Northwester 2 is a 219MW project located in the Belgian North Sea, approximately 50km off the shore of Ostend, Belgium
Northwester 2 completes turbine installation of first 9.5MW platform. (Credit: Jan De Nul Group)
Offshore wind company Parkwind, together with the MHI Vestas and Jan De Nul Group, has completed the final installation of turbines at the Northwester 2 offshore wind farm.
Northwester 2 is a 219MW project located in the Belgian North Sea, approximately 50km off the shore of Ostend, Belgium, and is the first project to use the V164-9.5MW turbines in commercial operation.
Parkwind project director Peter Caluwaerts said: “Upon securing a second installation vessel to make up for the time lost in the first months of the year, the COVID-19 crisis broke out threatening to undo all our efforts.
“However, the extraordinary dedication we witnessed from the different teams, in the midst of an unprecedented context and with all additional safety measures, has been humbling. We are grateful towards all our stakeholders who have supported us in reaching this stage. We now confidently look towards the completion of our wind farm.”
Northwester 2 turbines installed by deploying Scylla and Vole au vent vessels
The company said that after starting the installation works in December 2019, the adverse weather in the first months has slowed down the pace of the installation works.
Scylla, the second installation vessel, was deployed at the Northwester 2 project to accelerate operations, in parallel with Jan De Nul’s Vole au vent.
Along with the installation, MHI Vestas has also agreed to offer 15 year service at Northwester 2, for the maintenance of its the V164-9.5 MW turbines.
The company said that the Northwester 2 has been installed on an expedited schedule, supported by the collaborative approach, supply chain readiness, and the industrialisation of offshore wind in Belgium.
The wind farm will generate about 800GWh of renewable electricity annually. It will also help in avoiding 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere
Northwester 2 senior project manager Stan Logghe said: “A challenging project has now successfully been completed. We are proud of the team achievements, involving the foundation design and procurement as well as the installation works of these foundations, all cables and all WTG’s of the Northwester 2 windfarm.”