Van Oord has secured two offshore wind projects: Baltic Power in the Baltic Sea and Greater Changhua 2b and 4 in Taiwan. The contracts have a total worth of more than €500 million. The two offshore wind farms are expected to supply about 2.5 million households with renewable energy when they are fully operational.
The Baltic Power offshore wind farm is being developed by a joint venture between ORLEN and Northland Power. It will have 76 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 1.14 GW. Van Oord has agreed to transport and install 78 foundations for the project, 76 of which will comprise a monopile and a transition piece, while two are foundations for the offshore substations. Furthermore, to install the monopile foundations, Van Oord will deploy its heavy lift installation vessel, Svanen. The transport and installation of the foundations are scheduled to start in 2024 and are expected to be completed in summer 2025.
The second contract that Van Oord secured is the Greater Changhua 2b and 4, a total of 920 MW projects in Taiwan. These wind farms are being constructed by Ørsted, 50 km off the west coast of Taiwan, with a total capacity of 920 MW. Van Oord will be responsible for the transport and installation of three export cables, with a total length of approximately 175 km. To transport and install the cables, Van Oord will deploy its dedicated cable-laying vessel, Nexus. Van Oord will use its LNG-powered hopper dredger, Vox Apolonia, to pre-excavate cable joint pits down to the required burial depth. The project is projected to begin in 2024 and be completed in 2025.
REGlobal’s Views: Both the Baltic Sea and Taiwan have high potential for development of offshore wind projects. Van Oord already has experience in both the regions’ offshore wind power projects, and these large projects will further help the company establish its standing in these markets on the equipment transport and installation side.
