Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm : Last turbine of North Sea wind project installed

Danish energy company Ørsted said that the last turbine has been installed at the 1.2GW Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea.

The Hornsea 1 offshore wind project features a total of 174 wind turbines delivered by Siemens Gamesa, each having a capacity of 7MW. The offshore UK wind farm can power around a million homes.

Ørsted said that the world’s largest offshore wind farm will now go through a period of commissioning with a target to officially inaugurate it next year.

Most of the blades of the turbines of the North Sea wind project were constructed in Hull at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy‘s factory where the component loadout took place and was then transported 120km out to the North Sea location.

The Bold Tern – owned by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier and DEME Group’s Sea Challenger were the two specialist vessels that were used for the transportation of the wind turbines. The two are installation vessels which jack up in the sea to offer a sturdy base for lifting purpose.

Final turbine installed at the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm. Photo courtesy of Ørsted A/S.

According to Ørsted, four turbines were loaded at a time on to the vessel. The main parts are a steel tower, three turbine blades and a nacelle which has all generation components for the wind turbine. The Danish energy company said that it took nearly 12 hours of precision working for the full installation of a turbine at the North Sea wind project.

Ørsted said that each of the 7MW turbines, which stands 190m above the sea level, can supply power to a single home for more than a day with the single rotation of its three 75m long blades.

Duncan Clark – Ørsted Programme Director for the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm said: “The milestone of this last turbine being installed only nine months after the first one was erected is just one small part of this record-breaking project. Hornsea 1 has truly paved the way for the next generation of offshore wind farms.

“At the time of taking on the project, it’s scale and the technical pioneering required seemed a Herculean challenge, but a truly extraordinary effort from all those involved have managed to make this impressive feat of engineering the new norm.

“We have benefitted from fantastic working relationships with contractors and suppliers, and that includes vessel providers who have maintained a constant stream of communication to ensure that turbine installation has been concluded on time and within budget.”

The offshore construction of the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm began in January 2018 with the first monopile foundation installed by Innovation, the installation vessel of GeoSea.

More than 8000 people were employed to work offshore at the North Sea wind project site, which includes contractors, suppliers and Ørsted’s own employees.

The Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm, which spans an area of 407sqkm, is a 50:50 joint venture between Ørsted and US infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).