The first three XXL monopiles for the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind project off Germany have set sail from fabrication outfit Steelwind Nordenham to the Port of Roenne, the marshalling port for the project.
They are the first set of foundation units that will be transported to Roenne over the next few months where preparations for the installation of Parkwind’s offshore wind farm have begun.
DEME’s heavy lift floating installation vessel Orion is in the final stages of preparation for the Arcadis Ost 1 project and will be ready to begin installing the bases in May later this year.
The project consists of 27 turbines and one offshore substation, requiring 28 monopiles in total.
Fabrication of the monopiles started in August 2021 at the Steelwind Nordenham factory.
The substation monopile, which is one of the first to be transported weighs just over 2100 tonnes, measures 110 metres and has a diameter of 9.6 metres, making it one of the biggest monopiles in offshore wind history and the biggest in Europe.
The turbines’ monopiles weigh 2000 tonnes each, measure 100 metres and have a diameter of 9.4 metres.
Three cranes are required for lifting the monopiles onto the barge.
The operation involves the use of two fixed quay cranes operated by SRT and one mobile crane, ensuring safe load-out operation.
Arcadis Ost 1 project director Wim Verrept said: “The successful load-out of the first monopiles sets our installation schedule in motion.
“After more than two years of preparation, planning and a successful collaboration with our partners, we are impatiently anticipating the beginning of installation activities in the Baltic Sea.”
Steelwind managing director Andreas Liessem added: “Steelwind is proud to have produced and delivered one of the biggest and heaviest monopile foundations ever build for the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm.
“Together with Parkwind, DOPSL and our subcontractors we have met and mastered multiple challenges in relation to weight and dimensions.
“We are happy to be again in the driving seat of this pioneering step in the offshore wind.”