Heerema’s Thialf Lowers Baltic Eagle Topside Into Place

Heerema Marine Contractors has installed the offshore substation topside for Iberdrola’s Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in Germany.

The substation topside, which was completed last month, was installed by Heerema Marine Contractors’ semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) Thialf.

The jacket foundation had been placed on the construction site in October 2022.

The installation involved the heaviest lifting operation for the Baltic Eagle offshore wind project with a total estimated weight of more than 4,200 tonnes, said 50Hertz.

Iberdrola now starts the offshore construction phase to make the OSS ready for energization, according to 50Hertz.

This will be followed by the installation of the monopiles on which Vestas 9.5 MW wind turbines will be placed together with transition pieces.

Iberdrola, after signing a cooperation agreement for the substation with 50Hertz in 2021, awarded contracts for its construction to the joint venture between Iemants (a Smulders subsidiary) and Fabricom (now Equans), who were contracted for the structural elements, and Siemens Energy, responsible for the delivery of all main electrical equipment for the low-voltage part of the OSS.

The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm is located northeast of the Rügen island off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea in a water depth of 40-45 metres.

The wind farm is expected to be fully commissioned in 2024, and, once operational, will produce around 1.9 TWh of electricity per year, enough to meet the demand of 460,000 homes and to avoid the emission of 800,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, according to Iberdrola.

“The Baltic Sea still has a lot of potential and 50Hertz, together with partners such as Iberdrola, will help to achieve the German and European offshore targets: I congratulate everyone involved on the successful installation of the substation Baltic Eagle. Now we are once again a big step closer completing the Ostwind 2 grid connection project until next year”, said Stefan Kapferer, CEO of 50Hertz.

Ostwind 2 is the project that will connect the Baltic Sea wind farms, Arcadis Ost 1 and Baltic Eagle, to the German high-voltage grid.

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