With the operational kick-off of the construction of an offshore wind farm, Jan De Nul Group formally enters the American offshore renewables market for the first time. Roll Group is playing a part in the completion of this project with its BigRoll vessels.The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind energy pilot project, consisting of 2 Siemens Gamesa 6MW turbines, will be located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, generating a combined total of 12MW, a cooperation between Dominion and Ørsted Wind Power North America, with Jan De Nul Group as subcontractor.
On 31 March, the first foundation components for two wind turbines were loaded onto the BigRoll Beaufort at the EEW facility in Rostock, Germany. In order to be able to transport all wind equipment in the most safe way, engineers of Roll Group have designed dedicated grillage. This grillage was installed onboard the BigRoll Beaufort in Gdynia, Poland, before loading.
After loading in Rostock, the BigRoll Beaufort made a port call in Esbjerg, Denmark, to load the towers and blades. Mid April she set sail to her final destination Halifax, Canada. At this moment the BigRoll Beaufort is ready for the discharge operation. The foundation components will be discharged by Jan De Nul’s installation vessel Vole au Vent, which will sail to the wind farm to install the foundation components. In the meantime, Jan De Nul will assemble and commission the tower sections onboard the BigRoll Beaufort and prepare it for installation by the Vole au Vent.