Vole au vent returning to Halifax port for CVOW turbine towers

Jan De Nul’s jack-up vessel Vole au vent is now on its way back to the Port of Halifax from the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) demonstration project site off Virginia, U.S., according to the vessel’s AIS data.

This second trip to the Halifax port will see the Vole au vent picking up turbine towers and installing them on the project’s two monopile foundations.

The vessel first departed from the Canadian port to the project site on 20 May, carrying monopiles and transition pieces. The first monopile foundation was installed by the end of the month.

Now, with both foundations in place, the Vole au vent is returning to load the tower components, with one more trip left after these are installed.

In the third run from the port to the CVOW site, the vessel will transport the nacelles and the blades for the two Siemens Gamesa 6 MW turbines.

The 12 MW CVOW demonstration project, located some 43 kilometres (27 miles) off the coast of Virginia Beach, is being developed jointly by Denmark’s Ørsted and the U.S. energy company Dominion Energy.

The two turbines are expected to provide the operational, weather, and environmental experience needed for the 2.6 GW development in the adjacent 112,800-hectare lease site, expected to be operational by 2026.

The demonstration project marks the first use of monopile foundations in the U.S., since the country’s first offshore wind farm, Block Island Wind Farm, features jacket foundations.