Monopile Installation About to Start at Gode Wind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 3

June 23, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Jan De Nul’s heavy lift vessel Les Alizés has arrived at the Port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands to kick off and load the first monopiles to be installed at Ørsted’s offshore wind farms in Germany.

Les Alizes Port of Eemshaven — Source: Eemshavenonline.nl

Jan De Nul’s newbuild vessel will soon arrive on the offshore construction site located off the northern coast of Germany in the North Sea and will start with the installation of the first monopile foundations.

This is simultaneously the baptism of fire for this brand-new vessel which was launched in January last year.

A total of 106 turbine foundations are to be installed on the Godewind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farms.

The vessel features a main crane of 5,000 tonnes, a deck loading capacity of 61,000 tonnes, and a deck space of 9,300 square metres, which should enable it to easily transport several heavier future foundations in one trip.

The vessel’s crane with Universal Quick Connector (UQC), developed by Huisman, is among the largest in its class, according to Jan De Nul. Furthermore, Les Alizés is also fitted with an innovative motion-compensated electrical pile gripper with an integrated guidance and survey system.

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Ørsted won the rights to develop Borkum Riffgrund 3 at the German auction held in 2018 by bidding EUR 0, making it the world’s first large-scale offshore wind farm to be awarded with a zero bid.

Located close to Ørsted’s existing offshore wind farms Borkum Riffgrund 1&2 and Gode Wind 1&2, both new projects will feature Siemens Gamesa 11 MW offshore wind turbines.

The 900 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 will be built simultaneously with the 242 MW Gode Wind 3, which is expected to be commissioned in 2024 with Borkum Riffgrund 3 coming online the following year.