China’s CWHI has completed 18 of 30 transition pieces for the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, marking significant progress in its fabrication programme at the company’s Longxue Yard.
The transition piece barrels were initially produced at CWHI’s Zhongshan Yard before being moved to Longxue for final assembly, outfitting, and coating. The Longxue facility, one of the world’s most advanced production halls, can fabricate over 100 transition pieces indoors under controlled conditions.
Each unit stands up to 28 metres tall, measures 8.3 metres in diameter, and weighs approximately 600 tonnes. The first batch of 15 transition pieces is scheduled to depart for the Port of Leith in Edinburgh this month, with the remainder to follow shortly after.
Upon delivery, CWHI will become the first Chinese supplier to provide both monopiles and fully commissioned transition pieces for the same offshore wind project.
“The on-schedule fabrication of the transition pieces marks another proud achievement for CWHI in the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm project,” said Tony Liu, CWHI Inch Cape project manager for transition pieces. “This reflects the strength of our multi-yard collaboration, the skill and dedication of our fabrication teams, and our continued commitment to delivering world-class offshore wind foundations safely and on schedule.”
CWHI is supplying 32 monopiles and 30 transition pieces to the 1.1 gigawatt (GW) project, which is being developed by ESB and Red Rock Power. Once complete, Inch Cape is expected to power over one million homes and contribute to the UK’s net-zero targets.
