At a 1.4GW offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea, all 165 foundations are in place.
At Orsted’s 1.4GW Hornsea 2 wind farm, 89 kilometers off the coast of the United Kingdom, all 165 foundations and the project’s offshore substation have been installed.
The monopile foundations have been erected, indicating that the project is ready for the remaining third of wind turbines to be installed before the wind farm is operational in 2022.
With a weight of about 8000 tonnes, Hornsea 2’s offshore substation is the world’s biggest alternating current version. The Sleipnir was used to safely hoist it into place.
The reactive compensation station is also on site and will be installed in the coming days.
Finally, the project recently completed the installation of all 390 kilometers of export cable required to transport power generated by the wind farm to an onshore substation and then to the National Grid.
Hornsea 2 will be the world’s largest wind farm when it is completed, covering 462 square kilometers of ocean.
“These twin milestones, together with the completion of our export cable circuits, mark the culmination of a truly monumental scope of work involving multiple teams from numerous companies working together in the face of some significant challenges over the last 18 months,” said Orsted’s Hornsea 2 program director Patrick Harnett.
“These are very complex operations and major engineering achievements, delivered thanks to the entire project team’s dedication, professionalism, and positivity, and we are all thrilled that we have completed these significant milestones on the road to having the wind farm fully operational in 2022.”
Orsted will supply over 7% of Britain’s power once Hornsea 2 is online.