12 
Part B - Certificates and approval requirements 
2 General 
Considering the overall system of an offshore wind turbine formed by the support structure and tur 
bine as well as of the overall system of an offshore wind farm formed by the offshore wind turbines, 
cabling within the wind farm, submarine cables, transformer substation and any additional elements, 
evidence should be provided that the already type-certified turbine together with the design of the 
support structure for the specific site and any of the aforementioned components of the offshore wind 
park are in accordance with the applicable certification directives. As such, the external conditions of 
the specific site (soil conditions, wind and wave distribution, tides, ice drift, stability of the electrical 
grid, wind farm configuration) and special features shall be considered. 
Furthermore, independent inspection of the implementation (production, transport, installation and com 
missioning) shall guarantee that the turbine, support structure, cabling within the farm, submarine ca 
bles, transformer substation and any other components of the offshore wind park are in accordance with 
the certified/tested implementation documents and do not reveal any serious defects or damage. 
Periodical inspections shall be made to inspect the status of the offshore wind farm during the operat 
ing phase. Periodical inspections are required in order to maintain the operating permit. 
In all of the (component) certificates listed below, it is necessary to check whether the certificate or 
at least parts of it are to be obtained on the overall mechanical system. This is the case, for example, 
when measuring and checking the natural frequencies of the offshore wind farm. 
The test procedure principally includes the following elements and steps: 
1) Type certificate for the turbine; 
2) Test of the site conditions including soil properties (site evaluation); 
3) Test of the site-specific loading assumptions and the support structure (site-specific design evalua 
tion); Test whether the type certificate (1) of the turbine covers all site conditions, otherwise a sup 
plementary test of the turbine; 
4) Certificate of conformity/test certificate for the site-specific design of the offshore wind turbine 
following completion of points (1) to (3); 
5) Test and evaluation of the facilities for inspecting the offshore wind turbines as an overall system 
(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, SCADA, including the Condition inspection System, CMS); 
6) Testing and evaluation of sea operations and the decommissioning concept; 
7) Production inspection; 
8) Inspection of transport, installation and commissioning; 
9) Certificate of conformity/test certificate for the inspection services following completion of points 
(5) to (7); 
10) Project certificate; 
11) Periodical inspections for maintaining the test certificate and the operating permit; 
12) Testing and inspection of the decommissioning and issue of the associated test certificate/certifi 
cate of conformity. 
As a rule, the type certification is applied for by the manufacturer of offshore wind turbines. Regis 
tered inspectors shall be accredited by the BSH on a case-by-case basis. It is highly recommended for 
registered inspectors to be involved and accredited at an early stage, as well as the information ex 
change with the certifier/registered inspector to commence as soon as possible. 
Definition of the site conditions including the soil situation and of the directives and methods to be used in 
the design basis (principles for positioning) should be agreed at an early stage with the certifier/registered 
inspector in order to avoid problems during the subsequent phases of detailed design and evaluation. 
A (pre-)evaluation of the assumptions and, if necessary of the specified design, by the certifier/regis 
tered inspector is recommended as part of the preparation of tender documents for a bidding process.