The Netherlands - Shell begins construction at Egmond aan Zee Offshore wind farm

Last weekend the first foundation pile was driven for the Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm, marking the start of the offshore construction work for this wind energy project. During the first phase 36 piles will be driven, on which the wind turbines will be installed. The construction materials will be brought to IJmuiden harbour, from where they will be shipped out by the Svanen, Ballast Nedam’s floating crane. Once the foundations have been placed, the installation of the wind turbines will be commenced. This will be done during the summer months, and the work will be completed this coming autumn. The Wind Farm is scheduled to be put into operation next winter.

The preparatory work in IJmuiden harbour and the installing of the foundations offshore will probably be audible for those living in the immediate vicinity when the weather is calm. In addition, the offshore work will be quite visible on clear days. The electricity cables running from the Wind Farm to the transformer station on the Corus site will be laid shortly, for which purpose excavation work will have to be carried out on the beach at Wijk aan Zee. A small part of the beach will be temporarily closed off to the public to allow this work to be done. Local residents will be kept informed of the progress of construction as well as possible.

The Wind Farm off the Egmond aan Zee coast will consist of 36 wind turbines with a total capacity of 108 Megawatt. On average, the wind turbines will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 100,000 households in the Netherlands. As from the end of 2006 the Wind Farm will be supplying the first sustainable electricity to Nuon for the Dutch market. This project entails an investment of over € 200 million. The Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm is a project of the NoordzeeWind joint venture between Shell and Nuon. Bouwcombinatie Egmond - a partnership between construction company Ballast Nedam and wind turbine manufacturers Vestas - will be carrying out the actual construction of the Wind Farm.