The first of two offshore substations for the SeaMade offshore wind farm has been installed at the project site in the Belgian North Sea.
The 487MW SeaMade wind farm is a combination of the 235MW Mermaid and the 252MW Seastar offshore wind projects.
The 1,200t topside, which has four decks and is 14m tall, has been installed at the Mermaid concession.
The two substations will collect the electricity produced by 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4MW turbines, convert it from 33kV to 220kV, and export it into the grid via Elia’s Modular Offshore Grid .
DEME Offshore, Engie, Tractebel and Smulders are responsible for the full engineering, procurement, construction, transport, installation, and commissioning of the high-voltage substations.
Seamade NV, a joint venture of Otary (70%), Electrabel (17.5%), and Eneco Wind Belgium SA (12.5 %), is the owner and developer of the wind farm.
Full commissioning is expected by the end of the year.