A consortium of Sif Netherlands and Smulders Projects Belgium has signed the contract for the manufacture of all 87 monopiles and transition pieces for the 1,200MW Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm off east England.
Monopiles secure offshore wind turbines to the seabed while transition pieces connect the monopiles to the tower.
Sif is responsible for fabrication and supply of monopiles and primary steel for the transition pieces, and for the marshalling of all foundation components at its Maasvlakte 2 Rotterdam terminal.
Smulders will manufacture secondary steel and assemble, coat and test fully equipped transition pieces.
The foundation fabrication and supply are subject to financial close on Dogger Bank C, forecast for late 2021.
Steve Wilson, Dogger Bank project director, said: “We’re delighted to expand our ongoing work with Sif and Smulders on the first two phases of the wind farm with this contract for DBC.
“The consortium will supply monopiles and transition pieces that are among the largest to be installed on any offshore wind farm and which continue to push the boundaries of foundation design.”
Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%).
Fred van Beers, Sif Holding chief executive, said: “We are honoured by the confidence in our company that the developers of Dogger Bank wind farm express in their award of part C of the Dogger Bank wind farm to Sif.
“Together with the phases A and B of Dogger Bank, Dogger Bank C extends our order book to well into 2024, allowing us time to prepare for expected demand for larger foundations for the period 2025 and beyond.
“With more than 400 Kton for the years 2022 and beyond, our order book covers a more than two years production period.
“The Dogger Bank C was already included in our order book as a project under exclusive negotiations.
“We are a proud partner to Equinor/SSE/ENI for the landmark Dogger Bank wind farm project.”
Raf Iemants, managing director at Smulders, added: “We look forward to continuing our partnership with SSE/Equinor for Dogger Bank C together with Sif.
“We are proud that we can share our knowledge and expertise and deliver the transition pieces for all three phases of the world’s largest offshore wind farm.”
The deal follows similar awards for the partners for foundations at Dogger Bank A and B.
Dogger Bank is being developed in three 1.2GW phases – A, B and C – located more than 130km from the Yorkshire coast.
In November, SSE Renewables and Equinor, 50:50 joint venture partners in Dogger Bank C, announced Eni will take a 20% stake in the final phase, with SSE Renewables and Equinor maintaining 40% stakes each, in a deal that is expected to complete in Q1 2022 subject to financial close and regulatory approvals.
Image credit: Sif
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