DEME Offshore jack-up vessel Innovation will soon set sail with the first foundations for installation at the 487MW Seamade offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea.
The monopiles and transition pieces are currently being loaded on the vessel at Sif’s Maasvlakte terminal in Rotterdam.
A total of 58 foundations will be installed at the project site by DEME, which will also install the array cables, two offshore substations and 220kV submarine cabling.
In spring 2020, the Siemens Gamesa 8.4MW turbines will be installed on the foundations, DEME said.
DEME chief executive Luc Vandenbulcke said: “After months of careful planning and engineering, it is great to kick-off the offshore works at the largest offshore wind farm in Belgium.
“For now, this is the last wind farm developed in the Belgian North Sea. Thanks to our country being at the forefront of offshore renewable energy, we had the opportunity to develop a leading cluster of Belgian companies involved in the construction of offshore wind farms globally.
“We look forward to working with our partners and all stakeholders on the Seamade project, and are confident also in the future our combined expertise can play a major role in Belgium’s ambition to double the offshore wind capacity to 4GW by 2025.”
SeaMade chief executive Mathias Verkest said: “We are proud that SeaMade brings the Belgian offshore wind capacity to 2262MW by 2020, exactly as has been anticipated by the Belgian federal government.
“This capacity will produce more than 8TWh annually, which is approximately 10% of total electricity demand and 50% of the total household consumption.
“Even with the limited surface of the Belgian North Sea, Belgium is the fifth producer of offshore wind worldwide.
“Beyond 2020, the offshore wind energy capacity in the Belgian North Sea can be further developed and doubled to at least 4000MW. We trust solutions will be found allowing an adequate and timely grid connection for this second round.”