DEME’s installation vessel Innovation is to set sail shortly with the first load of foundations and transition pieces the SeaMade offshore windfarm
The first monopiles and transition pieces are currently being loaded at SIF’s Maasvlakte terminal in Rotterdam.
With a capacity of 487 MW, SeaMade will be the largest offshore windfarm in Belgian waters and comprises two offshore wind projects, previously known as Mermaid (235 MW) and Seastar (252 MW).
DEME’s scope includes installing 58 foundations and all of the inter-array cables, installing two offshore substations and the export cables for the project.
Starting in early 2020, the 8.4-MW Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy turbines selected for the project will begin installation. The windfarm is due to start producing power by the end of 2020.
SeaMade chief executive Mathias Verkest said, “SeaMade will bring Belgian offshore wind capacity to 2,262 MW by 2020 and more than 8 TWh per annum, which is approximately 10% of total electricity demand in Belgium and 50% of household consumption.
“Even with the limited area of the Belgian North Sea, Belgium is the fifth largest producer of offshore wind worldwide. Beyond 2020, offshore wind energy capacity in the Belgian North Sea can be further developed to at least 4.0 GW. We trust that solutions will be found allowing for adequate and timely grid connection for this second round of projects.”
DEME chief executive Luc Vandenbulcke said he is “confident” that Belgium can realise its ambition to increase offshore wind capacity to 4 GW by 2025.
The Belgian Offshore Platform would like the government in the country to raise targets even further, and believes that an additional 4 GW of capacity could be realised by 2024 with the right support.
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