Turbine foundations up at 659-MW Walney Extension

Installation of the 87 turbine foundations at the 659-MW Walney Extension offshore wind farm in the UK is now completed, Dutch offshore contractor Van Oord NV said Wednesday.

Transportation and installation of the foundations was handled by Van Oord’s heavy lift vessels Aeolus and Svanen and took 4.5 months.

The wind park, located in the Irish Sea off the coast of Cumbria, is owned by Danish group Dong Energy A/S (CPH:DENERG). It will be equipped with 40 units of MHI Vestas’ V164-8.0 MW turbines and 47 Siemens Gamesa machines of the SWP-7.0-154 model. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in late 2018.

Once completed, the offshore wind park will become the world's largest offshore wind farm, surpassing the 630-MW London Array. It will be able to generate enough electricity to supply over 500,000 British homes, the developer calculates.

At the end of June, Dong Energy said it was on track with the construction of the 659-MW offshore wind farm, with both offshore substations being in place.

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