Nordsee Ost
Project opens: RWE Innogy's Nordsee Ost has been officially inaugurated. The 295MW wind farm lies in the North Sea, 35 kilometres north of Helgoland.
It comprises 48 Senvion 6.2M126 turbines, 31 of which have entered trial operations, supplying electricity via the HelWin1 grid link. Full commissioning is due this summer. 11-May-15
Deutsche Bucht
Construction deadline: The Bundesamt fur Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH, Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency) has extended Deutsche Bucht's start of construction deadline by 15 months, to 30 September 2018.
An application for the extension had been lodged by the permit holder, British Wind Energy GmbH. The 210MW project is planned for a site in the North Sea, to the north of Borkum and west of Helgoland. 12-May-15
Gwynt y Mor
Vessel charter: Operating out of Mostyn, north Wales, Iceni Marine Services' new 23-metre crew transfer vessel, Iceni Vengeance, has begun an operations and maintenance contract at Gwynt y Mor.
RWE Innogy's 576MW wind farm should become fully operational this summer. 14-May-15
Block Island
Blade supplier: LM Wind Power's 73.5M turbine blades have been selected for Deepwater Wind's 30MW Block island project, likely to be the first offshore wind project installed in the US.
The blades will be installed on five Alstom Haliade 150 6MW wind turbines. "The rotor set is one of the most influential ways to reduce overall cost of offshore wind energy and LM Wind Power is proud to be chosen as a critical part of the equation," said Alexis Crama, LM Wind Power's VP of Offshore Development.
LM's lightweight 73.5m blade is designed for high-output and reliability. LM has supplied approximately 50% of all offshore blades installed globally on turbines of 5MW and above. Block Island is slated to be online in 2016. Foundations are due to be installed this summer. (18-May-15)
Crew Transfer: Rhode Island Fast Ferry has secured a 20-year crew transfer contract for Block Island. The agreement allows the high-speed catamaran ferry company to commission the first US-built crew transfer vessel — by Blount Boats — and to launch Atlantic Wind Transfers, its new commercial wind support services division.
The long-term charter services agreement is the first deal of its kind to be signed in the US and marks another significant milestone in the successful development and deployment of US offshore wind, said Rhode Island Fast Ferry. 18-May-15
Borkum West 2
Project investment: Stadtwerke Bochum's managing director Dietmar Spohn has confirmed that the company's board is in favour of taking a 10% share in the 200MW Borkum West 2 phase 2 (Trianel Windpark Borkum), in the German North Sea.
A decision to participate in the €900 million deal, with an expected return of investment of about 9%, would have to be rubberstamped by the Stadtwerke Bochum supervisory board. The project is expected to be commissioned in 2019. 19-May-15
From WPO Intelligence
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