RWE Innogy has named its offshore installation vessel Friedrich Ernestine, which will construct the 574 MW offshore wind farm Gwynt y Mor, located off the Welsh coast. The installation vessel is able to transport up to four large-scale offshore wind turbines at the same time, and subsequently install them at sea, according to the company.
The vessel, which is 100 meters and 40 meters wide, has extendable steel legs that hold it in place. In addition, the vessel is fitted with a crane, exerting a lifting force of up to 1,000 tons, RWE Innogy explains.
The Friedrich Ernestine is the first of two vessels purchased and expected to arrive in the U.K. before the end of the year.
‘Our investment in these two vessels will help us to close one of the most significant supply bottlenecks in the construction of offshore wind farms,’ says Fritz Vahrenholt, CEO of RWE Innogy.
