The first of two offshore converter stations for the Hornsea 3 wind farm has begun its 13,000-nautical-mile journey to Europe, following its sail-away from Map Ta Phut in Thailand. The topside structure, built by Orsted's Thailand-based team in partnership with Aibel and Hitachi Energy, will eventually be installed off the coast of the UK, rising 70 meters above sea level—approximately 1.2 times the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The transport of the topside required the use of 38 self-propelled motor transporters (SMPTs), with 380 axles supporting the structure as it was loaded onto the vessel. It is now on a 55-day voyage aboard the heavy-lift transport ship BigLift Barentsz, heading to Haugesund, Norway. There, the high-voltage equipment will be installed and commissioned before it is sent offshore for operation.
Prior to departure, a special ceremony was held where Buddhist monks blessed the load and the voyage. Luke Bridgman, managing director of Hornsea 3, described the sail-away as a significant milestone. “The sail-away of the first of our Hornsea 3 offshore converter station topsides is an important milestone,” he said. “It marks the culmination of three years of hard work by our teams in Europe and Thailand, and the start of our next phase in delivering the world's single biggest offshore wind farm.”
Bridgman also praised the project's execution, noting: “This huge structure is an impressive piece of engineering, which so far has been completed safely, efficiently, on time and on budget. It's a testament to the skill of our workers, as well as a visual aid demonstrating the complexity and scale of Hornsea 3.”
Orsted signed the contract for the offshore converter stations with Aibel and Hitachi Energy in 2022. Hornsea 3, located approximately 120 kilometers off the Norfolk coast and 160 kilometers off the Yorkshire coast, will have a capacity of 2.9GW once operational, providing enough green energy to power over 3 million UK homes.
