08/17/2017

Van Oord’s top duo Aeolus and Svanen have successfully completed work on the Walney Extension offshore wind farm

Van Oord has finished the Walney Extension offshore wind farm for DONG Energy to transport and install 87 foundations. Van Oord’s installation vessels Aeolus and Svanen completed the project in 4.5 months.

Upon completion of the project in late 2018, the offshore wind farm will supply energy to more than 500,000 households in the United Kingdom. It will contribute to governmental targets to ensure that, by 2020, fifteen percent of the UK’s energy is being produced sustainably. The Walney Extension offshore wind farm is located in the Irish Sea, approximately 19 kilometres off Walney Island, Cumbria, United Kingdom. The farm consists of 87 wind turbines with a total capacity of 659 MW.

Specialised equipment

For this project, Van Oord deployed its 8,000-tonne heavy lift installation vessel Svanen to install 56 monopiles. The other 31 monopiles, as well as the transition pieces, were installed by offshore installation vessel Aeolus. Walney Extension included Aeolus’ first successful floating installation of transition pieces.

"With the completion of the Walney Extension project Van Oord has reached a new milestone. Thanks to the commitment and expertise of the project team, offshore installation vessel Aeolus’s debut in the floating installation of transition pieces has been very successful," says Floren Verweij, Project Manager.