The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., or LEEDCo., has partnered with a Denmark-based inventor of a specially designed "mono bucket" turbine foundation. Supporters say the technology costs less to install thanks to an all-in-one structure that requires no noisy pile-driving during construction or potentially environmentally hazardous dredging of the lake bed.
As developed by Universal Foundation of Aalborg, Denmark, the large-diameter bucket is placed open-side down on a lake or sea bottom, with an attached steel shaft that extends toward the water's surface. When water trapped in the inverted bucket is removed, the resulting suction causes the structure to penetrate into the soil, said David Karpinski, LEEDCo's vice president of operations.
The innovation would replace the heavy steel piles that LEEDCo had proposed in 2013 for its planned 18-megawatt "Icebreaker" offshore wind project. The venture, which the development group has been exploring since 2005, is set to erect a half-dozen wind turbines seven miles offshore on Lake Erie. LEEDCo estimates offshore wind in the Great Lakes overall has more than 700 gigawatts of electric generating potential.
The partnership with Universal Foundation is a step in hastening construction and installation of the turbines, Karpinski said. Installing a one-piece, all-steel base represents a 30 to 50 percent cost savings over the turbine foundation's original concept. The mono bucket also requires significantly less time on the water during construction, as its suction system leaves pricey pile-driving equipment on dry land.
"We studied the costs and risks, and decided that the mono bucket was a better choice for the conditions in Lake Erie," said Karpinski.
Tech with Precedent
LEEDCo.'s engineering team has started design of the bucket system, a process Karpinski expects to be completed by early 2016. Fabrication would take place over the next year, which would put the organization on schedule to get the wind turbines into the water by 2018.The group is in talks with European and U.S. private investors to fund the endeavor, said Karpinski. A year ago LEEDCo. was not selected for one of three $47 million grants distributed by the Department of Energy for its Advanced Technology Demonstration Project program, funding that would have allowed LEEDCo to move ahead on its estimated $127 million wind power venture and have it in operation by 2017.
The organization is currently operating with a $3 million Department of Energy research grant as well as additional funding from a Cleveland community foundation.
Mono bucket technology has been used in Europe's offshore wind industry for over a decade, noted Karpinski. A 3-megawatt turbine in Denmark has been supported by a Universal Foundation prototype since 2002. Last year, the company successfully tested its tech through a long series of trail installations in various soil conditions off the coast of England. Suction-based foundations had already been in operation for decades in the oil and gas industry.
"It gives us a certain amount of confidence that the technology is tried and true," said Karpinski.
A Broader Base of Support
A recently inked partnership with Erie County, Pa., meanwhile, is part of a growing support mechanism that could bring a regional wind power industry closer to reality, Karpinski said. Acting as a political subdivision member, Erie County will convene with four other lakefront counties on developing a supply chain for offshore wind projects including Icebreaker.A network of like-minded counties will ensure the region's water-based wind farm is developed in a responsible manner that balances the need for clean energy with protection of the lake itself, officials said. LEEDCo. is also investigating building and assembling its mono bucket system on the grounds of an Erie County shipyard.
"A broader base of stakeholders is going to be very beneficial moving ahead," said Karpinski. "Support extended across the state's borders does nothing but help our case."
LEEDCo. will continue to explore design applications for a turbine system that will face ice floes and other challenges represented by the fourth largest Great Lake. A cost-effective solution to Icebreaker's underwater foundation system may be the development that finally puts northeast Ohio's wind-powered aspirations into motion.
