North Star wins first commissioning SOV order
North Star has secured its first commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV), which is destined for Germany’s He Dreiht North Sea wind farm.
He Dreiht – which means ‘it spins’ – is one of Europe’s largest offshore wind projects, with a projected generation capacity of 960MW.
Owner EnBW says that from the end of next year, 64 wind turbines with output of 15MW each will be installed about 90km from Borkum and 110km from Helgoland.
The CSOV ordered, Grampian Kestrel, is a Vard 4 22 design. North Star says it will feature a hull design optimised for low fuel consumption and resistance as well as methanol-ready hybrid propulsion options.
The difference between a CSOV and an SOV is simply that the former supports the wind farm at the end of its construction phase, the latter during its lifetime.
Aberdeen, Scotland-based North Star has committed itself to building 40 SOVs by 2040, quite a leap from its existing six.
EnBW owns four offshore wind farms – Baltic 1 and 2, Albatros and He Dreiht.
They seem to be growing exponentially in size, with Baltic 1 the first one built in 2011 generating just 50MW from 21 wind turbines.
Germany has 30 operational offshore wind farms with a total installed generation capacity of approximately 8.2 gigawatts.
The country has a target of installing 30GW by 2030.
