E.ON has kicked off the offshore construction phase on the 385MW Arkona offshore wind project with the installation of the first of the 60 monopiles in the German Baltic Sea.
The monopiles were delivered by the Rostock-based EEW Special Pipe Constructions, while the transition pieces are produced by Denmark’s Bladt Industries.
The first transition pieces arrived at th e Mukran Port on Germany’s Rügen island last week.
E.ON and Statoil are building the EUR 1.2 billion Arkona wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, some 35 kilometres northeast of Rügen Island. E.ON is responsible for the construction and subsequent operation of the wind farm.
The wind farm will feature 60 Siemens 6MW turbines installed on monopile foundations in water depths of between 23 and 37 metres.
The foundations are being installed by Van Oord’s heavy lift installation vessel Svanen.
In terms of transport to the construction site, the monopiles are sealed at both ends, launched and floated to the construction site. There, the heavy-load crane ship Svanen hammers the 81-metre monopiles 40 metres deep into the seabed. A sound-proofing system ensures that the noise from this work is minimised for marine fauna, E.ON said.
Arkona, also known as Arkona-Becken Südost, is expected to be fully commissioned in 2019.