Foundation installation successfully completed at Belgium’s largest offshore wind farm

DEME has successfully completed the installation of 58 monopile foundations and two offshore substation foundations at the SeaMade offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea. The last monopile foundation landed on the seabed on January 2. With a 487 MW capacity SeaMade is the largest offshore wind farm in Belgium.

Installation works kicked off in September 2019 with DEME’s offshore installation vessel ‘Innovation’. Turbine installation will start in spring 2020 with offshore installation vessel ‘Apollo’ and with the port of Ostend as load-out port for the Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy 8,4 MW turbines. DEME will also install all inter-array cables with cable lay vessel ‘Living Stone’ after successfully having installed the export cable.

During foundation installation a new monopile gripper, mounted on offshore installation vessel ‘Innovation’, has been deployed. This new pile gripper excels in safety, versatility and piling accuracy, enabling ‘Innovation’ to install monopile foundations all year round. Furthermore, for ‘Innovation’s’ next project a noise mitigation system will be integrated for minimising subsea noise during installation activities.

“This is a major milestone in the construction of Belgium’s largest wind farm. SeaMade is a significant step in the country’s energy transition,” says Bart De Poorter, General Manager DEME Offshore. “Thanks to the expertise of the teams involved we safely and efficiently completed this project phase. This was also the first successful installation project with the new innovative pile gripper. We now prepare for a successful inter-array cable and turbine installation campaign.”

 “We are very proud to announce this great achievement, which could only happen by joining forces between an enthusiastic SeaMade team and very dedicated contractors, all committed to reaching this challenging target within the set timeframe,” says Mathias Verkest, CEO at SeaMade. “Another important step for reaching the 2020 climategoal.“

Before the end of 2020, SeaMade will provide renewable energy to 485,000 households in Belgium.

DEME is a world leader in the highly specialised fields of dredging, marine engineering and environmental remediation. The company can build on more than 140 years of know-how and experience and has fostered a pioneering approach throughout its history, being a front runner in innovation and new technologies.

DEME’s vision is to work towards a sustainable future by offering solutions for global challenges: a rising sea level, a growing population, reduction of CO2 emissions, polluted rivers and soils and the scarcity of natural resources. Although DEME’s activities originated with the core dredging business, the portfolio diversified substantially over the decades, including dredging and land reclamation, solutions for the offshore energy market, infra marine solutions and environmental solutions.

While the company’s roots are in Belgium, DEME has built a strong presence in all of the world’s seas and continents, operating in more than 90 countries worldwide. DEME can rely on 5,200 highly skilled professionals across the globe. With a versatile and modern fleet of over 100 vessels, backed by a broad range of auxiliary equipment, the company can provide solutions for even the most complex projects.

DEME achieved a turnover of 2.65 billion euros in 2018.