Van Oord is to use specialist lifting equipment from Venterra subsidiary Cape Holland for foundation installation at Ecowende’s 760MW Hollandse Kust West offshore wind project, off the Netherlands.
The contract entails the provision of Cape’s Vibro Lifting Technology (VLT) in order to reduce piling noise compared to traditional hammer installations.
The project’s monopiles, with a diameter up to 9.3 metres and weighing nearly 1500 tons, will be driven with the CAPE VLT to final penetration where possible or finished using an impact hammer.
Van Oord’s new installation vessel Boreas will be using its 3000 ton crane to install the monopiles.
The wind farm is expected to enter into operation in 2026.
Dick van Wijngaarden, Business Development Manager at CAPE Holland, said: “I am delighted that after a long period of promoting the Vibro Lifting Technology to the industry, we have been selected for this first large scale implementation of this innovative technique at a Dutch offshore wind farm to use the Vibro Lifting Tool to help reduce the environmental impact during the installation phase.”
Jan Willem Elleswijk, Project Director at Van Oord, added: “We are pleased to announce this agreement with Cape Holland and are excited to apply this innovative technique for the first time on such a large scale in the construction of a Dutch offshore wind farm.
“We look forward to working together on the realisation of the Hollandse Kust West offshore wind farm.”
Cape Holland is part of global offshore wind services company Venterra Group which is building a service offering across the wind farm lifecycle, comprising engineer, build and support services through a combination of acquisition and investment to generate accelerated growth in the fast-expanding market.
David Matthews, Chief Commercial Officer at Venterra Group, said: “We’re proud to have CAPE Holland’s market-leading Vibro Lifting Technology and expertise included as part of Venterra’s foundation offering.
“We’re pleased to be chosen by Van Oord and we’re looking forward to supporting their team to successfully install the monopile foundations for this Ecowende project.”
Ecowende, a joint venture between Shell, Eneco, and Chubu, is designing and constructing Hollandse Kust West to meet ecological and environmental considerations.
The developer intends to make a positive contribution to biodiversity and thus accelerate the large-scale roll-out of offshore wind in the Netherlands and beyond.
Hollandse Kust West will be located about 53 km off the Dutch coast, near IJmuiden.