The piles have been designed by Dong as part of the PISA project run in cooperation with the UK Carbon Trust's Offshore Wind Accelerator and the University of Oxford.
Bladt said that construction of the new lightweight foundations would start "soon" and is expected to be completed in the third or fourth quarter.
Monopile foundations for a typical offshore wind turbine currently weigh approximately 600 tonnes and consist primarily of steel. For a wind farm of 100 or more turbines this represents a substantial fabrication and installation cost.
The thickness of the steel used for each pile is about 100 milimetres. Dong said that if the thickness can be reduced without compromising the load-carrying capacity and stiffness of the foundation, significant savings could be made in developing offshore wind.
Once delivered, the monopiles will be tested by the project partners to see if they can provide the same performance as the heavier alternative.
