Danish offshore wind specialist, Cadeler, says it has successfully installed the first monopile foundation at massive Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm project of renewable energy giant, Ørsted.
Reports have it that the 2.9 gigawatts Hornsea 3 is capable of powering more than 3.3 million home in the UK. The is the first fully commissioned XXL monopile foundation now set to become world’s largest offshore wind farm once it commences operation in 2027.
Located in the North Sea, approximately 75 miles off the Norfolk coast and about 100 miles off the Yorkshire coast in the UK, the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm will have a capacity of 2.9GW.
“Once completed, Hornsea 3 will become the single largest offshore wind farm in the world, with a total capacity of 2.9 GW, capable of powering more than 3.3 million UK homes with renewable energy,” Cadeler disclosed.
The newly installed structure is the first of 197 monopile foundations that Cadeler will transport and install as part of the project’s full transportation and installation (T&I) contract.
It is the first time the firm has handled the complete transport and installation scope for offshore monopile foundations on a project of this scale. “The successful installation of the first complete monopile foundation follows years of planning, engineering, and coordination across teams onshore and offshore,” the company pointed out.
“It reflects the coordinated execution of multiple specialised offshore scopes across vessels and project partners.” Cadeler also said the monopile was installed using their purpose-built A-class installation vessel, Wind Ally.
It was specially designed to transport and install XXL monopile foundations for advanced offshore wind farms. Meanwhile, another vessel, Wind Orca, handled the installation of secondary steel structures. In turn, the Danish service operation vessel Esvagt Froude carried out the commissioning scope.
