A2SEA, the Danish contractor that specialises in offshore lifting, has won the contract to install wind turbines on the Nysted Havmoellepark wind farm off the coast of Rødsand, Denmark. The contract was awarded by Bonus Energy A/S, a leading manufacturer of wind turbines.
A2SEA claims market leadership in the new field of installing wind turbines offshore, having completed the 80-turbine Horns Reef project last year. It begins work on the 72-turbine Nysted Havmoellepark on 1 May, with completion scheduled for 31 July. The 158.4MW wind farm will be operated by Energi E2.
Operating out of the Danish harbour of Nyborg, A2SEA plans to transport four turbines at a time on its crane ship, a standard commercial vessel which has been fitted with a a 450t capacity Demag CC 2500 and stabiliser legs that are deployed down to the sea bed when lifting.
A2SEA managing director Kaj Lindvig said: “This is an enormous vote of confidence in our company and our turbine installation vessels. Developers around the world are now committed to offshore renewable energy and we are delighted to be in the vanguard of this exciting new industry sector. To win this business in partnership with one of the world’s leading turbine manufacturers is an added bonus. With the successful completion of the 80-turbine Horns Reef project in 2002, this gives us a flying start to our installations programme for 2003 and puts A2SEA well on course to meet budget expectations for 2003.” Planning for further growth in the market, A2SEA has strengthened its management structure, recruiting Martin Huss from turbine manufacturer Vestas Deutschland as sales and marketing manager and Find Poulsen as technical manager. The founder of the company, Kurt Thomsen, will concentrate on business development and developer contact.
To serve the upcoming offshore wind industry in Germany, A2SEA has also opened a branch office in Flensburg in Germany.