Van Oord to install innovative suction bucket foundations at Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm

Financial close has been reached for two pilot wind turbines at the Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm. The project will test Mono Buckets, a new type of foundation structure, equipped with a 8.4 MW turbine. In addition to its Balance of Plant contract for the wind farm, Van Oord will also be responsible for manufacturing and installing the two additional Mono Bucket foundations, the Group said in a press release.

Northland Deutsche Bucht GmbH announced yesterday that the Deutsche Bucht Mono Bucket pilot demonstrator ("Demo") project has reached financial close. Deutsche Bucht, the third North-Sea offshore wind farm to be built by Canadian power producer Northland Power, will be the first wind farm worldwide to test this new type of foundation structure under commercial operating conditions.

Advantages
The Mono Bucket foundation consists of a single steel cylinder, known as a ‘suction bucket’, upon which a shaft is mounted. A transition piece and an 8.4-megawatt wind turbine will be installed on this shaft. The suction bucket structure becomes firmly embedded in the sea floor by its own weight and vacuum pressure, eliminating the need for pile driving and, consequently, for noise mitigation measures such as big bubble curtains. The new structure therefore benefits the environment because it causes less disruption to local porpoise populations and can be completely decommissioned at the end of its lifetime.

Deutsche Bucht Offshore Wind Farm
The Deutsche Bucht wind farm will have a total of 33 wind turbines, 31 on monopiles and two on Mono Buckets, and a grid capacity of almost 269 MW. This means the wind farm will supply enough renewable energy to meet the needs of approximately 328,000 households each year. Offshore construction of the windfarm is expected to start this summer. The Mono Bucket foundations will be installed in the second quarter of 2019. Commissioning of the wind farm is expected to take place in the second half of 2019.

Van Oord (Dredging and Marine Contractors) is a Dutch company founded in 1868, which specializes in dredging and land reclamation. The company operates across its 25 branches with the staff of over 4200 employees. It has a fleet of 97 vessels, including trailing suction hopper dredgers, cutter suction dredgers, etc.