Offshore wind turbine manufacturer MHI Vestas announced Monday that it had completed the installation of 44 of its 8.4 megawatt (MW) wind turbines at the 370 MW Norther Offshore Wind Farm in record time.
Located in the Belgian North Sea, within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Belgium, approximately 23 kilometers from the Belgian port of Zeebruges, the Norther Offshore Wind Farm now consists of 44 of MHI Vestas’ V164-8.4 MW turbines which, as per the company’s announcement on Monday, were installed “in record time, despite inclement weather.”
“The MHI Vestas installation team, together with our partners, has completed installation at Norther in record time,” said MHI Vestas Chief Operations Officer, Flemming Ougaard. “Not only did we finish ahead of schedule despite inclement weather, but most importantly, the project was installed safely. A truly exceptional job by everyone involved.”
Norther’s turbines were installed at roughly half the speed of the turbines installed at the 258 MW Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm off the coast of Liverpool, UK.
“From the first V164 projects installed by MHI Vestas only 3 years ago, our installation times have progressively improved with the company seeing 50% faster installation times on Norther,” added Vincent Leenders, MHI Vestas Project Director.
The news comes not long after offshore wind rival Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announced that it had completed the installation of 60 of its 6 MW turbines in record time, taking only five months to complete installation and commissioning of the 385 MW Arkona offshore wind farm, located in the German Exclusive Economic Zone in the Baltic Sea, 35 kilometers northeast of the island of Rügen.
“I would like to praise E.ON for its excellent work on the development and currently the operation of Arkona,” said Pål Eitrheim, Equinor’s executive vice president for New Energy Solutions in mid-April. “The project has been delivered on schedule and below budget. Based on our 40 years of experience from offshore operations Equinor has been actively involved in the project development. With Arkona we are well positioned for further growth in offshore wind in the Baltic Sea.”
The April announcements of record offshore wind installation times from two of the world’s leading offshore wind manufacturers and installers highlights the industry’s significant growth and its evolving technological maturity — maturity which is evident not just in the development of new wind turbines, but in the industry’s tangential sectors such as transport and construction.
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