DEME has signed a contract with the port of Thyboron that will see the Danish port support the installation of foundations for Vattenfall’s Vesterhav Nord and Syd offshore wind farms.
The Vesterhav Nord and Syd offshore wind farms will consist of 41 Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines. The monopiles, manufactured by EEW in Rostock, Germany, measure 77 m long and weigh around 622 tonnes. The transition pieces, manufactured by Bladt Industries in Aalborg, weigh around 275 tonnes and measure 22.5 m.
The foundations will be shipped in sets to the port of Thyboron on barges during spring. DEME’s installation vessel, Innovation, will regularly sail into the port to load foundations for onward delivery to the wind farm sites in the North Sea.
Back in 2020, the port was granted a permit to deepen the channel along the Thyboron canal, which links Limfjorden with the North Sea. It said that the works were required to support the increasing size of vessels arriving at the gateway, including those catering to the offshore wind energy industry.
The cooperation with DEME has enabled the port to establish a 11 m-deep channel all the way to the offshore project quay facilities. In addition, the port offers 300,000 sq m of quayside land for storing primary components and a quay with a load bearing capacity of up to 23 tonnes per sq m.
Given the port’s location as a natural harbour inside the Liim Fiord, it has further potential for greater capacity in the form of port expansions that add more quayside land and quays in the long term, said the port.
The port has previously been involved in the Nissum Bredning offshore wind farm and seen several large onshore wind turbines traverse its wharves. However, this is the first time an offshore wind project of this scale will be serviced from the port – Innovation will be the largest installation vessel to call at its facilities.
The vessel is scheduled to arrive on February 18 to pick up the first four foundations for the project.
