The 4.95MW Vindeby offshore project was installed in 1991 using 11 Bonus 450kW turbines. It operated 1.5-3.0km off the southern Danish coast.
Dong Energy announced plans to decommission the project in February 2016.
"Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm has played a decisive role in scaling up the technology and reducing the costs to a level that makes offshore wind attractive to many countries facing replacement of end-of-life coal-fired power plants with new green energy sources," said Dong offshore wind portfolio asset manager Leif Winther.
Construction of the foundations for Vindeby project in 1990
The blades, nacelle and tower will be dismantled and taken down individually by a mobile crane on a jack-up vessel, Dong explained.
The concrete gravity-base foundations will be broken down on site by hydraulic demolition shears, and collected afterwards, the company said.
The Bonus turbines are being dismantled at sea
Vindeby produced 243GWh of power in its 26-year lifetime. This is equal to what seven of the largest offshore wind turbines can produce in a year, Dong estimated.
"All wind turbine components and foundations will be sent onshore to Nyborg Harbour, where the components will be reused as much as possible as spare parts for other wind turbines. Some of the blades will become part of a research project at DTU Riso while others will be reused in an innovative noise barrier concept. One wind turbine will also become part of the exhibition at the Danish Museum of Energy," Dong said.
Vindeby's foundations were floated out to the project site and then filled with sand
Pictures courtesy of Dong Energy
