First foundation installed at the Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm

Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 5 September – Balance of Plant Contractor Van Oord successfully installed the first foundation at the Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm. The installation of this foundation marks the start of the construction period at sea and visualises the first contours of this 33-turbine wind farm.

The wind farm is located approximately 95 kilometres northwest of the island of Borkum, Germany. The foundation is installed in a water depth of approximately 40 metres and consist of a monopile fitted with a transition piece. After completion, the offshore wind farm will consist of a total of 33 wind turbines, 31 on monopiles and two on Mono Buckets. The Mono Buckets will be installed in the second quarter of 2019.

During the pile driving activities, Van Oord deploys its innovative FaunaGuard system. This in-house developed acoustic device safely and temporarily deters marine fauna species by using special underwater acoustics. To further minimize the impact on the environment and marine fauna, a multi-level noise mitigation system will be used during the installation of the monopiles. The system includes a Hydro Sound Damper (HSD) and a double Big Bubble Curtain.

The Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm is being built by the Northland Deutsche Bucht project company, which is 100% owned by Northland Power Inc. In 2017 Van Oord was awarded the Balance of Plant contract. The scope consists of the design engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the foundations, inter array cables and offshore substation, and the transport of the wind turbines.

The offshore wind farm will have a grid connection capacity of approximately 269 MW. That is sufficient to provide approximately 328,000 households with sustainable energy on an annual basis. Commissioning of the Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm is expected to take place in the second half of 2019.