Minesto has announced the successful completion of the installation of a drilled and grouted seabed anchor solution for the Dragon 12 at the company's production site offshore in Vestmannasund, Faroe Islands. The installation, conducted by Minesto's collaboration partner Leask Marine Ltd., signifies a crucial step towards the deployment and power production of the Dragon 12 kite system.
The innovative seabed anchor solution, developed jointly by Leask Marine and Minesto, has been installed for the first time. The Dragon 12 system, now assembled, tested, and ready for installation, commissioning, and power production, is positioned on the quayside in Vestmanna.
Compared to traditional gravity-based foundations, the seabed anchoring method employed by Dragon 12 reduces costs for tidal energy array buildout and significantly lowers carbon emissions, aligning with sustainable energy objectives.
"We are very pleased to have the Dragon 12 anchor in place. The solution builds on a new method where a smaller installation vessel carries out 24-hour drilling and grouting of a steel cylinder. We save thousands of tonnes of concrete and steel by moving away from gravity-based foundations. This method promises to become cost effective for future tidal energy arrays, and the carbon footprint is minimal," stated Dr. Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto.
Douglas Leask, Managing Director of Leask Marine, expressed pride in the achievement, highlighting the significance of the Submersible Drilling Rig (SDR) technology in the successful completion of the project. "This is a huge achievement for the rig’s first outing, drilling such a large size of pile, lower than 80m of water depth, in a tidal site. We express our gratitude to Minesto for their trust in our team and our new revolutionary Submersible Drilling Rig (SDR) technology that played a pivotal role in this project," said Leask.
The seabed anchor solution comprises a steel cylinder drilled into the seabed, grouted in place, and equipped with a transition piece facilitating the connection of the export cable and installation of the tether and kite.
