IHC Hydrohammer, part of IHC Merwede, has announced that it will supply piling equipment for the offshore foundation installation of two European offshore wind farm projects to Ballast Nedam Offshore.
The long-term rental agreement between two leading companies in the offshore wind energy market is for the delivery of an S-2000 piling hammer with a strike power of 2,000kJ.
IHC Hydrohammer designs, builds and supplies hydraulic piling hammers and is known throughout the world for its innovative approach. Since the inception of IHC Hydrohammer technology, it has found applications in the offshore industry and continues to develop equipment to meet the demand for alternative sources of energy, such as offshore wind.
The piling hammer will firstly be used by Ballast Nedam Offshore to install 39 monopiles for EnBW’s Baltic 2 wind farm. This offshore project is located in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Baltic Sea, 32km north of the island of Rügen, and will supply 1.2 billion kWh of electricity annually to approximately 340,000 households.
In 2014, Ballast Nedam Offshore will design, supply and install 80 monopile foundations for WPD’s Butendiek project. The company’s flagship heavy lifing vessel (HLV) SVANEN will be deployed for this offshore wind farm, situated 34km west of the German North Sea island of Sylt.
IHC Hydrohammer’s Managing Director Jan-Albert Westerbeek says: “We’re proud that Ballast Nedam Offshore has again selected IHC Hydrohammer to provide this rental service. The previous collaboration between the two companies proved to be successful in different segments of the market and at several different international locations.
“IHC Hydrohammer aims to be positioned as the market leader in and a total supplier of piling services for the offshore wind market. We believe that this agreement reinforces the decision to invest heavily in our rental fleet, which we will continue to tailor to meet the needs of the market.
We wish Ballast Nedam Offshore every success with these two projects that will add to its already impressive list of credentials.”
Ballast Nedam Offshore’s Commercial Manager Edwin van de Brug says: “Ballast Nedam is supporting offshore wind by supplying reliable support structures to our customers. Reliability is the key issue in offshore operations and we are therefore pleased with this agreement as IHC Hydrohammer will be an important factor in achieving optimal reliability during the installation phase.”
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Press release, July 5, 2013; Image: ihc