DEME has installed the 68th and final monopile at Vattenfall's Nordlicht I offshore wind farm site in the German North Sea.
The company, using its vessel Orion, installed the first monopile at the Nordlicht I site on 1 July. The following month, DEME's vessel Sea Installer placed the first transition piece (TP) on top of a monopile, with TP installation expected to be completed soon.
The monopiles, each measuring up to 80.5 metres in length and weighing up to 1,290 tonnes, were manufactured by EEW Special Pipe Constructions at its Rostock facility, while the transition pieces are being supplied by CS Wind from Aalborg.
The Belgian contractor is responsible for transporting and installing the monopile foundations and transition pieces for both the 980 MW Nordlicht I and the 630 MW Nordlicht II under a contract awarded in 2024/2025.
Foundation installation at Nordlicht II is scheduled to begin next year, with both wind farms expected to enter operation in 2028.
Located around 85 kilometres north of Borkum, the two offshore wind farms will comprise 112 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines, 68 at Nordlicht I and 44 at Nordlicht II. Once fully commissioned, the cluster is expected to generate around 6 TWh of electricity per year.