Guyed Monopile Foundation for off-Shore Wind Turbines

Abstract

Over recent years, renewable energy has become an important choice for the Egyptian government, as Egypt has been suffering severe power shortages and rolling blackouts. Egypt put an energy strategy that aims at increasing the renewable energy share to 20 percent of Egypt’s energy production by 2020. This target is expected to be met largely by scaling-up wind power projects. While most wind energy in Egypt is produced by on-shore wind farms, off-shore wind farms can be much more productive and efficient. Coastal zones in Egypt enjoy high wind energy potential. Designing foundations for off-shore wind turbines is challenging, as these structures are subjected to dynamic forces such as wind and waves. Monopiles are one of the most efficient foundation systems for offshore wind turbines, however they are mainly used in shallow water (less than 30 m deep). There is an urgent need to increase both the depth and capacity of monopiles supported wind turbines. Increasing the depth and diameter of monopiles can become uneconomic, thus a modified system needs to be adopted. This paper is the first step in studying the adoption of a system of ties (aka guys) to support the monopiles and reduce their free length above the sea level.