New vessels to support far offshore wind farms in the North Sea

Led by German and UK developers, offshore wind farms in the North Sea are getting further offshore – creating new challenges for operation and maintenance teams. In the latest example, Siemens has won a contract to supply, install and commission 67 of its 6 MW direct drive offshore wind turbines at the Veja Mate Offshore wind power plant to be built 115 km offshore in the German North Sea. The contract includes a 15-year service and maintenance agreement, said to be the largest ever wind service order for Siemens in Germany and the second largest globally.

Siemens says it will provide an advanced offshore service logistics concept, tailored specifically for far offshore projects such as Veja Mate, that uses both helicopters and a purpose-built service operation vessel. The concept allows maintenance work to be carried out at almost all times, irrespective of the weather conditions or wave height, says the company, in order to maximise energy production.

The 402 MW offshore project is located in the North Sea northwest of Borkum island, 115 km from the shore. It will be installed at water depths ranging from 39 to 41 m. With average wind speeds of more than 10 m/s at a hub height of 80 m above sea level, the site offers excellent conditions for a high energy yield, adds Siemens.

Grid access will be provided by BorWin2, a HVDC grid connection also built by Siemens. BorWin 2 was handed over to operator TenneT early this year and is already in commercial operation. Its 800 MW capacity encompasses the grid connection for both Veja Mate and the Global Tech I offshore wind farms.

Last month, Siemens celebrated the christenings of what it calls the offshore wind industry’s first purpose-built service operation vessels. The events took place in cooperation with Esvagt A/S, owner of the two vessels, in Rostock and Hamburg, both in Germany.

Siemens designed and commissioned this new type of vessel specifically to service and maintain far offshore wind power plants. Working in concert with the company’s customer-tailored offshore logistics concept, advanced data analytics and predictive maintenance programmes, the vessels are designed to help wind farm operators to secure more uptime and power production from their turbines.

The Esvagt Froude is now supporting service and maintenance operations at EnBW’s Baltic II wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The Esvagt Faraday will be deployed for service of wpd’s Butendiek wind farm in the North Sea.