Bow Terminal in the Netherlands has secured the contract to provide temporary storage for 61 transition pieces (TPs) destined for the 496MW Noirmoutier offshore wind farm.
Partnering with Smulders, Bow Terminal Vlissingen will serve as the storage yard for the offshore wind project, located off Vendee, France.
Scheduled for commissioning in 2025, the Noirmoutier offshore wind farm is strategically positioned 11.6 kilometers from the island of Yeu and 16.5 kilometers from Noirmoutier.
The wind farm is set to accommodate 62 Siemens Gamesa 8MW wind turbines, leveraging the region's wind resources for renewable energy generation.
The first batch of transition pieces (TPs) arrived at the terminal in Vlissingen on 19th February, marking the commencement of the storage operation.
Manufactured by Smulders in Hoboken, Belgium, each TP stands at 29.5 meters tall, boasts a diameter of six meters, and weighs just over 360 tonnes.
Bow Terminal is tasked with unloading, storing, and transferring the TPs onto the UHL Force vessel, which will transport them to France. Additionally, the terminal assists Smulders in preparing the TPs for their journey to France.
Commenting on the partnership, Jean Pierre van Lieshout, General Manager of Bow Terminal, emphasized the strategic significance of their terminal's location, stating, “Smulders' selection of Bow Terminal for the temporary storage and completion of TPs before their shipment to the final customer in France underscores the strategic advantage of our terminal's location.”
He added, “This decision reaffirms our facility's pivotal role in supporting the development of offshore wind farms in the North Sea and further afield in the foreseeable future.”
