Princess Amalia windpark

EPC contract to build a 400 GWh/year windpark in the North Sea

Our client
The Netherlands is transitioning to a new, sustainable energy system that makes extensive use of alternative sources of power, most notably wind at sea. The Princess Amalia wind park (formerly known as Q7 wind park) is located approximately 15 nm offshore from the Dutch coast and is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Van Oord is the park's EPC contractor and is responsible for the engineering, procurement and installation of the sixty foundations, the power cables and the high voltage station.

Our work
The custom built jack-up platform Jumping Jack installed the 61 foundations. The foundations, consisting out of 300 ton monopiles and 150 ton transition pieces, were placed ahead of schedule. The 600 ton Offshore High Voltage Station was successfully installed early May 2007. The Princess Amalia wind park is located at a water depth of 20 - 24 m.

The wind turbines and the high voltage station were connected by a 40 km intraturbine 22 kV cable. A 28 km 150 kV export cable connected the wind park to the shore. A dedicated barge equipped with two trenchers performed the cable lay activities. These trenchers were custom made for this project.

Our results
Today, the wind park comprises 60 wind turbines with a two MW capacity each, generation approximately 400 GWh per year, which is enough to supply 125,000 households. Van Oord will be involved in the construction of four more wind parks in Western Europe, focusing on the foundations and the wind turbines.