Last foundation pile for Westermeerwind

Heavy lift and specialized transport service provider Mammoet has completed the installation of the foundation piles for the offshore Westermeerwind wind park in Ijsselmeer Lake, Netherlands.

The project is being carried out by a joint venture between Van Oord and Mammoet. In total, 48 foundation piles have been installed at the site, with on average one being installed per day.

Peter de Weijs, Westermeerwind project director, said, “We are very satisfied with how well the installation of the foundation piles went. Despite the fact that we were dependent on the weather, everything proceeded extremely smoothly. The construction of the Westermeerwind wind park is right on schedule.”

The laying of 44 km of power cables between the foundations and the transformer station is now underway. The installation of the 48 wind turbines will begin in mid-July. The 3 MW turbines will be installed in two rows along the Westermeerdijk and one row along the Noordermeerdijk. The park is scheduled to be completed in February 2016 and is expected to produce wind energy for 160,000 households, a spokesperson said.

Siemens is the head contractor for the Westermeerwind wind park project and will maintain the site for at least fifteen years. Subcontractors include Van Oord and Mammoet for the foundations and the installation of the wind turbines, and VolkerWessels Boskalis Marine Solutions (VBMS) for the cabling to the transformer station.