DEME Offshore has installed the first turbine at the Belgian North Sea offshore wind farm SeaMade. SeaMade is Belgium’s biggest offshore wind farm, with a capacity of 487 MW.
Offshore construction of the SeaMade wind farm began in September 2019, with the latest foundation installed in January 2020 and the subsea cables connected in the meantime. DEME’s Apollo offshore DP2 installation vessel will now install 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW turbines on the monopile foundations.
Apollo loaded the first wind turbine components at the Renewable Energy Base Ostend (REBO), which is used for the pre-assembly of 58 turbines as the marshalling harbor.
Apollo will transport the tower parts, nacelles and blades from Ostend for installation at the SeaMade site about 45 kilometers off the Belgian coast, with a total weight of 1.000 tons each.
“After the successful installation of the foundations, offshore substations and subsea cables, the start of the turbine installation campaign brings us another step closer to the production of green energy. This is also the first turbine installation project for our offshore installation vessel ‘Apollo’, which has just completed a challenging foundation piling project in Scotland. This vessel’s ability to multitask highlights the versatility of our fleet and our ability to handle all aspects of the most complex offshore wind farms.”
Michael Glavind, business unit director DEME Offshore/
“I am proud to have reached the final stage of our SeaMade construction activities. The offshore installation of 58 8.4 MW wind turbine generators in both concession areas will turn SeaMade into the largest wind farm in the Belgian North Sea. SeaMade and Rentel will soon have a combined operational capacity of about 800 MW. Otary will enter into this final installation phase with great expertise, knowledge and focus. The past few months have been challenging given the spread of COVID-19 but I can only be grateful for what has been achieved by this strong team.
“Together with all contractors, subcontractors and partners involved we will continue working in the upcoming months with great dedication and perseverance to deliver SeaMade safely within time and budget. It must be highlighted that the combined Otary projects are a major contributor to Belgium’s ongoing climate goals and efforts, contributing more than 1/3rd of the overall offshore production capacity which covers half of the 2020 renewable energy targets.”
Mathias Verkest, CEO SeaMade and Otary.
By the end of 2020, SeaMade will be operational with a capacity of 487 megawatts providing green energy for 485.000 households.
