Van Oord has completed installing the 77 foundations for the 732MW Borssele 3&4 offshore wind project in the Dutch North Sea.
The contractor’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus executed the work within a six-month period.
Van Oord’s cable-laying vessel Nexus has also installed four out of the 12 cable strings for the project.
Installation of Borssele 3&4’s 9.5MW MHI Vestas wind turbines will begin shortly, said Van Oord.
Van Oord is responsible for the design, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the foundations and inter-array cables as the project’s balance of plant contractor.
The Blauwwind consortium is developing Borssele 3&4.
Van Oord said it has been able to continue the project, taking necessary measures and complying with governmental guidelines, during the coronavirus lockdown.
“We are proud of the Blauwwind project team and their partners, including Van Oord, for their contribution to the rapid construction of the wind farm,” said Blauwwind consortium project director Roeland Borsboom.
Borssele 3&4 is being built 22 km off the coast of the Province of Zeeland and will be one of the largest offshore Dutch wind farms when operational.
The wind farm is part of the offshore wind roadmap drawn up by the Dutch government.
The roadmap details the areas designated in the North Sea where offshore wind farms can be built.
The Blauwwind consortium consists of Partners Group (45%), Shell (20%), DGE (15%), Eneco Group (10%) and Van Oord (10%).
The consortium has signed power purchase agreements with Shell and Eneco, whereby each company will buy 50% of the energy generated by the wind farm for 15 years.