• Thanks to investment in the new continuous casting of the Avilés Steelworks and the necessary adaptations carried out on the Gijón heavy plate mill, the plant is already supplying steel plates that respond to the new needs of the wind power sector - particularly for offshore wind farm projects.
  
  
• The first of these plates, weighing almost 18 tons, was produced on the heavy plate mill in October 2020 with a length of 10 m, a width of 2.5 m, and a thickness of 90 mm.

Comprehensive remodelling

The Avilés Steelworks completed its second phase of comprehensive remodelling in January 2020, which involved the modernisation of its no.2 continuous casting machine. This has enabled the production of slabs of greater widths (2200 mm) and greater thicknesses (365 mm). The work undertaken on the continuous caster responds to the needs of our European customers to benefit from heavier plates required in the fabrication of the latest generations of wind towers.

The ability to manufacture plates of about 20 tons improves competitive position

In addition to the modernisation carried out at the Avilés Steelworks, the Gijón heavy plate mill has been adapted to be able to receive the new large slabs and carry out their rolling.

After the production improvements carried out in recent months, in which the Avilés Steelworks has been gradually increasing the thickness of its slabs, the heavy plate mill at the Gijón factory is now capable of producing plates of close to 20 tons unit weight.

The revamping of the no. 2 continuous casting line in Avilès also includes the implementation of state-of-the-art technologies such as Dynamic soft reduction (DSR) and new systems allowing better control of inclusions improving the quality of the slabs, which will be rolled to produce heavy plates.

Therefore, the plates produced from these slabs in our nearby Gijón heavy plate mill are benefitting from these technologies with better internal (less segregation, better internal quality, better homogeneity) and external (cleaner surface aspects) conditions.

These upgrades allow us to extend our technical offer and to supply the full specification of different sizes and grades for more required projects in the wind sector and also in the oil & gas, shipbuilding, and civil engineering sectors.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Spain

Images:
©ArcelorMittal Spain, ©Ian Dick

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With existing wind towers using up to 180 tonnes of heavy plate and hundreds of individual towers in a wind farm, the logistics of ensuring just-in-time deliveries of steel are critical for success. ArcelorMittal’s global footprint enables us to meet the needs of some of the leading players in this market – wherever they are located.

Our solutions

Our heavy plate is used to construct both the tower and, in offshore installations, the jackets that keep the turbine stable on the sea floor. ArcelorMittal is also working with wind turbine developers to create the next generation of towers which are lighter and do not require welding.

We also supply non-oriented fully processed electrical steels for the medium and high-power generators which sit at the top of the wind tower. These steels possess all of the required magnetic properties to maximise the amount of energy each turbine can produce.

Offshore wind farms

Our steels for offshore structures offer improved workability and weldability and can be supplied thermomechanically rolled or normalised. They can be utilised in applications such as platforms and equipment for new fixed wind towers.

ArcelorMittal can conduct the following tests if required:

• Ultrasonic testing
• Reduced Carbon Equivalent (CEV) or Parameter Crack Measurement (PCM) values
• Transversal impact tests
• Improved deformation properties perpendicular to the surface of the product as per EN 10164 (Z test)
• Post-Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) test

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Images: ArcelorMittal, Majeczka/Shutterstock.com, Andrea Crisante Pedrosala/Shutterstock.com

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Steel Solutions Provider to the Global Wind Energy Industry

ArcelorMittal – the Leading Supplier of Steel Solutions for the Global Wind Energy Industry!

Headlines throughout the world reveal that a global energy transition is underway. Oil and gas and electricity companies are announcing massive investments and strategic moves that embrace renewable energy.

Steel: a key material in a less carbon-intensive world

Renewable energy, which includes solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and others, is at the centre of the transition to a less carbon-intensive society, which also puts steel at the centre of the conversation.

“Steel is required by each of these markets. Without steel, none of the renewable energy sources would be possible. Every renewable energy structure – a wind turbine, a solar panel - requires steel,” says Johannes De Schrijver, CEO of ArcelorMittal Projects.

