“Reaching greater heights” – that’s not just a slogan for LiftOff, but the core of what they do. LiftOff specializes in replacing large wind turbine components with up-tower cranes, with the ultimate goal of making turbines produce as much green power as possible. With a team of experts, LiftOff works worldwide to repair and maintain offshore wind turbines. Together with a group of specialized partners, they set a world first in the wind industry in 2024: the very first Major Component Exchange (MCE) on an offshore wind turbine. We speak with Eelko May, director of LiftOff, about this groundbreaking project, the challenges involved, and what this breakthrough means for the future of the wind industry.

Eelko, what’s so special about this project?
The Kincardine offshore Windfarm is a floating wind farm where the turbines, 15 km off the coast of Aberdeen, are anchored to the seabed. There are only a few floating wind farms left worldwide, and this one in Kincardine is one of the larger ones with five times 9.5 megawatt turbines.

Normally, floating wind turbines are disconnected for maintenance-the anchor cables and power lines are disconnected-and the turbines are towed to a port of sufficient depth for the necessary work. After maintenance, they are towed back, re-anchored and reconnected. Often the turbines are transported to the Port of Rotterdam, where they are repaired for several weeks before returning. The preparation and execution of such an operation takes a long time, and during that time the turbine is idle-which means no green power is produced and thus no revenue is generated.

In 2022 and 2023, this process was still performed in the traditional way, but in 2024, for the first time, this was no longer necessary thanks to the GenHook™ up-tower crane and an updated maintenance process.

How did this innovative repair go and what were the obvious differences from the traditional repair process?
The repair could be done on-site at the floating wind farm near Aberdeen by mounting our crane directly on the wind turbine and performing the generator change at sea. This is a huge gamechanger for our industry.

During this process, we were faced with several dynamic movements. The turbines float in the water, where currents and wave action continuously influence them. Therefore, various solutions had to be devised in advance to avoid possible problems during the lifting process and ensure that everything could proceed safely.

And how did you ensure that this project went safely and correctly?
Because this was the first time this process was being carried out, we needed to go through all the steps extra thoroughly. We started with a feasibility study to determine whether the implementation was possible, taking into account the movements at sea and our crane capacity. We also paid a lot of attention to the development, testing and actual use of the equipment. All this happened in a few months (note: from late December to early July). The process required not only a significant investment of money, but also of time, as the project was a huge logistical challenge. Many different parties were involved: besides Vestas, the OEM of the turbines, and our client KOWL (Kincardine Offshore Wind Limited), Dragados S.A., the owner of the wind farm, CWIL (Cobra Wind International Limited), local authorities, vessel owners, insurers, technical inspectors, and other external parties were also involved.

The extensive preparation, cooperation with external parties, and tight timeline made this a complex project. But that effort is paying off in the future. Because much time and money was invested in this process, we now have the equipment, knowledge, working methods, documentation, and our experiences and learning points, which will allow similar future projects to go even smoother.

How do you look back on this project in Kincardine?
Everything went almost perfectly. The preparation and implementation fit together seamlessly – we just did a solid job, and that despite the time pressure. We would do the same for the next project.

How has the industry responded to this project and what impact has it had?
We have received a lot of positive feedback. This project and the technology have given LiftOff a significant boost in confidence in the eyes of our industry and customers; the successful completion of this large-scale and innovative project shows that we are able to successfully address similar challenges and projects as well. Developers know how to find us better, and we are also already engaged in follow-up studies to see how we can re-establish and perhaps even expand such a process in the future. After all, on-site repair (in-situ) is an ideal and desirable solution, which is cheaper, faster and safer.

At the same time as this project, we as LiftWerx Europe implemented our rebranding to LiftOff. We wore workwear with our new logo, the new name was placed on the crane, and all this was included in a press release about the Kincardine Offshore Windfarm project, which we released under the LiftOff name. This gave us a huge boost. We noticed companies recognizing us and coming up to us at exhibitions.

How do you think this innovative project could influence the design and construction processes of future floating wind turbines?
Looking forward, new turbines could be better prepared for repairs, making maintenance faster and easier. In the end, it’s just a logistics game: the faster you finish, the lower the cost and the more economical it becomes. The wind turbine in the Kincardine wind farm was reasonably suited for this in-situ repair; it needed some reinforcements and welding on the floater* (*a floating foundation for offshore wind turbines, suitable for deep waters). You actually want to be able to eliminate these processes by making certain provisions in advance at the factory. Think of roofs on the turbine that can be opened, and extra space on the floaters for the equipment needed for maintenance. Filling these preconditions will make the process even more efficient. We also include these factors and recommendations in our discussions with customers.

However, given that wind turbines generally have a long lifespan and thus repairs are infrequent, the ideal solution would be a simple, universally applicable option-perhaps initially a bit more expensive, but usable everywhere.

How does reducing the carbon footprint of offshore wind farm maintenance contribute to global renewable energy sustainability goals, and how do you see the floating wind industry evolving in a few years?
What is particularly striking at the moment is that for most projects, cost is still the deciding factor when clients make choices. Sustainable solutions are often seen as a nice bonus and only really get appreciation when they are explicitly named. Because our industry is all about green choices and practices, many people don’t realize that there is still room for improvement. I think more awareness can be created in this area.

Nonetheless, I expect such innovations to continue. They offer significant benefits, but also require investments; from ports and facilities for building large floaters to the turbines themselves, maintenance methods and other technical aspects. It is absolutely feasible, but it requires progress, especially in the areas of risk coverage and financing.