Almost two years after construction began, the last turbine has been installed at the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm, located in the Dutch part of the North Sea.
The turbines will be commissioned and tested during the next couple of months, and Hollandse Kust Zuid is expected to be commence operation later this year.
“We are extremely proud to have reached this milestone,” says Ian Bremner, project director. “Hollandse Kust Zuid is the first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in the world, and we are looking forward to delivering this project.”
According to David Molenaar, Siemens Gamesa’s managing director in the Netherlands, the company’s factory in Cuxhaven, Germany, manufactured the nacelles, while the blades originated in Aalborg, Denmark.
“This project underlines once again how the wind industry can provide Europe with energy security through domestic, clean and competitive sources,” Molenaar says.
Cadeler, an engineering company specializing in offshore wind, has been supporting Siemens Gamesa with the transportation and installation of all 139 turbines using wind installation vessel Wind Osprey.
“It was the first time ever the Siemens Gamesa 11 MW turbines were to be installed on a commercial scale,” says Jacob Heinricy Jensen, COO at Cadeler. “This required skillful engineering work and a good collaboration with our partners at Siemens Gamesa and Vattenfall.”
The project originally was planned for 140 turbines. But last year, bulk carrier Julietta D became rudderless during a storm and drifted through the wind farm, colliding with one of the foundations and damaging it beyond repair. The parties involved decided not to install a turbine on the foundation and not to replace it. In 2024, it will be removed, but no decision has been made about the location’s fate once the foundation is gone.
Photo by Matthias Ibeler from Vattenfall
