The final turbine has been installed at the site of Belgium’s largest offshore wind farm - SeaMade, offshore installation contractor DEME said Tuesday.
SeaMade, operated by Otary, is a 487,2 MW offshore wind concession in the Belgian North Sea. It consists of 58 SGRE (Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy) turbines.
The project - located 40-51 km north of the Ostend headquarters - is the seventh offshore wind project in the Belgian North Sea.
Offshore construction of the SeaMade wind farm started in September 2019 with the installation of the foundations.
DEME was responsible for the delivery and installation of the foundations, turbines, inter-array, and export cables, as well as for the installation of two offshore substations. DEME’s DP2 offshore installation vessel ‘Apollo’ installed 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW turbines on the monopile foundations. The final turbine was installed on November 30.
Mathias Verkest, CEO SeaMade and Otary: “Claiming that 2020 has been an eventful year for Otary is quite an understatement. However, with the SeaMade project, Otary has now realized the largest offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea on time and on budget despite these challenging times.
Bart De Poorter, General Manager DEME Offshore: “Completing this large-scale project in such a short timeframe could only be achieved because of the integrated Balance of Plant approach and through extensive cooperation with our client, as well as the relentless efforts and determination of all the teams involved. This was also the first turbine installation project for ‘Apollo’."