Van Oord has been awarded two new offshore wind projects: Baltic Power in the Baltic Sea and Greater Changhua 2b and 4 in Taiwan. The contracts have a combined value of more than €500 million. Once operational, the two offshore wind farms will deliver renewable energy to approximately 2.5 million households.
The Baltic Power offshore wind farm is being developed by a joint venture between ORLEN (Poland) and Northland Power (Canada). The wind farm will be located in the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea, 23 km from shore. The wind farm will feature 76 wind turbines with a total capacity of 1.14 GW and will ultimately supply renewable energy to more than 1.5 million households in Poland. Baltic Power will be Poland’s first offshore wind farm and an important step in the country’s transition to renewable energy. Van Oord will transport and install 78 foundations, 76 wind turbine generator (WTG) foundations (each one consisting of a monopile and a transition piece), and an additional two foundations for offshore substations. To install the monopile foundations, Van Oord will deploy its heavy-lift installation vessel, Svanen. The 76 transition pieces will be installed by a third-party DP installation vessel. The transport and installation of the foundations is scheduled to start in 2024 and is expected to be completed in summer 2025.
The Baltic Sea holds enormous potential for offshore wind in Europe, thanks to its shallow waters, strong winds and other favourable conditions. This makes it possible for the Baltic states to embark on an effective energy transition. The Svanen is specifically designed to cope with conditions in the Baltic Sea, including the challenging soil composition, and has proven its suitability on a large number of projects there, including Baltic 2, Arkona, Danish Kriegers Flak, and Baltic Eagle.
Like the Baltic Sea, Taiwan also has an ideal environment for developing offshore wind energy due to its geographical location and weather conditions. Van Oord recently signed on to the Greater Changhua 2b and 4 project. These wind farms are being constructed by Ørsted, 50 km off the west coast of Taiwan. With a total capacity of 920 MW, they will supply renewable energy to approximately 1 million Taiwanese households per year. Van Oord will be responsible for the transport and installation of three export cables, with a total length of approximately 175 km. To transport and install the cables, Van Oord will deploy its dedicated cable-laying vessel, Nexus. Van Oord’s own trencher, Dig-It, will bury the cables to the required depth. To pre-excavate cable joint pits down to the necessary burial depth, Van Oord will deploy its LNG-powered hopper dredger, Vox Apolonia. The works are scheduled to start in 2024 and expected to be finished in 2025.
The Greater Changhua wind farms are familiar territory for Van Oord. Earlier this year, the company successfully completed the cable installation works at Greater Changhua 1 and 2a. Van Oord was responsible for the transport, installation and burial of the inter-array and export cables. With dedicated professionals, highly specialised equipment and a local supply chain and workforce, Van Oord is committed to further developing the Taiwanese offshore wind farms.
“At Van Oord we are committed to the large scale rollout of offshore wind. We are therefore proud that two clients trust Van Oord to support their development projects in the offshore wind industry,” said Arnoud Kuis, Managing Director Offshore Energy at Van Oord.
