RWE Books Jan De Nul’s Next-Gen Offshore Wind Installation Vessels Long Term

June 12, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

Jan De Nul Group has signed an agreement with RWE for the long-term chartering of two next-generation installation vessels for future offshore wind foundation and turbine construction.

The charters are supported by a Service Agreement through which Jan De Nul will provide both in-house and market solutions and services, to support and perform installation campaigns for RWE’s offshore wind projects.

The partnership includes the exclusive and long-term charter of the two next-generation offshore installation vessels, Les Alizés and Voltaire.

Philippe Hutse, CEO of Jan De Nul Offshore Energy, said: ”We are delighted to further step up our contribution to the worldwide energy transition through this long-term partnership. This multi-year approach creates much-desired planning security for our state-of-the-art installation vessels and will allow safe and efficient installation of a large number of offshore wind farms. We look forward to the continued cooperation with our highly valued client RWE.”

Both vessels can be used at RWE’s current and future offshore construction projects and, if needed, to run maintenance campaigns at its existing offshore wind farm portfolio.

”Europe needs more offshore wind power to reach its ambitious climate targets. We are already making a significant contribution and resolutely driving forward the future build-out of offshore wind in Europe and globally. Through this strategic partnership, RWE has taken a big step in securing the necessary installation vessels and services to deliver our large-scale offshore wind farms Thor and Hollandse Kust West VII, as well as further projects to come. These kinds of agreements are exactly what we need against the backdrop of the challenging market situation,” Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind, said.

Les Alizés has been chartered for more than five years, and is a purpose-built vessel designed for transporting, lifting, and installing wind turbine foundations.

With the ability to lift up to 5,000 tonnes and with a deck loading capacity of 61,000 tonnes, she is capable of handling the scale and design of future foundations that will support the next generation of wind turbines. Les Alizés’ first project will be the Danish offshore project Thor. Foundation installation works for this 1,000 MW wind farm are due to take place in 2025.

Voltaire is the world’s largest jack-up installation vessel with a crane capacity of 3,200 tonnes and approximately 130-metre long legs.

The design is said to make the vessel highly suitable for the installation of next-generation wind farms in deep waters. Voltaire has been chartered to RWE for more than four years, from 2027 onwards. Subject to the project’s final investment decision, Voltaire will install the turbines of RWE’s Hollandse Kust West VII wind farm off the Dutch coast.

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With this framework agreement, the two companies are continuing their cooperation. During 2021 and 2022, Jan De Nul provided installation services supporting the construction of RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm off the German coast. More recently, Jan De Nul has been awarded the export and inter-array cable installation scopes on RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm.