The first foundation of the Northwester 2 wind farm has been installed by Jan De Nul’s jack-up installation vessel Vole au Vent.
The first foundation is composed of a monopile that is 76 meters long and has a diameter of almost 8 meters.
The monopile weighs around 900 tonnes and the transition piece which is mounted on the monopile weighs circa 280 tonnes. Both are produced and assembled at the fabrication yard of the Danish steel contractor Bladt in Aalborg, after which they are shipped to the harbor of Oostende for load out to the Vole au Vent.
The foundation forms the basis for the wind turbines that will be installed from October this year.
Before installing the foundation, the vessel Thor Express has deployed a double bubble curtain on the seabed around the installation area to reduce the noise produced by the hammering operation.