Offshore wind developer Ørsted has signed a contract with offshore installation firm Jan De Nul for the transport and installation of 107 monopile foundations and one offshore substation topside at Gode Wind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 3 Offshore Wind Farm in the German North Sea.
The transport and installation will start in 2023 and will be the first assignment for Les Alizés, Jan De Nul's next generation offshore installation vessel.
Les Alizés will be equipped with a crane having a lifting capacity of 5,000 tons.
As for the Ørsted-operated wind farms where Les Alizés will debut, the Gode Wind 3 will have a capacity of 242 MW, and Borkum Riffgrund 3 900 MW. The Borkum Riffgrund 3 will be located adjacent to Ørsted's existing offshore wind farms Borkum Riffgrund 1 and Borkum Riffgrund 2. Gode Wind 3 will be close to Ørsted's Gode Wind 1 and 2.
The wind farms will feature 11-MW Siemens Gamesa turbines.
No transition pieces
Jan De Nul’s scope includes the transport and installation of 106 wind turbine monopile foundations and one offshore substation foundation, including associated topside. For the first time, Ørsted will be using monopiles without the need of installing a transition piece for connecting turbine and foundation. Before installation, scour protection will be installed at all 107 monopiles locations.
Delivery is expected to be completed in 2024. Once completed, these wind farms will generate enough electricity to power approx. 1.2 million German households every year. The projects are subject to Ørsted’s final investment decision.
The wind farms are expected to be fully operational in 2024 (Gode Wind 3) and 2025 (Borkum Riffgrund 3).
Peter De Pooter, Manager Offshore Renewables at Jan De Nul Group: “This contract is an important milestone for us, it will be the maiden project for our new NextGen Heavy Lift Vessel Les Alizés. We are most pleased having signed this contract with industry leader Ørsted Wind Power A/S and are looking forward to jointly develop both wind farms. Together with other projects in preparation by Jan De Nul, we are proud to contribute to the global transition to renewable energy by installing foundations and wind turbines in the most efficient way using the best environmentally friendly technologies.”
Les Alizés
Les Alizés is currently under construction and is planned to be delivered in 2022. She will mainly be used for the construction of offshore wind farms, but is also suitable for decommissioning offshore oil and gas platforms.
The vessel will be fitted with an advanced exhaust filtering system by means of a Selective Catalytic Reduction system and a Diesel Particulate Filter, which will, according to the owner, make it the very first seagoing installation vessel of its kind to be an Ultra-Low Emission vessel (ULEv), moreover Stage V-certified.
Jan De Nul has said that Les Alizés will be able to load out, transport, and install multiple units of the largest and heaviest wind turbine foundations. In addition, as a crane vessel that floats, it will be able to install heavier and larger foundations into deeper waters and in more challenging seabed conditions.
The offshore installation firm said the decision to order Les Alizue was in response to the global trend within the offshore wind energy sector to design and install increasingly larger wind turbines.