Installation of foundations for the Nordsee One offshore wind farm completed
uring the weekend the installation team successfully installed the last foundation for the Nordsee One offshore wind farm, located approximately 40 km north of the island of Juist. All 54 monopole foundations have also been fitted with the associated transition pieces for the installation of the tower segments. This fully completes all of the 54 foundations six weeks ahead of schedule.
John Brace, CEO of Northland noted: “Completion of the foundation installation puts us one step closer to the finish line on Nordsee One. I would like to acknowledge the collective efforts of the N1 project team and contractors, and our partner RWE, who have each gone above and beyond to get us to this point.”
Hans Bünting, COO Renewables RWE International SE, explained: “We have reached this important milestone ahead of schedule and within budget. This outcome is the result of precise planning and efficient execution. It is the result of strong cooperation with our partner Northland Power, within the project team and with our contractors. I’m really proud of that.”Each monopile foundation is up to 70 meters tall and weighs approximately 900 tons; the weight of about 750 small cars. Throughout the installation process, four foundations and four transition pieces at a time were loaded on to the installation vessel “Innovation” at Cuxhaven for transportation to the offshore construction site. The foundations were erected at water depths of 26 to 29 meters. The Belgian company GeoSea was contracted to install the foundations, which were produced by Ambau in Bremen and Cuxhaven.
“Thanks to strong cooperation between our team and partners, we have installed 54 foundations and the associated transition pieces in only four months. During installation we have fulfilled at all times the high , German environmental standards,” Tim Kittelhake, Managing Director (COO) of Nordsee One GmbH emphasised. “In the days ahead, we will begin installation of the inter-array cables, and this summer we will install the substation. We expect wind turbine installation to begin early in 2017.”
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Once complete, the Nordsee One wind farm will consist of 54 wind turbines with an overall installed capacity of 332 megawatts. Once commissioned in 2017, the wind farm is expected to produce an annual output of more than 1,300 gigawatt-hours of electrical energy, enough to supply the equivalent of some 400,000 German households. Nordsee One is owned by Northland Power Inc. (85%) and RWE International SE (15%). |
