Vineyard Wind Offshore Substation Leaves Denmark, Sails to America

May 26, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

The offshore substation topside and the jacket foundation for the Vineyard Wind 1 project have left the quay at Bladt Industries’ production site in Southern Denmark heading for its destination 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts, USA.

The sail-away is on time according to the original schedule and is a major milestone for the project team from Bladt Industries, Semco Maritime, and ISC Consulting Engineers.

”We are immensely proud to be a part of Vineyard Wind 1, which will always carry a special status being the first commercial scale offshore wind farm in the US. Many years ago, we were a part of the first offshore wind projects in Denmark when the industry evolved here, and it feels great adding a new chapter to our story with our involvement in the first US project,” said Klaus Munck Rasmussen, Chief Project Officer, Bladt Industries.

Vineyard Wind 1 is carried out as an EPC contract, with ISC as a subcontractor, covering the design, procurement, and construction of the 3,200-ton offshore substation and a 2,000-ton jacket foundation with four piles, which form the permanent anchorage to the seabed.

Bladt has handled the steel manufacturing of the substation. Design and engineering were carried out by Semco Maritime and ISC, and installation of the electrical system was also carried out by Semco Maritime.

”We have had a very constructive collaboration with the client, Vineyard Wind LLC, and it has been a rewarding process to draw on our many years of experience and well-tested setup for the execution of this project, resulting in a safe handover to the client,” said Steen Brødbæk, CEO, Semco Maritime.

After the arrival at the installation site, Vineyard Wind LLC will perform the installation of the substation whereafter Semco Maritime and Bladt Industries will take over and begin work on the offshore commissioning during the summer.

The 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1, a 50-50 joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) funds CI II and CI III, is currently under construction off the coast of Massachusetts.

The project, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US, is located 15 miles (24 kilometres) off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and will feature 62 Haliade-X 13 MW turbines, which will generate enough electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The wind farm is planned to start producing power this year.