An expansion of renewable power capacity

According to the International Energy Agency, renewable power capacity is set to expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024. This increase of 1200 GW is equivalent to the current total power capacity of the United States. Solar is expected to account for nearly 60% of the anticipated growth and onshore wind 25%.

Steel will play an important role in all renewables, including and especially solar and wind. Each new MW of solar power requires between 35 to 45 tons of steel, and each new MW of wind power requires 120 to 180 tons of steel.

The solar market

The solar market is divided into two areas. The first are smaller-scale rooftop panels mounted on homes, museums, and stadiums. The second is utility-scale projects, which are larger consumers of steel. These plants produce a standard 100 to 300 MW of energy while some in development are approaching 1000 MW.

Johannes De Schrijver notes: “These are basically small power plants, football fields full of solar panels. If you consider that each new MW requires 35 to 45 tons of steel, that’s a tremendous opportunity for us. This is an area that has our attention.”

Solar technologies

Solar power plants use three technologies, all of which use steel in the structure on which the PV modules or mirrors are attached:

• Solar Photovoltaic (PV) – panels are mounted on a fixed or moving structure that allows the panel to be optimally oriented to the sun throughout the day; the moving structure is gaining ground on the fixed structure with tracker technology accounting for half of all PV structures by 2025.
• Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) - panels with lenses that focus the sun’s ray on a small cell with a much higher energy generation capacity.
• Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPV) - converts sunlight to electricity by PV cells made of semiconductor materials; usually the material is salt, which becomes liquid and generates steam to create electricity.

ArcelorMittal has been a key player in supplying steel to major solar projects around the world including the Beryl Solar Farm in Australia and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai as well as solar farms in Chile, Egypt, France, Israel, and the United States. The company is also finalising agreements with power-generating companies on solar plants using CSP or CPV technologies. One is the first of its kind that combines both Solar PV and CSP for a revolutionary capacity of 950 MW of energy.

Steel in the wind energy market

Steel is also a major contributor to wind energy, which can be grouped into three key markets:

• Onshore wind farms - relatively small and produce between 2 and 3 MW of power per turbine. A variety of steels is used for the structural tower itself, the house of the turbine, the turbine blades, plus electrical steels for electricity generation
• Offshore wind farms - much larger, with recent turbines producing 5 to 8 MW of energy. Offshore wind consumes more steel than onshore and is an area of interest among investors. Offshore has two advantages: the ability to go much higher with no obstructions and the free flow of wind. Offshore requires a combination of steels to support the huge foundations that are anchored to the sea bed. Steel is also found in the structural tower itself and the blades, which are much thicker and longer.
• New generation wind farms – these wind farms go the distance, literally. These farms will be built even further from shore, requiring a floating structure. Each turbine will produce 7 to 12 MW of energy.

ArcelorMittal: supplying steel to windfarms

ArcelorMittal has been a supplier of steel to some of the world’s largest windfarms, including:

• BorWin3, a 900 MW offshore wind grid connection in the German North Sea.
• East Anglia One, a 714 MW wind farm in the North Sea off the coast of England.
• Greater Changhua, a 2.4 GW wind farm in the Taiwan Strait.

ArcelorMittal Global R&D plays an important role in supporting this market through the development of new steel products and solutions:

• Magnelis®, a breakthrough corrosion resistant steel product, has enjoyed much success in the solar energy market. Magnelis® is the industry’s reference product for ground mounted structures and the product of choice in harsh outdoor and indoor environments.
• A-motion is a new steel solution for solar panels created by ArcelorMittal. A-Motion is a single-row, self-powered, and wireless solar tracker which features a wind-friendly design dimensioned to be safe in any position with no stow position required. With a limited number of components, a global supply chain with possibilities of local content and reduced O&M, the product answers the market’s needs.

“The future of steel in the energy transition is exciting,” says Johannes De Schrijver. “As the world’s largest steel producer with extensive downstream capabilities and fabrication and construction knowledge, we are in an excellent position to provide safe, sustainable steel for the future of energy.”

Text: ArcelorMittal
Images: ArcelorMittal

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