Pushing the limits - mega monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines

Offshore wind energy development is lagging far behind the ambitious targets that the German government set at a time when an energy turnaround was propounded. Interest in using monopile foundations in a wider field is therefore growing because this type of foundation has proved to be the most economical solution. Their benefits lie in their simple design, favourable fabrication conditions with a considerable automation potential, and short installation times. Concepts and technologies are being developed to be able to produce and install monopile foundations for water depths down to at least 40 m. The necessary design concepts have to be adapted and extended for these requirements. Approaches are presented in this paper.