Van Oord and Universal Foundation sign suction installation contract for Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm

The contract was signed following achievement of financial close on the Mono Bucket pilot demonstrator project by Northland Deutsche Bucht GmbH (owned by Northland Power) in July 2018. Consequently, Van Oord’s Balance of Plant project was extended with two additional pilot foundations. Financial close for the pilot project has been reached after successful certification by DNV GL of the Mono Bucket design in April, and with the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) granting the project the permit required to erect two additional pilot wind turbines in May.

Jesper Uhre Larsen, Project Manager at Universal Foundation said: “Having delivered the certified design of the two Mono Buckets to Northland Power, we are naturally pleased to see the project taking FID on the pilot. We are excited to continue our efforts on the project working with a professional marine contractor like Van Oord. The project teams are working towards the same end goal: a successful installation of the Mono Bucket foundations in 2019, which will enable further opportunities to lower the cost of offshore wind energy”.

Holger Miara, Package Manager of the Mono Bucket Pilot at Van Oord stated: “Van Oord is passionate about innovation, marine ingenuity and improving the standards and the environmental impact of the industry. It is exciting to be part of the realization of this pilot and jointly with universal Foundations and our employer demonstrate the technology in the context of a full-scale commercial project. The best part of it is that this installation will result in significantly reduced environmental impact in comparison to usually applied construction methodologies”.

“This project is an essential step in Universal Foundation’s strategy. To capture the full commercial potential of the technology, we are investing heavily in further technological standardization and industrialization, to ensure not only an environmentally friendly solution, but one that can be the preferred choice in today’s competitive market”, said Kristian Ravn, Managing Director of Universal Foundation.

Deutsche Bucht will be the first offshore wind farm in the world to showcase the Mono Bucket technology under commercial operating conditions. The Deutsche Bucht wind farm will have a total of 33 MHI Vestas Offshore Wind V164-8.4MW wind turbines, 31 on monopiles and two on Mono Buckets, and a grid capacity of almost 269 MW. Once operational, the wind farm is expected to supply enough renewable energy to meet the needs of approximately 328,000 households each year. The Mono Bucket foundations will be installed in the second quarter of 2019. Commissioning of the wind farm is expected to take place in the second half of 2019.