Offshore construction of the SeaMade wind farm started in September 2019, with the last foundation installed in January 2020 and in the meantime connected by the subsea cables. DEME’s DP2 offshore installation vessel ‘Apollo’ will now install 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW turbines on the monopile foundations.
‘Apollo’ loaded the first wind turbine components at the Renewable Energy Base Ostend (REBO), which is used as the marshalling harbour for the pre-assembly of the 58 turbines. From Ostend, ‘Apollo’ will transport the tower elements, nacelles and blades, with a total weight of 1,000 tonnes each, for installation at the SeaMade site which is about 45 kilometres off the Belgian coast. ‘Apollo’ features an 800-tonne, leg-encircling crane and an unobstructed, spacious 2,000 m² deck with a load carrying capacity of 15 t/m².
“After the successful installation of the foundations, offshore substations and subsea cables, the start of the turbine installation campaign brings us another step closer to the production of green energy” said Michael Glavind, Business Unit Director DEME Offshore. “This is also the first turbine installation project for our offshore installation vessel ‘Apollo’, which has just completed a challenging foundation piling project in Scotland. This vessel’s ability to multitask highlights the versatility of our fleet and our ability to handle all aspects of the most complex offshore wind farms.”
Mathias Verkest, CEO SeaMade and Otary, added that the offshore installation of 58 8.4 MW wind turbine generators in both concession areas will turn SeaMade into the largest wind farm in the Belgian North Sea and that SeaMade and Rentel will soon have a combined operational capacity of about 800 MW.
By the end of 2020, SeaMade will be operational with a capacity of 487 megawatts providing green energy for 485.000 households.
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