Offshore project progress - 6 May

EUROPE: Recent project updates from Vattenfall's Kentish Flats Extension, Germany's Wikinger, Westermeerwind in the Netherlands, and the Dogger Bank project.

by David Weston 6 May 2015

Installation of export cables has begun at Westermeerwind

Kentish Flats Extension

First monopile: Foundation at Kentish Flats Extension began over the weekend, when the first of 15 monopiles was installed from GeoSea's Neptune vessel.

Vattenfall's 49.5MW project – an extension of the 90MW Kentish Flats – is due for completion this summer.

MHI-Vestas is supplying 15 V112-3.3MW turbines to the project, located off the UK's south-east coast. 05-May-15

 

Wikinger

Exclusion extended: The tenure of the 500-metre safety zone around the Wikinger project site has been extended again, to 30 September 2015.

Enforced by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), the zone prohibits unauthorised activities at the Baltic Sea project site.

The zone was initially set up around the site of nine test piles. Iberdrola begun pile at the offshore project in October, looking at the effectiveness of monopiles in deeper water.

Originally in force until 31 January 2015, the exclusion zone tenure was initially extended to 30 April 2015. 05-May-15

 

Westermeerwind

Cabling begins: Cabling has started at Westermeerwind, and the first of the six cables connecting the near shore project to the substation has been installed.

Installation of the 44km of cabling will take around two months. The foundation was installed in March.

The 144MW Westermeerwind is part of the Noordoostpolder wind farm, where 48 turbines will be installed in the Ijsselmeer artificial lake, and 38 turbines will be installed onshore. 05-May-15

 

Dogger Bank

The Planning Inspectorate has issued a report of recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, regarding Forewind's planned Dogger Bank Teesside A & B.

A decision on the up-to-2.4GW development is expected by 5 August. Comprising two projects of up to 1.2GW, Dogger Bank Teesside A & B would be the second phase of development of the Dogger Bank zone in the North Sea.

The first phase, consisting of the combined 2.4GW Creyke Beck A & B projects, was granted government in February. 

The Forewind consortium is made up from RWE, SSE, Statkraft and Statoil. 06-May-15