DEME Offshore has been awarded an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) contract for the foundations at Parkwind’s Arcadis Ost I offshore wind farm.
The XXL monopiles will be the largest ever installed in Europe with a weight of around 2,000 tonnes each.
The Arcadis Ost I wind farm is developed by the Belgian offshore wind specialist Parkwind and has a capacity of 257 MW. The wind farm will be located in the Baltic Sea, northeast of the island of Rügen in the coastal waters of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
Manufactured by Steelwind in Germany, the 28 XXL monopile foundations will be about 100 m long and weigh around 2000 tonnes each. One of the 28 foundations will support the offshore substation. The monopiles for the wind turbines will not be equipped with common transition pieces but will have a direct connection with the turbine tower.
DEME Offshore will deploy the DP3 offshore installation vessel Orion for this project. Orion will be equipped with a tailor-made, motion compensated gripper system able to handle enormous foundations of up to 2,500 tonnes.
“Being awarded such a pioneering project highlights how Parkwind has confidence in the game-changing DP3 offshore installation vessel ‘Orion’. DEME Offshore is delighted that it will be the first company to install these XXL monopiles, as the offshore wind industry takes the next step forward. With ‘Orion’ we will be strongly positioned to offer solutions for the installation of larger foundations and turbines, and large-scale wind farm projects such as Arcadis Ost I, delivering energy at lowers costs.”
Bas Nekeman, business unit director DEME Offshore.
“The signing of the foundation EPCI contract with DEME Offshore is another important step towards the realisation of Arcadis Ost I. The project is pushing the limits of what has been done to date in offshore wind in terms of foundation technology. Therefore, it was key for the project’s success to select a strong and highly experienced EPCI contractor such as DEME Offshore, deploying state of the art installation vessels and technology”.
Clement Helbig de Balzac, Arcadis Ost I Project Manager.
Production of the monopile foundations will start in 2021, while the installation campaign is planned to start before the summer 2022. Arcadis Ost I is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2023.
