Van Oord has finished installing the first jacket foundation on the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm located 45 km southeast of the town of Lowestoft, UK.
ScottishPower Renewables commissioned Van Oord to be the lead contractor responsible for transport and installation of the offshore wind turbine foundations, including logistics and deployment of the equipment.
According to the company, East Anglia ONE will have the largest number of three-legged foundations ever installed in a wind farm. The wind farm will consist of 102 three-legged jacket foundations, which will be installed at depths of down to 55 meters in the southern North Sea.
The East Anglia ONE’s 102 Siemens 7MW wind turbines will deliver a total of 714 MW, and once the wind farm becomes operational in 2020, it will supply green energy to 500,000 households.
“ This project makes our expertise in the installation of foundations even broader. So far only a handful of wind farms have been constructed on jacket foundations. Their number will increase in the years ahead because the ideal locations for wind farms built on monopiles – shallow waters with a relatively flat, firm seabed – are filling up fast,” said Daan Makkink , project director.