The offshore wind industry will look to Belgium for its first glimpse at Vestas’ V164-9.5 MW turbine, currently the most powerful available wind turbine globally.
The Northwester 2 wind project is set to become the world’s first offshore wind farm with the record-setting Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines. Each turbine blade is 80 m in length, weighs 35 tonnes, and has a swept area of 21,124 m2 — that’s larger than the London Eye.
The 224-MW Northwester 2 project, the fourth collaboration between Parkwind and MHI Vestas, will comprise 23 turbines and provide enough clean energy to power 220,000 Belgian homes.
“The Northwester 2 timing and general schedule is very challenging in the light of the timing wanted by the Belgian government,” said Co-CEO of Parkwind, Eric Antoons. Co-CEO François Van Leeuw agreed. “This challenging timeline has played an important role in the choice for MHI Vestas as turbine supplier having the capability of delivering the V164-9.5 MW. Parkwind is very delighted to have MHI Vestas for the fourth time as a partner.”
Both companies attribute the fast installation timetable, set for late 2019, to the industrialisation of offshore wind in Belgium, a highly collaborative approach, and supply chain readiness.
“We are delighted to sign our fourth project with Parkwind – and it is a historic one,” said MHI Vestas CEO, Philippe Kavafyan. “The first commercial installation of the world’s most powerful available turbine, the V164-9.5 MW, will be a Parkwind project, which is significant for our company and a notable milestone for the industry.”
Highlighting the positive impact of offshore wind on local communities in Belgium, the project promises to provide more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction phase and 100 long-term jobs for operations and maintenance.
The conditional order announcement, which includes a service agreement, comes as the government has recently announced it will double offshore wind capacity in Belgian territorial waters, up to 4 GW by 2025.
Filed Under: News, Projects, Turbines
