Jan De Nul jack-up Vole au Vent has installed the first MHI Vestas turbine at Parkwind’s 219MW Northwester 2 offshore wind farm off the coast of Belgium.
The project is the first offshore wind farm in the world to deploy V164-9.5MW machines.
In total, Northwester 2 will comprise 23 turbines sited some 50km off the coast of Ostend.
All major turbine components have been assembled and pre-commissioned in the Flushing marshalling harbour with the first four turbines leaving a few days ago, MHI Vestas said.
Installation is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2020.
Parkwind project director for Northwester 2 Peter Caluwaerts said: “The installation of the first Northwester 2 turbine is yet another testament of the project moving closer towards producing green energy for over 220,000 households in Belgium.
“This energy will be produced by V164-9.5MW turbines, the world’s most powerful turbines to enter commercial operation till date.”
MHI Vestas chief operations officer Flemming Ougaard said: “The installation of the world’s first commercial wind turbine exceeding 9MW is an exceptionally proud moment for our company.
“The installation of our first fleet of V164-9.5MW turbines is an example of our company’s strong partnership with Parkwind and our passion for offshore wind technology.”