RWE Innogy completes foundation installation at Gwynt y Môr wind farm

RWE Innogy UK has installed a total of 160 foundations at the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm.

Friedrich Ernestine, the RWE’s jack-up installation vessel, has installed the final transition piece more than eight miles off the North Wales coast.

The vessel will now set sail to Germany to deploy turbines at Gwynt y Môr’s sister project, Nordsee Ost.

Scheduled to complete construction in 2014, Gwynt y Môr can generate enough energy from renewable sources aimed to power the equivalent of approximately 400,000 homes.

RWE Innogy UK Gwynt y Môr’s project director Toby Edmonds said this marks a major milestone for the project.

"Foundations consist of a monopile and a transition piece and the first of these was installed on 8th August 2012, using the heavy lift vessel, Stanislav Yudin," Edmonds added.

"With this achievement behind us we can focus on installing the final 19 turbines, commissioning the entire array and bringing on line a highly capable renewable energy source, powered from the UK’s own freely available natural resources and able to support approximately 400,000 homes."

To support Gwynt y Môr project work, Friedrich Ernestine was integrated with the largest reverse circulation pile top drill, LDD500.

RWE Innogy subsidiary RWE OLC chief financial officer Peter Sharman said "The Friedrich Ernestine will now travel to Bremerhaven to team up with her sister vessel the Victoria Matthias in the installation of the wind turbines at the Nordsee Ost wind farm."