Ballast Nedam signs offshore wind farm contract


Construction and infrastructure specialist Ballast Nedam has signed a contract worth around €250 million with wpd for the engineering, supply and installation of 80 foundations at the Butendiek offshore wind farm in Germany.

The wind farm is located in the German Bight, 32 kilometres west of the island of Sylt, and consists of 80 turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 MW—288 MW in total. The water depth at the wind farm is between 17 and 22 metres.

The foundation comprises a monopile (steel tubular pile) and a transition piece, the latter connecting the monopile with the wind turbine's tower. Design and manufacture of the foundations will take place during 2012, with installation scheduled for 2013.

Financial close of the project is expected for the end of this year.

Commenting, Theo Bruijninckx, CEO of Ballast Nedam, said: "This contract is an excellent result of our focus on this niche market. It confirms our position as being one of the leading contractors in the emerging European offshore wind market."

Bremen, Germany-based wpd, the developer of the Butendiek project, is a developer and operator of wind farms. In total, the company has carried out projects with around 1,400 turbines and an output of 2.1 GW. Currently wpd is planning projects totalling 7,000 MW.

Nieuwegein, Netherlands-based Ballast Nedam operates mainly in the Netherlands on integrated and other projects for companies, public authorities and housing consumers, in the mobility, housing, employment, leisure and energy sectors.