Deep foundations for an Offshore Windfarm – A challenge not only to dive-drill from seabed-Video

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Video Summary

Bauer Spezialtiefbau presented its foundation work for the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France, comprising about 62 turbines and an offshore substation. Working from Van Oord’s installation vessel, the team drilled roughly 190 foundations in water depths of 29–42 meters, with piles up to 46 meters long.<br /><br />Unexpectedly hard and abrasive rock—up to 150 MPa compared with the anticipated 50 MPa—required new drilling tools developed with Bauer’s equipment specialists. Installation involved positioning a seabed template, temporary casings, and a specialized dive drill, followed by inserting and grouting the permanent pin piles. Precise underwater surveying monitored drilling depth, pile position, inclination, and grout levels.<br /><br />The project also required complex vessel logistics and a grout mix meeting several competing specifications. The speaker described the wind farm as the world’s first founded on drilled and grouted pin piles.

Keywords

Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm

Bauer Spezialtiefbau

drilled and grouted pin piles

offshore foundation drilling

abrasive rock drilling

offshore wind turbine foundations