Archive - Newsletter - January 2023

"A big thank you for your continuous support!"

The fabrication and construction of offshore wind park Hollandse Kust Noord is in full swing. In October we installed the first monopile, in November Van Oord's installation vessel MPI Resolution sailed-out with the first load of secondary steel that will form the main access platforms of the wind turbines.

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16/01/2023

"A big thank you for your continuous support!"

The fabrication and construction of offshore wind park Hollandse Kust Noord is in full swing. In October we installed the first monopile, in November Van Oord's installation vessel
MPI Resolution sailed-out with the first load of secondary steel that will form the main access platforms of the wind turbines.

Throughout the year we organised safety leadership events with all parties involved in the construction of Hollandse Kust Noord, to raise the bar on safety in the offshore wind industry, and we partnered up with industry leaders and experts to work on our innovations. These innovations, such as an offshore energy storage and floating solar, will enable Hollandse Kust Noord - as the first smart wind park in the world - to significantly accelerate the energy transition.

All in all, 2022 was an exciting year with great milestones. In this newsletter we share a selection of these milestones and give you a peek behind the scenes of what we do. The year 2023 will bring more milestones, like delivering first green electricity to shore. We are proud to be on this energy transition journey together with you. A big thank you for your continuous support!

Tjalling de Bruin
CEO CrossWind

We Deliver

Wybren de Vries and Ward Gorter on foundation installation

The installation of the foundations for the wind turbines for Hollandse Kust Noord is in full effect. An immense operation. These so-called monopiles weigh between 788 tons and 960 tons each. They are being loaded out from the Maasvlakte harbour at our partner SIF onto the installation vessel Innovation. CrossWind colleagues Wybren de Vries (Balance of Plant Package Manager) and Ward Gorter (Balance of Plant Package Engineer) are making sure that all the works and preparations are going according to plan. We had a chat with them.

Wybren: "To keep it simple; we are involved in all the fabrication and installation works, except for the turbine installation. Not only are we making sure that all the foundations are installed on time, but also that all items meet the strict standards and criteria in regards of build quality and design."

Ward: "Every part of a wind turbine needs to fit exactly together. The secondary steel, produced by Merkatex, will be installed at sea. So there is no room for error."

Read the interview

How we mitigate underwater noise with FaunaGuard and Bubble Curtain

An article by Jesper Elzinga, Environmental Engineer at Van Oord

We deliver, We innovate and We share’; these are the mottos of CrossWind. This powerful slogan easily lends itself for the construction of the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park. ‘Delivery’ of the first foundations has taken place through offshore installation vessel Innovation. One matter which should also not be overlooked, is that we ‘Share’ the offshore wind park area with many marine compatriots such as fish, seals and porpoises. Our underwater neighbours can be adversely affected by the underwater noise produced by the hydraulic impact hammer installing the monopiles. In order to keep marine life out of harm’s way we’ve proactively taken a number of underwater noise mitigation measures.

Read the article

We Innovate

Thesis: Recycling offshore wind turbines, Fay de Waal

In November 2021 Fay started writing her master thesis at CrossWind about recycling offshore wind turbines for her masters' in Materials Science Engineering at the TU Delft. She developed a concept for the disassembly of permanent magnets from offshore wind turbine generators to enable the efficient recycling of rare earth elements (REEs).

Read the thesis summary

Nature inclusive design

Our ecologist Marin van Regteren talked about nature inclusive design and building of wind farms in the Dutch TV program Fix de Toekomst (Fix the Future), broadcasted on Omroep West. In this program, five young people are doing research on how we can deal with the consequences of climate change and what we can do ourselves to fix the future. Click on the button to learn more about this important topic; encouraging marine life around wind turbines.

Watch the video

We Share

Sea cables Hollandse Kust (noord) successfully tested

The reliability of the electricity grid is of paramount importance to everyone. That is why everything grid operator TenneT builds (or has built), is carefully tested. Both at sea and on land, TenneT is currently working on the grid connection that will bring the green wind energy ashore. Last November, the two sea cables for Hollandse Kust (noord) were successfully tested. Using three large trailers - equipped with generators, transformers and compensation coils - 1.5 times the normal voltage was applied to the grid connection. This ensures that the grid connection functions under normal conditions.

Read the artcle

Sign up for the webinar 'Wind at Sea'

Offshore wind energy is one of the main pillars of the climate policy. By 2050, the government wants the energy supply to be climate-neutral and independent of fossil fuels. On February 14th from 13:30 to 15:30, RVO is organising a webinar to explain the plans and discuss them with you. The final programme will be sent in January. Sign up via the button below.