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Ocean Kinetics and Green Marine finalize OpenHydro decommissioning at EMEC
Two prominent Scottish marine engineering firms, Ocean Kinetics and Green Marine, have successfully carried out the decommissioning of OpenHydro’s innovative tidal power platform at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
OpenHydro was the initial developer to utilize EMEC’s tidal testing site at the Fall of Warness and became the first tidal turbine to be connected to the grid in Scotland, as well as the first to effectively generate electricity for the national grid in the UK.
The decommissioning project, contracted by EMEC, included a variety of marine services. A joint venture was established in April to execute the contract, integrating Ocean Kinetics’ divers, riggers, welders, and ROV services, along with Green Marine’s offshore management, vessel, moorings, and cable expertise, sharing responsibilities for operational engineering, cutting, and heavy-lift operations.
Significant tasks entailed dismantling the platform’s steel superstructure – including two 18-tonne steel piles, drilled and grouted into the seabed – as well as cable disconnection and termination. Pile foundations were cut to the seabed using reversed Diamond Wire Cutters, returning the seabed as close as reasonably feasible to its original state.
Green Marine’s operations manager Terry Norquay remarked:
“We are thrilled to have successfully completed this complex and extensive project. Extensive planning was necessary to finish the latest phase involving the removal of the two 18-tonne steel piles, with our vessel, the Green Isle, positioned in a four-point mooring configuration to remain stationary and allow divers to safely enter the water.
“This project has broadened Green Marine’s wide portfolio of work and showcases the turnkey offshore decommissioning solutions we can offer in collaboration with our dependable partners.”
Ocean Kinetics marine projects manager, Roger Goudie, stated:
“By working closely with Green Marine, we can provide a comprehensive suite of EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction, and installation) contracts. There are few operators in the UK who can match our combined experience, dependability, and cost efficiency.”
Ocean Kinetics and Green Marine possess extensive experience in the marine sector, ranging from work on subsea servers, port gates, and aquaculture equipment, to retrieving sunken barges (weighing up to 1000 tonnes) and decommissioning efforts including the salvage and removal of the 4000-tonne decommissioned oil rig Buchan Alpha.
Neil Kermode, EMEC Managing Director, commented:
“The OpenHydro platform was located at our Fall of Warness testing site for 18 years, one of the longest tidal energy installations globally to date. It is encouraging to see local Orkney and Shetland companies meet the decommissioning requirements, a testament to the world-class supply chain capabilities developed here due to marine energy testing and demonstration activities. Now that decommissioning has been finalized, we can execute a full lifecycle assessment with valuable insights regarding marine operations, structural integrity of long-term deployments, and the impacts of biofouling and corrosion. These lessons will aid in guiding the tidal energy industry’s ongoing progress as we prepare our testing sites for future clients and expand to tidal energy arrays.”
OpenHydro tested seven generations of its turbine on the test rig at EMEC, with the last version accumulating over 10,000 hours of run time. In 2018, OpenHydro’s parent organization, Naval Energies, ceased investment in its tidal energy venture, leading to the liquidation of the Irish-based subsidiary. Upon taking possession of the remaining assets at its site, EMEC investigated alternative R&D prospects for utilizing the platform; however, following a lifespan assessment of the platform, the decision was made to proceed with decommissioning.
