Barrier Group businesses, specialist coatings provider Barrier Ltd., and rope access company UK Total Solutions have collaborated to complete a major remedial painting and maintenance contract on the 630 MW London Array wind farm.
Operated by London Array Ltd. on behalf of a consortium of E.ON, DONG Energy, La Caisse and Masdar, the London Array project is located in the Thames Estuary and is the world’s largest offshore wind farm, according to Barrier Group.
The company says that the contract involved coating system repairs to two offshore substations, which transmit power from the wind farm, which is 20 kilometers off the Kent coast, to shore. In addition, the scope of works included coating repairs on 13 wind turbine transitions pieces and bolt-tightness checks on the Array’s Meteorological survey mast.
According to Barrier, the project was delivered by a 10-man site team made up of experienced Barrier Ltd. specialist coating technicians, including a UK Total Solutions-trained team of rope access professionals to minimize the need for offshore scaffolding. As noted, the team was based in the Southeast for the length of the contract and transferred to the offshore site daily from London Array Ltd.’s operation and maintenance base in the port of Ramsgate.
Secured through competitive tender, the combined workforce from the two companies undertook the 14-week program.
To help complete the project in a timely manner, Barrier’s technicians used a solvent-free and moisture-tolerant coating epoxy that enabled the technicians to work in more severe weather conditions than conventional coatings, asserts the company.
Tony Bourn, London Array Ltd. construction and warranty manager, commented, “Barrier provided an experienced team who worked very effectively within the challenging environment at the London Array wind farm. Health, safety and quality were maintained whilst working efficiently to ensure that the work was completed within the agreed program and budget.”
