DNV supports Sif Group to enter the Asian wind market and forecast future monopile designs

Study examined site conditions and advised suitable monopile designs to mitigate the impact of extreme conditions and soil liquefaction

Three key benefits

  • DNV provided the customer with a better understanding of the future development of wind turbine technology, including types and sizes of turbines over the next 15 years
  • DNV provided the customer with a better understanding of the technically addressable market for monopile foundations over the same time period, including the likely maximum monopile dimensions
  • DNV identified drivers and constraints for the Japanese market from a technical and commercial basis, and provided the customer with a better understanding of the Asian market, giving the customer a robust basis on which to plan its expansion into the Asia Pacific region

About the customer

Sif Group is a leading provider of offshore foundations and optimizes each project based on design, feasibility, coating and logistics. Founded in 1948, the company employs over 600 people at two manufacturing sites in the Netherlands: Roermond and Maasvlakte 2, near Rotterdam. Sif Group generated EUR 335.4 million sales revenue in 2020.

The customer challenge

Sif Group had an ambitious objective. The company needed to examine the range of site conditions in the Asian market and obtain a market forecast for the various future wind turbine monopile designs which could withstand the harsh conditions from weather systems in the region.

DNV’s solution

DNV used the monopile, tower and loads prediction modules in its Renewables.Architect tool to predict diameter and wall thickness distributions along the monopile. By building on the insight shared in its Energy Transition Outlook (ETO) report and the expertise of its local colleagues based throughout the Asia Pacific region, DNV provided a specific market forecast for monopiles in the Asian market and divulged the barriers to and opportunities for the supply of monopiles to Asian markets.

Benefits to the customer

DNV’s Renewables.Architect provided fatigue and extreme loads insight to enable the modelling of 10 MW to 20 MW size wind generators with 178 m to 270 m rotor diameters for sizing the TP-less monopile foundations. DNV was also able to estimate the impact of the ground condition on the monopile designs in relation to installation, typhoons, earthquakes and soil liquefaction.