Offshore contractor Ballast Nedam Offshore has signed a contract with Walney (UK) Offshore Windfarms — a joint venture between DONG Energy of Denmark and Scottish and Southern Energy — to install 51 foundations for offshore wind turbines as part of the Walney II project.
Located in the Irish Sea, 20km off Barrow-in-Furness, the project's 51 turbines each have a capacity of 3.6MW — a total capacity of 183.6MW. Ballast Nedam Offshore will install the tubular steel piles which form part of the foundations. These monopiles weigh between 800 and 1000 tons each, which makes them the heaviest monopiles ever used as the foundation for an offshore wind turbine.
Construction of Walney II represents a milestone for Ballast Nedam's heavy lift vessel, Svanen. Not long after the project gets under way, the vessel will place its 250th foundation for offshore wind turbines. The Svanen has built up a considerable record, installing the foundations for offshore wind parks at Egmond aan Zee (the Netherlands, 2006, 36 piles), Rhyl Flats (UK, 2008, 25 piles), Gunfleet Sands (UK, 2008/2009, 32 piles) and Belwind (Belgium, 2009/2010, 56 piles).
