Belgian developer Parkwind has awarded DEME Offshore an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for turbine foundations and a substation at the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind project in the German Baltic Sea.

The Belgian contractor before summer next year will start piling 27 super-sized monopile foundations from Germany’s Steelwind, which it claims will be the largest ever installed in Europe. Each will be about 100 metres long and weigh around 2,000 tonnes. The monopiles for the wind turbines will not be equipped with standard transition pieces but will have a direct connection with the turbine tower.

The company will also install a foundation to support the offshore substation at the project northeast of the island of Rügen. DEME said as a ‘substantial’ contract, the order is worth €150-300m ($182-365m), but didn’t disclose its exact value.

“The project is pushing the limits of what has been done to date in offshore wind in terms of foundation technology,” said Arcadis Ost 1 project manager Clement Helbig de Balzac.

“Therefore, it was key for the project’s success to select a strong and highly experienced EPCI contractor such as DEME Offshore, deploying state of the art installation vessels and technology.”

DEME will erect the foundations with its offshore installation vessel Orion that is designed to install mega monopile foundations thanks to a tailor-made, motion-compensated gripper system able to handle foundations of up to 2,500 tonnes.

“Being awarded such a pioneering project highlights how Parkwind has confidence in the game-changing DP3 offshore installation vessel Orion,” DEME Offshore business unit director Bas Nekeman said.

“DEME Offshore is delighted that it will be the first company to install these XXL monopiles, as the offshore wind industry takes the next step forward.”

Production of the monopile foundations will start in 2021, while the installation campaign is planned to start before the summer 2022. Arcadis Ost 1 is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2023.

Wind

'Pushing the limits': DEME to install Europe's largest offshore wind foundations in Germany