Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) in partnership with Volker Stevin International (VolkerWessels) have been awarded a contract by Iberdrola Renewables Offshore Deutschland GmbH for the partial construction of the Wikinger Offshore Wind Farm in the German section of the Baltic Sea. The work comprises the transport and installation of seventy wind turbine foundations and six offshore substation piles. The contract carries a value of approximately EUR 75 million for Boskalis, the company said in its press release.
The Wikinger Offshore Wind Farm is located 34 kilometers northeast of the island of Rügen and will generate a total capacity of 350 MW. Each of the seventy wind turbine foundations consists of a four-legged jacket and four piles that will be transported from four different locations in Europe to Sassnitz-Mukran in Germany by Boskalis barges and anchor handling tugs and Dockwise semi-submersible transport vessels. Following the transport from Sassnitz-Mukran to the wind farm the piles will be driven into the seabed after which the jackets will be installed and connected to the piles. The pile installation activities will be executed by a Boskalis Giant barge with a 1,000-tonne crane and the installation of the jackets by the Boskalis 2,200-tonne Taklift 4 sheerlegs. The project is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2016 with completion expected in the fall of 2016.
Boskalis' strategy is aimed at benefitting from key macro-economic factors which drive worldwide demand in our markets: expansion of the global economy, increase in energy consumption, global population growth and the challenges that go hand in hand with climate change. This project is related to the development of generating renewable energy due to climate change and increasing energy consumption.