New Dutch offshore wind farm starts to generate electricity
23 kilometres off the coast between Noordwijk and Zandvoort
At 3 pm today, the 240-hour test phase of the first eight of the forty-three wind turbines encompassing Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm was completed successfully. This means that the wind farm now supplies green power to the Dutch national grid. The installation process is progressing well, with the 31st wind turbine being installed today.
The installation of the forty-three wind turbines by means of Van Oord’s new transport and installation vessel, the Aeolus, is well under way. Each turbine consists of five parts: a tower with a diameter of 4.5 metres, a nacelle with a weight of 165 tons and three rotor blades. The Aeolus can transport the components of eight wind turbines at once, which it has done three times in the past few weeks, and is now handling the fourth shipment.
The electricity is transmitted to shore by means of a cable with a length of 25 kilometres that is embedded in the sea floor, which is connected to an underground cable with a length of 8 kilometres that subsequently transports the electricity from Noordwijk to a high-voltage station in Sassenheim owned by national grid operator TenneT. Depending on the weather conditions, it is expected that the wind farm can be fully operational in August.
The development of Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm at a distance of 23 kilometres off the coast between Noordwijk and Zandvoort is a joint project between energy company Eneco and Mitsubishi Corporation. The forty-three wind turbines shall generate green electricity for nearly 150,000 households.
FOTO: FLYING FOCUS
