Parkwind, in cooperation with MHI Vestas and Jan De Nul Group, has completed the installation of 23 turbines at the Northwester 2 offshore wind farm.
The 219 MW project is located in the Belgian North Sea, 50 km off the coast of Ostend.
Installation began in December 2019. Following a good start, adverse weather conditions slowed work down. According to Peter Caluwaert, Parkwinds’ project director, a second installation vessel, Scylla, was brought in to join Jan De Nul’s offshore jack-up vessel Vole au Vent in mid-March “to make up for the time lost in the first months of the year”.
Caluwaert also noted that the Covid-19 crisis threatened the project. “However, the dedication we witnessed from the different teams in the midst of an unprecedented context and with all additional safety measures, has been humbling,” he said.
Northwester 2 is the first wind farm to commercially deploy MHI Vestas’ V164-9.5 MW turbines.
Flemming Ougaard, chief operations officer at MHI Vestas, said: “The V164-9.5 MW turbines we have utilised at this project are built on proven technology and will support this project for decades.”
MHI Vestas also holds a 15-year service agreement at Northwester 2 that will see it maintain the V164-9.5 MW turbines.
