Largest Dutch Offshore Wind Farm Nears Full Commissioning

The 752 MW Borssele 1 and 2 offshore wind farm is nearly fully commissioned with the last of the turbines currently undergoing tests before they start feeding the electricity to the Dutch grid.

Once fully commissioned, the 94-turbine wind farm will surpass the 600 MW Gemini to become the largest operating offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea.

As previously reported, Ørsted, Borssele 1 and 2’s owner and developer, initially planned to hold an event officially inaugurating the wind farm in early October, but the event date had to be pushed back due to restrictions on gatherings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The official inauguration of the wind farm is now tentatively set for 23 November, a spokesperson for Ørsted told offshore WIND.

The wind farm’s construction and the commissioning are on schedule and have not been affected by the pandemic, the spokesperson said.

Located 22 kilometres off the coast of the province of Zeeland, Borssele 1 and 2 comprises 94 Siemens Gamesa 8.0-167 DD wind turbines the last of which was installed in early September.

The first turbine was installed in mid-April, shortly after which Borssele 1 and 2 delivered its first power.

The sister jack-ups Sea Installer and Sea Challenger from DEME Offshore were used for the installation of the wind turbines.