Mediterranean Wind Pioneer Nears Offshore Construction Phase

Van Oord plans to start the offshore construction at what will be the first offshore wind farm in Italy, and in the Mediterranean Sea, in the third quarter of 2021.

The installation of 10 monopile foundations at the 30 MW Taranto offshore wind farm, also known as Beleolico, will be carried out using Van Oord’s installation vessel MPI Resolution and is expected to take 16 days.

For this work, Van Oord signed a contract with MENCK to deliver the hammer spread for the installation of the monopiles.

MENCK will supply one MHU 800S hydraulic hammer spread, including service technicians.

MENCK has previously worked with Van Oord on the Danish Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm, where the companies collaborated to install 72 monopiles.

”The contract is another important step for MENCK as it supports Van Oord’s strategic projects,” said Nils Raab, MENCK Sales Manager.

”After the success of Kriegers Flak, we appreciate the level of trust Van Oord has placed in MENCK by awarding us the monopile installation scope. The success of the hammer spread has been proven on previous projects and has achieved a reduction in project footprint through integration with the client’s vessel and reducing the number of people required for installations.”

Located in the Apulia Region off Taranto harbor, the Beleolico project is being run by Italian company Renexia, which is developing other offshore wind projects around the world.

The wind farm will comprise 10 MySE3.0-135 wind turbines manufactured and delivered by China’s MingYang Smart Energy and expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.

”We look forward to working together again with MENCK on this first offshore wind farm in the Mediterranean,” said Thijs Dikkers, Project Manager, Van Oord.

”MENCK performed well in the recent project, making it a reliable partner.”