The Gemini offshore wind farm, a 600MW facility situated 85 kilometres north of the Groningen coast and one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, is now officially open.
At the ceremony held today, 8 May, Van Oord’s CEO Pieter van Oord said: “The North Sea is to the Netherlands what oil is to Saudi Arabia.” He added that the offshore wind farm, which was completed on schedule and within budget, was the most challenging project the company has done so far.
During the official opening, the Gemini shareholders received a part of the original export cable as a present, and Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij (KNRM; Royal Dutch Rescue Association) and Waddenvereniging (Wadden Association) were each presented with a EUR 10,000 cheque.
Gemini, built on two locations close to each other, comprises 150 4MW Siemens wind turbines.
The offshore wind farm is owned by Northland Power (60%), Siemens Financial Services (20%), Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors BV (10%) and N.V. HVC (10%).
Watch the short video of today’s announcement that the wind farm is now officially open:
Also, Van Oord published a video about the 150-turbine project, detailing on the work done to bring the wind farm to realisation:
Offshore WIND Staff; Photos and video: Jeroen Tresfon, Dick Hill/ Navingo