DEME Offshore has been awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for the foundations at Parkwind’s 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind project.
The project will use next-generation XXL monopiles, the largest ever installed in Europe, with production starting in 2021.
The installation campaign is planned to start before the summer 2022, with full commissioning scheduled in 2023.
The Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm will be located in the Baltic Sea, north east of the island of Rugen in the coastal waters of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
The 28 monopiles, manufactured by Steelwind in Germany, will be about 100 m long and weigh around 2000 tonnes each.
One of the 28 foundations will support the offshore substation.
The monopiles for the wind turbines will not be equipped with common transition pieces but will have a direct connection with the turbine tower.
DEME Offshore will deploy the DP3 offshore installation vessel Orion for this project, which will be equipped with a tailor-made, motion compensated gripper system able to handle foundations of up to 2500 tonnes.
DEME Offshore business unit director Bas Nekeman said: “Being awarded such a pioneering project highlights how Parkwind has confidence in the game-changing DP3 offshore installation vessel ‘Orion’.
“DEME Offshore is delighted that it will be the first company to install these XXL monopiles, as the offshore wind industry takes the next step forward.
With ‘Orion’ we will be strongly positioned to offer solutions for the installation of larger foundations and turbines, and large-scale wind farm projects such as Arcadis Ost 1, delivering energy at lowers costs.”