Alstom, DEME and Merkur Offshore sign a contract for the delivery and installation of 66 Haliade offshore wind turbines to be installed in Germany

The turbines will be supplied by Alstom and installed by DEME in one of the biggest German wind farms, the 400 MW Merkur Offshore wind farm, located 45 km north of Borkum in the North Sea, which will be built and operated by Merkur Offshore. The wind farm project Merkur Offshore has passed all authorizations and has a secured grid connection. The construction will start in 2016 and will be undertaken by GeoSea, member of the DEME Group.

“This is the largest offshore wind contract signed by Alstom outside France on a major and significant market, coming after the winning of the construction of the first offshore wind farm in the US. The Merkur Offshore contract is also the first offshore wind project led by Alstom in Germany, which is particularly important for our further business development in Germany and Northern Europe. We are very proud to support the energy transition in Germany with this major project”, said Jérôme Pécresse, President of Alstom Renewable Power.

Alain Bernard, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the DEME Group further stated: “Combining favorable sea bed conditions with one of the strongest and most reliable wind resources in the world, Merkur Offshore will be one of Germany’s largest wind farms in the North Sea, contributing significantly to Germany’s energy transition plans and the European clean energy targets.”

Developed for the industry´s most challenging offshore conditions, Alstom Haliade 150-6MW direct drive wind turbine combines proven technology and innovation. With its high energy yield – thanks to its 150 m diameter rotor - Haliade can supply clean wind power to the equivalent of about 5,000 households. The first prototype of Haliade was installed onshore in 2012 in Le Carnet (France), followed by the first offshore pilot-installation in the wind park of Belwind, 46 km off the Belgian cost. In the meantime, Haliade obtained the DNV-GL certification, officially confirming the engineering, design, production, operation and efficiency of the turbine and service as prerequisite for the commercial operation of Haliade.

All Alstom offshore wind turbines will be manufactured in the new French facilities in Saint-Nazaire.

The DEME Group has participated in the construction of many large-scale European offshore wind farms including Alpha Ventus, EnBW Baltic 2 and Trianel West Borkum II wind farm in German waters, Westermost Rough and West of Duddon Sand in the UK, Walney and the Ormonde farms in the Irish Sea and C-Power and Northwind wind farms off the Belgian Coast. GeoSea is currently working on several offshore wind farm projects such as Godewind in Germany and Kentish Flats Extension in the UK. The DEME Group owns a large fleet of specialised vessels including heavy-lift offshore jack-up vessels Innovation, Neptune, Goliath and Thor and fall-pipe vessels Flintstone, Rollingstone and Seahorse.