Final turbine installed at Borssele III/IV in spite of COVID-19

The last of 77 MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines has now been installed at the Borssele III/IV project site in the Dutch North Sea.

Overcoming a multitude of COVID-related challenges, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MHI Vestas) has now completed installation of the final turbine at the Borssele III/IV offshore wind project. The last of 77 V164-9.5 MW turbines was secured on-site on Thursday 26^th November.

The final set of turbines will now undergo commissioning and testing in preparation for full power generation. The Borssele III/IV project is rated at 731.5 MW, and once completed, will supply enough clean renewable energy to power up to 2.3% of total Dutch electricity demand.

The Borssele III/IV project, which is situated 22 km off the coast of Zeeland, Netherlands, is being developed by the Blauwwind consortium, consisting of Partners Group, Shell, Eneco, Diamond Generating Europe and Van Oord.

“While installing turbines at Borssele III/IV, we have overcome a number of challenges arising from COVID,” said Laurens van Pijkeren, MHI Vestas Project Director. “Not only have we needed to adjust our way of working on the installation vessel, but even the transport of technicians to the project has been an international challenge. Therefore, we are very pleased and proud to safely install all 77 V164 turbines on time and to now prepare for the full commissioning of this significant project for the Netherlands.”

In addition to challenges related to the global COVID pandemic, project construction at Borssele III/IV had also been impacted by adverse weather that has been significantly higher than what could have been statistically expected.

“Good project execution starts with great preparation and planning; the start date of turbine installation was picked in 2017 and happened precisely on that day in May this year. Overcoming many additional challenges in this extraordinary year required even more collaboration between all key parties, and led to a successful completion of the installation phase,” says Roeland Borsboom, Project Director and CEO for Blauwwind. “A big thank you is well deserved, and when the commissioning is completed we will formally launch Full Operations. Blauwwind looks forward to the continued partnership with MHI Vestas in the operational life of the project.”

Following full commissioning, MHI Vestas holds a 15 year service agreement to operate and maintain the Borssele III/IV project.