The teams of Siemens Gamesa and Van Oord trust one another implicitly. During their previous collaboration on the construction of Wind Farm Westermeerwind in the Noordoostpolder, a strong foundation was laid. The team worked very closely together, but now this had to be done from a distance due to Covid-19. David Molenaar, CEO at Siemens Gamesa, tells us more about the installation of the wind turbines and the collaboration in the team.
In 2015, Siemens Gamesa and Van Oord built Wind Farm Westermeerwind. ‘The foundation to our collaboration was laid then. We worked with one another for a long time. After a while, we sometimes didn’t know who was working for which company. Our partnership went so well we decided to join forces again for Wind Farm Fryslân.
Some of our team are the same people as back then. The most important thing perhaps is that because of this we know and collaborate with one another well. And we can build further upon the technology and knowledge we gained from Westermeerwind. This time we’re not able to work physically with one another, but that hasn’t been much of a problem. We are already well accustomed to one another and trust one another implicitly. That is the reason why, despite Covid-19, the work is continuing so smoothly according to plan.
We are already well accustomed to one another and trust one another implicitly. That is the reason why, despite Covid-19, the work is continuing so smoothly according to plan.
David Molenaar – CEO at Siemens Gamesa
Van Oord took care of the installation of the power cables and the pile driving of the foundations. The company was also responsible for the nature reserve island at Kornwerderzand. Siemens built the transformer station and, with the start of the installation of the wind turbines, is now taking over the baton from Van Oord on the IJsselmeer. The first wind turbines have now been erected.
‘We can assemble approximately one turbine every one-and-half days. Each turbine consists of three tower sections, a generator housing and the rotor with three rotor blades. The sections are transported to the Netherlands on large ships. They are then stored at the Alaskahaven in the port of Amsterdam. Due to the shallow waters of the IJsselmeer and the locks, we cannot use these ships to sail them to the building location. That’s why we transfer the sections onto smaller vessels at the Alaskahaven.’
‘The three tower sections, together with the generator housing, are transported to the IJsselmeer. The rotor blades are first sailed to Oude Zeug. There, the three blades are mounted together. We then hoist the entire assembled rotor unit onto a pontoon and sail it to the building location.
‘In the IJsselmeer there are now two work platforms: the Sarens Soccer Pitch Ponton and the Tom&Wim. These two platforms are used to install the wind turbines. By working with two platforms, we are able to install two wind turbines at the same time. We start with the tower, placing the three tower elements on top of the other. We then hoist up the generator housing and then lastly the rotor.’
‘The last part is the most challenging. During the work, we are very much dependent on the weather. On the IJsselmeer it can sometimes be very misty, and recently there was even ice. It is often windy, sometimes with very strong gales. So it’s the perfect location for generating wind energy. But during the construction work you actually want as little wind as possible. The construction is precision work and we have to follow all the protocols very closely. The assembly of the first wind turbine often takes the longest. After that we can work a little quicker.’
The Soccer Pitch Ponton was built specially for Wind Farm Fryslân. The Tom&Wim is actually ‘inherited’ from Westermeerwind. The platform was developed for carrying out repairs and replacing large turbine sections (for example the rotor blades), but had not been put to use until now.
Once all the wind turbines have been erected, there will be a test period. After this, we know for sure that everything is working as it should, and then we hand the wind turbines over to Wind Farm Fryslân. After completion, we are then responsible for the maintenance of the turbines, foundations, the cables and the transformer station. The central coordination for both Wind Farm Westermeerwind and Wind Farm Fryslân will be carried out from Lemmer. We will also be setting up a service location at Breezanddijk, so that we can get to the wind farms quickly if necessary.
When the first wind turbine was installed in the IJsselmeer, David looked on from a distance. ‘Only those people who are necessary for carrying out the work are allowed on the building site. Due to Covid-19, safety is even more important. All our workers are tested in advance. Only if they are negative, are they allowed to work. During the construction work, I would normally come along for a few days. I think that’s important, because you want to know the circumstances under which your people are working. But fortunately all the team members collaborate well with one another, and know precisely what they have to do.’
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