DEME installed the first monopile at the Nordlicht I offshore wind farm site in the German North Sea on 1 July, marking the start of offshore construction on Vattenfall’s 1.6 GW Nordlicht cluster.
The Belgian contractor is responsible for transporting and installing the monopile foundations and transition pieces for both the 980 MW Nordlicht I and the 630 MW Nordlicht II under a contract awarded in 2024/2025.
Nordlicht I will comprise 68 monopile foundations and as many transition pieces (TPs), with each monopile measuring up to 80.5 metres in length and weighing up to 1,290 tonnes. Monopiles are manufactured by EEW Special Pipe Constructions at its Rostock facility, while the transition pieces are being supplied by CS Wind from Aalborg.
Vattenfall carried out onshore TP installation trials earlier this year to prepare for construction activities before work moved offshore.
Foundation installation at Nordlicht II is scheduled to begin in around a year, with both wind farms expected to enter operation in 2028.
Located around 85 kilometres north of Borkum, the two offshore wind farms will comprise 112 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines , 68 at Nordlicht I and 44 at Nordlicht II. Once fully commissioned, the cluster is expected to generate around 6 TWh of electricity per year.