Sif has signed a final contract to supply foundations for Ecowende’s 760MW Hollandse Kust West site VI offshore wind project off the Dutch coast, near IJmuiden.
The group manufacture 52 extended monopile foundations that will have no transition pieces, but secondary steel components, and that will have a total weight of approximately 70 kilotonnes.
In this transition piece-less design, the secondary steel components like boat-landings, ladders, main access platforms and internal platforms, will be connected to the monopile foundations once these are installed at sea.
The secondary steel components will also be delivered by Sif in the same contract.
The project was already in Sif’s order book for 70 kilotonnes but with the signature of the final contract is now firm for production in 2025.
Ecowende chief executive and project director Folkert Visser: “Building a wind farm in harmony with nature is an important condition for eventually achieving the ambition of 70GW of offshore wind energy by 2050, within the ecological limits of the North Sea.
“Ecowende will implement various innovations and larger-scale measures to mitigate the negative effects of the wind farm on the local ecology and to stimulate positive effects. For Sif, this implies for example that the monopiles are designed for low noise installation methods and that they can support various wildlife detection and monitoring devices, above and below the water line.”
Sif Holding chief executive Fred van Beers added: “We are proud for again being valued for our efficiency in delivering monopile foundations for an entire offshore wind farm within a relatively short timeframe and for the strategic position of our manufacturing facilities in Rotterdam.
“We are grateful that Ecowende has selected Sif for both the fabrication of the extended monopiles foundations as well as the secondary steel components, for a single point of delivery at our Maasvlakte facility.
“When Van Oord’s new-age installation vessel Boreas berths at our Maasvlakte facility for the load out of the project, we will have all 52 monopile foundations with their secondary steel components finished and in storage at our site.
“This is a significant de-risking of the project for both Ecowende and Sif. The fact that Sif has been involved in the manufacturing and supply of foundations for almost all the wind farms in the Dutch North Sea means we have built up a wealth of knowledge over the past 20 years in this specific market.”