Bibby WaveMaster Horizon Put Into Operation

Siemens Gamesa and EnBW have put the Service Operations Vessel (SOV) Bibby Wavemaster Horizon into operation in the Port of Hamburg.

The 90-meter-long SOV will service the EnBW Hohe See and Albatros offshore wind farms in the North Sea.

“Offshore wind energy already supplies reliable clean electricity for millions of households in Germany,” said Dr. Marc Becker, Managing Director of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy GmbH & Co. KG.

“With our new service ship presented today in Hamburg and the development of ever more powerful wind turbines, Siemens Gamesa is continuously reducing the cost of renewable energy. Today, clean electricity from wind energy is already competitive with conventional power generation. We should continue to use the potential of wind energy in Germany in the future.”

The vessel, ordered by Siemens Gamesa and EnBW, provides room for a crew of up to 60, consisting of a ship’s crew and service technicians. The technicians will live and work at sea for two week intervals until they are brought ashore again by helicopter.

“The climate protection targets can only be achieved with the large-scale expansion of onshore and offshore wind power. The two wind power plants, EnBW Hohe See and Albatros, are currently the largest offshore project in Germany. We want to commission both parks by the end of 2019 with a record total output of 609 MW,” said Stefan Kansy, Head of New Construction Projects at EnBW.

“In addition, there is our 900 MW He Dreiht offshore wind power plant, which we expect to build from 2025 and which will not require subsidies. The experience we will gain from operating the Bibby Wavemaster Horizon will be incorporated into the planning for He Dreiht.”

Bibby WaveMaster Horizon is Bibby Marine Services’ second Damen Accommodation Support Vessel (ASV) 9020, the first being Bibby WaveMaster 1.

Located approximately 98 kilometres from the German coast, the 497MW Hohe See wind farm comprises 71 Siemens Gamesa 7MW wind turbines the last of which was installed at the site mid-August by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s jack-up Blue Tern. The wind farm delivered first power mid-July.

The final turbine on the 112MW Albatros wind farm was installed in late September. The two projects are being built as one and are due to be put into operation by the end of 2019.