The 31 foundations of the 269MW Deutsche Bucht wind farm have been installed, completing the first phase of construction within the planned timeframe.
The next project phase, inter-array medium-voltage cabling, is set to start this spring, with completion of the commissioning phase slated for the second half of 2019.
Northland Deutsche Bucht, the developer, is owned by Canadian power producer Northland Power Inc.
Northland project director Jens Poulsen said: “Installation work on the construction site, which is more than 100km off the coast, is a real challenge in the winter months.
“But thanks to the flexible and efficient work of our project team and our contract partners, we were able to install all foundations safely and on schedule.”
Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm is located to the north-west of the North Sea island of Borkum in Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Construction of the wind farm, which will use 33 V164-8.4 turbines from MHI Vestas, began in mid-2018.
Reloading of the foundations onto the installation vessel Scylla at the offshore base port in Cuxhaven went smoothly and the monopiles, measuring an average of 78 metres in length, were delivered from Rostock as needed and loaded directly onto the installation vessel.
The transition pieces, which measure 26 metres in height, and serve as connecting elements to the 8.4 MW wind turbines, were transported to Cuxhaven from their factory in Spain by heavy lift vessel.
They were offloaded for interim storage in Cuxhaven until installation.
Two mono-bucket foundations are to be erected in addition to the 31 monopiles during the second quarter of this year, making Deutsche Bucht the first offshore wind farm to test such foundations under commercial operating conditions.
Included as part of a tender by the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) an additional 16.8MW was allocated for two pilot wind turbines mounted on mono-bucket foundations.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) granted its approval for the pilot on 8 May 2018.
As the general contractor for the Balance of Plant, Van Oord is responsible for the design, procurement, manufacturing, and installation of the foundations, the substation and inter-array cabling.
On behalf of Northland Deutsche Bucht, K2 Management is responsible for project management throughout the construction phase of the wind farm.