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Cuxhaven supports Borkum Riffgrund 2

By: Tom Russell 02/03/2018 Rhenus Cuxport

General Ports Vessels Windfarms

Cuxhaven terminal operator Rhenus Cuxport is currently serving an offshore wind farm project off the German coast. A total of 20 suction bucket jackets foundations are being assembled and stored at the offshore base in Cuxhaven until they are shipped to Ørsted’s Borkum Riffgrund 2 wind farm site in spring.

During installation, Jan De Nul's jack-up Vole au Vent will lower the foundations onto the seabed, where the buckets are used to create negative pressure and thus attach the foundations to the ground. This is designed to reduce noise emissions and help protect the surrounding sea life. The first wind turbine with a suction bucket jacket foundation was successfully tested by Ørsted at the Borkum Riffgrund 1 site.

Large sea-going barges with three jackets each as well as coasters with suction buckets have been arriving at Cuxhaven since February. An LR 11350 crawler crane, which had been brought to Cuxhaven for this project, lifts the jackets from the barge and places them onto the previously positioned buckets, three per jacket.

After they have been assembled, the complete suction bucket jacket structure, measuring more than 50m high and weighing 950 tons in total, are transported via SPMT (Self-Propelled Modular Transporter) across the heavy-duty berth to be placed in a specially prepared storage area until the installation vessel picks them up.

“Cuxhaven was specifically chosen because of the optimal local conditions for the handling of these massive components as well as for the operation of the installation vessel ‘Innovation’,” explains Roland Schneider, Head of Business Development at Cuxport. “A project of this magnitude requires precise planning and execution, both for the transhipment and storage as well as the transport. What has been great so far is the excellent communication and collaboration with our customer GeoSea as well as the different partners of the project.”

Borkum Riffgrund 2 is owned by Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners and is located next to Borkum Riffgrund 1. The project will feature 56 MHI Vestas V164-8.0 MW turbines covering an area of 36km². Installation works are scheduled to commence in the first half of 2018 with full commissioning expected by the end of 2019.

Borkum Riffgrund 2 will be one of the largest offshore-wind power plants in Germany with a capacity of 450MW. it is expected to supply electricity to up to 460,000 households per year.

For more information please follow the links provided. Alternatively you can click here for 4C Offshore's interactive map.

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Cuxhaven supports Borkum Riffgrund 2

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