Ecowende has installed the first wind turbine at its offshore wind farm approximately 53 kilometres off the coast of IJmuiden in the Netherlands, marking the start of turbine installation at the 760 MW project.
The installation was carried out by Van Oord using its offshore installation vessel Boreas. The wind farm will comprise 52 Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines and, once fully operational, is expected to supply around 3% of current Dutch electricity demand.
The project includes several ecological measures aimed at reducing impacts on wildlife. These include the installation of seven turbines with one red-painted blade to assess whether increased rotor visibility can help reduce bird collisions, as well as wider turbine spacing, elevated nacelles, adaptive curtailment systems, and radar-based monitoring for birds and bats.
Ecowende said monitoring technologies including bird radar, thermal and daylight cameras, and impact sensors will be used to assess the effectiveness of the measures.
Vestas is supplying the turbines and managing transport and pre-assembly activities at the port of Eemshaven, while Van Oord is responsible for transporting and installing the turbines offshore. Van Oord is also handling the installation of all 52 monopile foundations, inter-array cables and seabed scour protection.
The Boreas, equipped with a 3,310-tonne crane, was purpose-built for the installation of the latest generation of large offshore wind turbines.
Ecowende is a joint venture between Shell, Eneco and Chubu Electric Power.