Construction of the new offshore wind farm Luchterduinen has entered its final and most noticeable phase with the installation of the first wind turbine by Van Oord’s new transport and installation vessel, the Aeolus.
The other 42 wind turbines will be installed during the coming weeks. The wind farm is expected to be put into operation in August.
Installation by Aeolus
The components of the wind turbines (tower, nacelle, blades) shall be transported from their construction location to the port of Esbjerg in Denmark. Van Oord's Aeolus has sufficient capacity for the transportation and offshore installation of all components of eight wind turbines at once. It shall take the Aeolus thirty hours to sail from Esbjerg to Luchterduinen wind farm. The installation of a single wind turbine, which includes moving the vessel to different positions, takes about one day.
V112 Turbines
The V112 type turbines, produced by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, have a capacity of 3 Megawatt each. They will be placed on towers which are 62 metres high, which in turn will be placed on top of foundations that extend 17 metres above sea level. The blades have a length of 54 metres.
Eneco Luchterduinen
The development of Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm at a distance of 23 kilometres off the coast between Noordwijk and Zandvoort is a joint project between an energy company Eneco and Mitsubishi Corporation. The 43 wind turbines shall generate green electricity for nearly 150,000 households.
Picture: The Aeolus installing a wind turbine (by Van Oord).
