On Feb. 25, the first of 35 foundations was installed for DONG Energy's Westermost Rough, marking the beginning of offshore construction at the 210 MW wind farm in the U.K.
The vessel GeoSea Innovation is performing the installations. The monopiles – which have a diameter of 6.5 meters and a weight of up to 800 tons – provide the base for the 6 MW Siemens turbines to be installed later this year.
‘This is a significant point on the project, and the first foundation installed really kicks off a critical time for construction,’ explains Duncan Clark, Westermost Rough program director at DONG Energy.
"Work now moves into a very busy and complicated phase over the coming months as we continue to install foundations, get ready to receive and install the offshore substation, begin to lay the cables that connect the turbines to the national grid, and then later in the summer, begin the installation of the turbines themselves."
The Westermost Rough site is one of two offshore wind farms that DONG Energy is currently constructing in the U.K., along with West of Duddon Sands on the west coast. DONG says the wind farms, which will be operational in 2015 and this year, respectively, represent more than 500 MW of wind power that will be added to the U.K. grid.
