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Humber Gateway Wind Farm is one of over 40 offshore wind farms managed by RWE Renewables UK. Comprising of 73 wind turbines, the site provides renewable energy to over 170,000 residential homes in the UK.
The site was commissioned in 2015 and is positioned 8km off the coast of North Lincolnshire in the North Sea. It spans an area of 25km2 and is favourably positioned close to the National Electricity Grid.
The key infrastructure at Humber Gateway Wind Farm is positioned in an area with high vessel traffic. The ABP Humber is located nearby and receives 40,000 vessel movements each year.
This makes the site critical to mark, to help protect the wind farm and direct marine traffic away from these high value assets.
The requirement was to not only mark the site, but to also monitor the navigational aids, 24/7.
The Solution
Sealite UK has been maintaining and servicing the Aids to Navigation assets at Humber Gateway Wind Farm since 2016. Recent advancements in satellite enabled devices at Sealite gained the interest of project managers. This drove the decision to upgrade the marine lanterns at Humber Gateway.
The new lanterns were installed in 2020 and are equipped with Iridium® satellite technology.
Asset managers have access to real-time monitoring and control features via the Star2M asset management portal. They also gain valuable insights, including live data on the operation of their lanterns, at any time of day or night.
Users can oversee their entire AtoN network and action accordingly for operational efficiency. The setting of off station and GPS alarms ensures the necessary response from maintenance teams can be initiated quickly. Alerts can be set and warnings identified before a breakdown occurs.
From a servicing perspective, operational efficiencies can be gained with maintenance visits only scheduled when they are needed. The visit is then logged in the Star2M portal for traceability and follow-up.
The Outcome
With Star2M, RWE Renewables now have visibility of all their registered assets at the Humber Gateway Wind Farm. The risk of damage to the wind turbines from
marine vessels sharing these waters is greatly reduced.
Firstly, this has been done with the clear marking of the exclusion zone using Sealite’s marine buoys and lanterns. Secondly the assets are connected via satellite to Star2M for visibility.
The continuous monitoring helps to ensure the AtoNs are where they need to be and operating as they should.
“Star2M offers the latest monitoring and control technology to ensure connected assets comply with IALA standards,” said Jamie Girling, Sales Executive – Sealite United Kingdom