Vestas 15 MW Wind Turbines to Spin on 760 MW Dutch Offshore Wind Farm

December 22, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Ecowende, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco, has placed an order for 52 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines for the Hollandse Kust West VI offshore wind farm, located about 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast, near IJmuiden.

Turbine installation at sea is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026. Once installed, Vestas will service the wind farm under a 15-year service contract designed to ensure optimised performance of the assets.

“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Vestas to supply and service the wind turbines for Hollandse Kust West. With Vestas’ extensive experience in offshore wind, we are confident we will be able to develop and operate the Ecowende wind farm safely, on time and meeting the energy production targets. In addition, we look forward to working together with Vestas to implement the ecology measures that make Ecowende stand out,” said Folkert Visser, CEO and Project Director at Ecowende.

The wind turbines will be installed on 52 extended monopile foundations, manufactured by Sif, that will have no transition pieces, but secondary steel components.

Shell and Eneco Back at Sif for More Transition Piece-Less Monopiles

Foundations

Ecowende intends to set a new ecological standard for building and operating wind farms in the North Sea, with minimal impact on the natural habitat of birds, bats and marine mammals, and with a thriving underwater world.

The joint venture is said to adhere to the high qualitative criteria set out in the non-price-focused tender from the Dutch government.

This includes the creation of a bird corridor within the offshore wind farm layout, increasing the hub height to create more vertical space for birds, and integrating bird and bat detection and deterrence systems into the turbine design.

“This project has a strong emphasis on the integration of the wind farm into the local ecology, which is essential to underline the societal value of wind energy,” said Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.

The project has a grid connection capacity of 760 MW and an excess capacity of 20 MW to use the connection capacity as efficiently as possible, even when production is lower, said Vestas.