Jan De Nul has completed the installation of MHI Vestas 9.5 MW turbines at the Northwester 2 offshore wind farm.
The Vole au vent turbine installation vessel started offshore works in December 2019. A second installation vessel, the Seajacks Scylla, joined Vole au vent in mid-March.
Namely, adverse weather in the first months slowed down the pace of the installation works. The project team then deployed the Scylla to accelerate the operations.
“Upon securing a second installation vessel to make up for the time lost in the first months of the year, the COVID-19 crisis broke out threatening to undo all our efforts”, said Peter Caluwaerts, Parkwind’s Project Director. “However, the extraordinary dedication we witnessed from the different teams, in the midst of an unprecedented context and with all additional safety measures, has been humbling.”
Parkwind’s 219 MW wind farm is the first project to use the V164-9.5 MW wind turbines in commercial operation.
The turbine supplier, MHI Vestas, also holds a 15-year turbine service agreement for the offshore wind farm.
The first of the total of 23 wind turbines at Northwester 2 produced first power in January 2020.
All major turbine components have been assembled and pre-commissioned in the Flushing marshaling harbor.
The Vole au vent vessel also installed all monopile foundations at the project site some 50 kilometres off the coast of Ostend in Belgium.