AMSTERDAM: VBMS has won a contract to help install export cables at the 600MW Gemini offshore wind farm project in the Netherlands.
The Dutch company will assist Van Oord, which is the lead contractor on the job, and work on two cable sections with a total length of 11km in the transition area between shallow and deep waters.
Stemat Spirit cable-lay vessel will undertake the work. It is due to be mobilized in mid-March 2015.VBMS CEO Arno van Poppel: “After our successful cooperation for the Eneco Luchterduinen OWF last year, we are very pleased to install this export cable for Van Oord and contribute to one of the most productive offshore wind farms in the world.”
The Gemini offshore wind farm will be located in the Dutch part of the North Sea, 85km north of the Groningen coast.It will feature 150 Siemens 4MW offshore wind turbines, which will provide enough energy for about 785,000 households.
Upon completion, the facility will yield 2.6TWh of electricity a year and reduce 1.25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.The project is owned by a consortium consisting of Northland Power, Siemens Financial Services (SFS), Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors and N.V. HVC.The project will play an important role in achieving European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive, which calls on all member states to reach a 20% share of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
