Danish Offshore wind turbine installation firm Cadeler is set to start installing giant 11MW wind turbines at Vattenfall's Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea.
Cadeler over the weekend said that the Wind Osprey had left Maasvlakte port in Rotterdam loaded with "the world’s largest commercial turbines yet to be installed."
The new generation of Siemens Gamesa 11MW turbines have a rotor diameter of 200 meters, and a total height of 225 meters measured from the sea level to the top of the blade.
Cadeler will support Vattenfall with the transportation, lifting, and installation of a total of 140 offshore wind turbines.
"We are very excited to be the first to ever support the installation of turbines of this amazing size and capability," Cadeler said.
As the turbines get installed, they will be connected by cables to offshore grid operator Tennet's two substation platforms recently installed nearby.
The platforms will convert the voltage of the electricity produced at the wind turbines from 66 kV into 220 kV, and will then transport the electricity is shore via subsea cables, to an electrical substation at the Maasvlakte. At this substation, TenneT said, the voltage is converted into 380 kV. Finally, the electricity is transported to the high voltage grid via high voltage station Randstad 380 kV Zuidring, TenneT explained.
Once completed in 2023, the 1,4 GW project will be the world's largest wind farm. Hollandse Kust Zuid is the first subsidy-free wind farm area in the world, It is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than two million households.