The operation of the "Research Platforms in the North Sea and Baltic Sea" (FINO) serves the basic acquisition of data and knowledge for the use of offshore wind energy. The projects encompass all areas of maritime research.
The BMWi intends to commission the operation of FINO2 by February 28, 2025 with an optional one-year extension.
The core tasks of the operator include scheduled maintenance and repair, organization of research operations in coordination with the measuring institutes, organization, control and controlling of all repair work, updating of the usage and security concept, enabling and using synergy effects in connection with other nearby offshore facilities, Ensuring future research needs, ensuring the technical security of the platform and the safety of people and the environment, public relations and coordination and cooperation with all relevant authorities.
FINO2 is a research platform in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located in the Baltic Sea about 33 km north of the island of Rügen.
The research platform consists of four basic components: a monopile foundation, a transition piece, a 12.2 mx 12.2 m platform deck with an upper edge at +10 m above sea charts zero, and a 90 m high wind measuring mast. Numerous measuring devices for recording meteorological, hydrological, biological and other data of interest for science and research are installed on the research platform at different levels.
The BMWi intends to commission the operation of the research platform FINO2 from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2025 with the option of extending the operation by one year.
The future operator must ensure the continuous and trouble-free operation as well as the implementation of the offshore research services in high quality.
The core tasks of the operator include:
1. Securing platform operation:
- Services to ensure the general and technical operation of the research and measurement platform FINO1,
- Services for the monitoring and control of the platform and its equipment and the associated onshore elements,
- Organization, planning, preparation of the regular maintenance and repair work as well as their support, control and logging,
- Organization, planning, preparation and implementation of regular value-preserving measures of the platform and their equipment as well as their support, control and logging
- Ensuring a continuous and state-of-the-art measuring operation in close cooperation with the measuring institutes,
- Evaluation of operating data and documentation (including operating manual).
2. One-off planning / repair measures:
The following known one-off (repair) services are to be performed during the operating period:
- replacement of both diesel units,
- Procurement and storage for components of the generator control,
- exchange of air conditioners,
- adaptation of remote data transmission,
- maintenance of the ladder (replacement of brackets),
- Bird scaring measures.
3. Requirements for research operations:
- Cooperation with the measuring institutes and with other research centers who are interested in the use of FINO2 and the data collected,
- Guarantee and consideration of future research needs (e.g. enabling additional installations such as equipment carriers for measuring instruments on the platform or in the measuring mast, appropriate electrical infrastructure, IT integration, bandwidth of data transmission).
4. Public relations:
- Presentation of FINO2 activities to the public and updating of the FINO2 website,
- Obligation to work closely with the operators of the research platforms FINO1 and FINO3.
5. Safety emergency concept:
The existing security concept and the procedural instructions of the research platform FINO2 are to be adopted by the operator taking into account the previous instructions, regulations and security plans and the specific boundary conditions of the platform and revised if necessary.
6. Delivery:
- The transition period is six months, after which the new operator is fully responsible,
- Within the transition period, the new operator must take all precautions to ensure continued operation.
7. Optional benefits:
- contract extension for another year from 1.3.2025 to 28.2.2026,
- Installation of a walk-on deck in the monopile above the water line,
- Supporting help with crane replacement.