Wikinger Half-Way
The installation programme at Wikinger offshore windfarm has passed the half-way milestone with more than 35 of the 70 wind turbines now installed.
Turbine Load-Out
With all of the jacket foundations now in place, Wikinger's first turbines are loaded on to the installation vessel 'Brave Tern'.
Piling Completed
The installation vessel 'Giant 7' has now concluded the pile driving works for all 70 turbine locations. Installation of the foundation jackets will also be completed in the coming days ready for turbine installation to commence early next year.
NAVANTIA and IBERDROLA mark delivery of first jackets for Wikinger
IBERDROLA and Navantia held an event recently to mark the delivery of the first ‘jacket’ foundations for Wikinger offshore windfarm at the Fene shipyard where they were built by a consortium set up by Navantia and Windar. View the press release.
50 Hertz announce start of works for Wikinger export cable
50 Hertz, jointly with National Water Police Office of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, recently published an information leaflet about the Offshore Cable Project Ostwind 1. It announced the start of the construction works in Mid-May 2016 and provided information around the special conditions and recommendations for commercial shipping, fishing industry as well as for water sports (please note the leaflet is only available in German).
Autumn 2015
It is an exciting time for the Wikinger project as major component fabrication has begun. The first A-frame for the foundations is complete and the wind turbine nacelle and blade manufacturing is beginning. Work on the Offshore Substation frame is also complete with the internal fit-out due to commence shortly. We are also beginning to establish our site office at the Port of Sassnitz.
Substation Piling Completed
Piling for the Offshore Substation is now complete with 6 piles in place ahead of the installation later this summer. The piles were manufactured by Navantia-Tecade and shipped from Sevilla, Spain. Each measures 50 metres in length and weighs 266 tonnes.
Engineering
Conceptual and detail engineering has been under development since 2013, with all outputs now officially certified.
Export Cable
The export cable is under the responsibility of 50hertz, the Transmission System Operator. The cable is consented and preliminary works have begun with the objective of connecting Wikinger Offshore Windfarm to the grid in 2017.
Pile Testing
A pile testing campaign was developed in 2014 in order to improve the design of the turbine’s jacket foundations. As a result of the campaign, very good knowledge about the soil conditions across the site’s sea bed has been achieved.
Unexploded Ordnance Campaign
During summer 2015 an unexploded ordnance campaign has been under development in order to minimise any potential risks during the construction phase.
Supplier Event
In October 2015, we hosted a Supplier Day event at the Landesvertretung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Berlin to introduce local companies experienced in offshore wind with our main contractors; Adwen, Navantia, Offshore WindForce and Prysmian.
Christian Pegel, Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Regional Development for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the local Chamber of Commerce and the German Wind Energy Network supported this event and we were pleased to see more than 100 companies engage directly with our contractors to explore possible collaboration opportunities.
Opportunities may exist in a wide range of areas from civil and electrical contractors, vessels and ports support, to technicians and logistics, which will have an overall positive impact on the regional economy. With the manufacture of the offshore substation, foundations and wind turbine rotors already underway, this event was well-timed to capture these requirements and provide local suppliers with the contacts needed to take forward discussions.