The developers of the Norther offshore wind farm and Siemens Gamesa have moved into a new operations and maintenance base at the Port of Ostend in Belgium.
Siemens Gamesa will use the centre to maintain its 42 7.35MW turbines at Otary’s Rentel project. The hardware was installed 40km off the Belgian coast in the summer, with full commissioning of the project expected soon.
The 370MW Norther development is currently under construction and will be managed from the new base. The project is expected to come online in the third quarter of next year.
Once fully operational, the maintenance centre, which was developed by the port, will house a total of 35 employees – 15 from Siemens Gamesa and 20 from Norther.
Siemens Gamesa chief executive An Stroobandt said: “We are looking forward to further expansion and growth for ourselves and for our suppliers in the coming years.”
The Port of Ostend said it is undergoing significant expansion, and the new building offers 900 metres square of warehouse space and 2100 metres squared of offices.
It added that some 460 people in the area are employed in wind farm maintenance and operations.
Port of Ostend chief executive Dirk Declerck said: “Because the needs of the companies that build and operate the wind turbines are constantly evolving in line with the trends in high technology, the port will continue to invest in accurate infrastructure.”