First Hornsea 3 Monopiles Arrive in UK from Spain

The first monopile foundations for Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm have arrived at Port of Teesworks in the UK from Bilbao, Spain, where Haizea Wind Group is producing the monopiles for Ørsted’s 2.9 GW project.

Six XXL monopiles, of the total 197 that Hornsea 3 will comprise, arrived in two batches, with the load-out and load-in completed by Cadeler, the project’s foundation transportation and installation (T&I) contractor, in cooperation with Mammoet and BigLift Shipping.

Each of the monopiles weighs an average of 1,670 tonnes and is 90 metres long. Their diameter at the top is 8 metres, and at the bottom it can be up to 11 metres, according to Ørsted.

Hornsea Three’s XXL monopiles are being supplied by Haizea Wind Group under a contract the Spanish supplier signed in 2022, which was the largest single contract Haizea secured by that time. The company produced the first monopiles for Hornsea 3 last year.

The monopiles will be stored at Steel River Quay on the Teesworks site before they are loaded onto offshore wind installation vessels.

“2026 is the year we begin offshore works on Hornsea 3 in earnest and the arrival of these first monopiles marks a key milestone in that process. Working closely with expert partners is how we’ll make Hornsea 3 a success and we’re confident that we have the best possible team in place to make that happen”, said Luke Bridgman, Managing Director of Hornsea 3.

Hornsea 3 is Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale project in the North Sea’s Hornsea zone. The offshore wind farm will feature Siemens Gamesa’s 14 MW turbines, installed approximately 160 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast.

Ørsted says that with the installed capacity of 2.9 GW, Hornsea 3 is the largest single offshore wind farm in the world, as it was developed and will be built as a single project rather than a phased development.

Offshore construction is set to start this year, with the offshore wind farm expected to be operational in 2027.

“With three vessels committed to the Hornsea 3 campaign, including our brand new A-class vessel, Wind Ally, Cadeler is ready to execute this project safely and efficiently. Our collaboration with Ørsted continues a strong partnership built over many years, and we are proud to support the realisation of what will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm”, said Mikkel Gleerup, Cadeler’s CEO.