German offshore foundations manufacturer EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH has loaded out the first monopiles built for the 269MW Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm.
The first three out of the 31 monopiles were loaded onto a barge in Rostock, a spokesperson for EEW SPC told Offshore WIND. The monopiles will be transported to Cuxhaven where an installation vessel will load them directly from the barge.
The load-out of the remaining 28 monopiles is scheduled to take place over the coming months. The accompanying transition pieces have already been delivered to Cuxhaven.
Van Oord, the Balance of Plant (BoP) contractor for Deutsche Bucht, is responsible for the design, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the wind farms monopile foundations, inter-array cables, and an offshore substation.
Van Oord is also in charge of manufacturing and installing two additional mono bucket foundations at the site in the German Bight, some 95 kilometres northwest from the island of Borkum.
MHI Vestas will supply and install 33 MHI Vestas 8.4MW wind turbines, with Van Oord providing a turbine installation vessel.
Offshore construction of the wind farm is expected to start this summer, with commissioning scheduled for the second half of 2019.
The Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm is owned by the Canadian energy company Northland Power.