Vattenfall has informed that construction work is set to begin on Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm, Horns Rev 3, in October.
The project will kick off with the Vattenfall’s installation of the first of a total of 49 foundations in the North Sea.
“Horns Rev 3 is the first of three offshore farms that Vattenfall will construct in Denmark in the coming years. These wind farms will, in the highest degree, contribute to our strategy to have a fossil free energy production within one generation,” said Gunnar Groebler , head of Vattenfall’s Wind Business.
The foundations consist of 40-50 meter monopiles made of steel, with a diameter of 6.5 meters. The monopiles are driven about 30 meters into the seabed and will support MHI Vestas’ 8.3 MW wind turbines.
At the beginning of October, the first four monopiles were loaded onto a special vessel,the Innovation, in the Netherlands and driven into the seabed. The next four monopiles will then be loaded in the Danish Esbjerg Harbour in mid-October.
The construction work will take place in an 88 square kilometers area in the North Sea, at least 34 km off the west coast of the Danish Jutland Peninsula.
Before the construction could begin, seabed preparations had to be carried out, including a geological survey and a subsequent detonation of old naval mines. Due to noise concerns, a support vessel is being used to place an air bubble installation on the seabed around the construction site. The installation creates a sound-absorbing, double layer of air bubbles that protect marine mammals in the area.
In addition to Horns Rev 3, Vattenfall will construct the Danish Kriegers Flak and Vesterhav South and North wind farms in the years ahead.