The first turbine was installed earlier this week at Vattenfall's Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea, Jochen Eickholt, CEO of wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, said in a social media post.
Eickholt said: "In a milestone moment yesterday, Siemens Gamesa team successfully installed the first turbine on the world’s first subsidy-free offshore wind project in the North Sea. The 11MW turbines are the largest and most powerful commercial wind turbines to be installed globally – a brilliant achievement!"
Danish Offshore wind turbine installation firm Cadeler is responsible for the installation of Siemens Gamesa's 11MW wind turbines at Vattenfall's HKZ wind farm
Wind Osprey left Maasvlakte port in Rotterdam last weekend loaded with the world’s largest commercial turbines.
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.
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 has 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.
"Vattenfall, BASF, and Allianz’s Hollandse Kust Zuid Wind Farm is being developed without financial assistance from Dutch government, with the purpose of providing the Netherlands with a green energy supply. The project will go a long way in helping The Netherlands to realize its goal of 16% of energy consumed being generated in a sustainable way by 2023. The potential for offshore wind is immense, and we are proud to be working on this exciting new project together with other industry leaders," Siemens Gamesa's Eickholt said.