Vestas installs first offshore V112s wind turbines

The first eight V112-3.0 MW offshore wind turbines have been successfully installed on the 48MW offshore wind farm in Kårehamn, Sweden. In addition the turbines were also part of the first shipment of wind turbines from Vestas’ pre-assembly facility in Esbjerg, Denmark.

Senior Vice President of Vestas Offshore Uffe Vinther-Schou says installing the first V112-3.0 MW offshore turbine was a key milestone for Vestas’ offshore business.

“The V112 is a competitive offshore turbine and this is highlighted in the project pipeline of 161 turbines. We are preparing for a very busy period installing this turbine offshore,” he explains.

Michael Lewis, COO Wind Power of E.ON Climate & Renewables, the owner of the Kårehamn project explains the strong partnership between E.ON and Vestas was a key contributor towards choosing the V112-3.0 MW offshore turbine for the project.

“E.ON and Vestas have a long history working together to develop offshore wind projects,” he explains. “We wanted to work closely together again with the same professional project team who we collaborated with on the Robin Rigg project in the UK.” “We chose the V112-3.0 MW because of the high reliability and strong track record of the technology, combined with Vestas’ professionalism in construction and service in offshore environments.”

The 48 MW Kårehamn project is the first of several V112-3.0 MW offshore projects to be constructed in the next two years. During 2013 and 2014 Vestas will also ship 73 V112-3.0 MW turbines to the 219 MW Humber Gateway project in the UK, also built by E.ON, as well as 72 V112-3.0 MW turbines for the 216 MW Northwind Offshore Wind Farm in Belgium.

E.ON is one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies, with annual sales of 132 billion Euros and more than 72,000 employees.

E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R), headquartered in Essen, Germany, is responsible for E.ON’s large-scale renewable energy activities. EC&R plays a leading role in the development of the renewable industry worldwide and is already active in onshore and offshore wind, concentrating solar power (CSP), photovoltaic, and biomass.
E.ON currently operates over 9 GW of renewable capacity including large hydro. Since its formation in 2007, EC&R has already invested more than 9 billion Euros and will continue to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON’s power generation portfolio.