our wind turbines as they carry out their work. The trial proved the system can transfer electricity from a wind farm to the vessels safely without any disruption to the farm.”

The system was transported from the quayside to the offshore substation via CTV and lifted in modules using the substation crane. Within two days, it was assembled, hooked up, and commissioned on the substation. The setup was successfully tested, achieving a world first by safely transferring power to a CTV from a fully operational and producing offshore wind farm. Moreover, this process caused no disruption or interruption to the wind farm's operation, and there was no failure or damage to any component of either the charging system, nor topside, nor vessel. The entire operation was executed without any incidents or near misses and can be classified as 100% safe.

Working in close partnership with Parkwind, MJR carried out all electrical and mechanical interface engineering to install the system on the substation. Parkwind provided offshore logistics, offshore installation, testing support and the electrical power interface.

The operational effectiveness is proven, including:

  • Simple, fast and safe hands-free connection and disconnection, no manual handling needed;
  • Free-floating;
  • Effective tension control, catenary management, single point mooring and following;
  • Effective overload protection, automatic and manual emergency release, recovery and reconnection without damage to connector or any requirement to clean, dry or overhaul;
  • Safe power transfer from wind farm to vessel.

Source: Parkwind