In a landmark moment for Windhoist, we will be sending a team ‘out to sea’ for the first time in our history. This is a fantastic achievement and marks an important moment in our expansion into the offshore wind generation industry!
Our Offshore Expansion
Winhoist has long been established as a leader in the onshore wind generation industry, having worked on projects across multiple countries and continents. However, over the last 18 months we have been working hard to diversify and break into the offshore wind generation market.
Throughout the course of this year and a half, we have worked on two flagship offshore pre-assembly contracts which involved building turbines on-land, which were then transported offshore for final installation.
However, our involvement in Northwester 2 Wind Farm marks our first venture in going out to sea. We will be deploying a team of 8 technicians off the coast of Belgium to be part of the installation teams aboard the installation vessel.
Compared to the multiple onshore projects that Windhoist are involved in on an ongoing basis, this admittedly represents a small volume of work. However, it marks a significant milestone in terms of progressing further into the offshore wind sector.
Windhoist looks forward to building from this new opportunity, and we have provisionally agreed terms for two framework agreements for the supply of offshore technicians to the UK and wider European sector.
The Project
Northwester 2 Wind Farm is a 219MW project being developed off the coast of Belgium in the North Sea, and will be the seventh established in the region. The wind farm will be made up of 23 MHIV V164 9.5mw turbines, which are currently among the most powerful turbines in the world.
Each of these turbines have the capacity to power an incredible 9500 Belgian homes. In total, the site will provide power to 220,000 homes each and every year for its expected lifespan of 25 years.
We’d like to offer the entire team involved with this groundbreaking new venture the best of luck, and stay tuned to our blog for updates on their progress!
