Coastal Virginia turbines start their final journey

Global Wind Service (GWS) has completed the load-out of the wind turbine components for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project in the US.

All turbine parts have now been loaded onto Jan De Nul’s jack-up Vole au vent at the port of Halifax in Canada and the vessel is now on her way to the final destination on the east coast of the USA in the Atlantic Ocean.

Once at the installation site located some 27 miles off Virginia Beach, Vole au vent will install the two Siemens Gamesa SWT-6.0-154 turbines onto the monopile foundations.

Siemens Gamesa awarded GWS with the contract for the load-out and offshore installation of the two turbines.

“We are very happy that our partner Siemens Gamesa has chosen us for this project. We have worked closely with them for many years and have been present in the U.S. since 2017. We are very pleased to be able to now serve them in the U.S. on this offshore project,” said Lars Petersen, CCO of Global Wind Service.

Once the two turbines are installed, Global Wind Service will have installed all of the offshore wind turbines in the US so far. In 2016, GWS installed the first ever US offshore wind farm in Block Island, Rhode Island.

“For us it is important to choose a partner with the relevant experience both from the offshore environment perspective, but also with a relevant track record from the North American wind market,” said Hervé Bouraima, Global Commodity Manager, Strategic Procurement at Siemens Gamesa.

”Having worked in close collaboration with Global Wind Service for many years, we know that they will meet our expectations when it comes to having the right safety and quality mindset.”

CVOW is being jointly developed by Dominion Energy and Ørsted.