Van Oord has ordered a hammer spread from MENCK, provider of specialist hydraulic piledriving solutions, for the installation of the monopiles in the 30 MW Taranto offshore wind farm, Italy’s first offshore wind project. The installation is planned to start in Q3 2021.
The Taranto offshore wind farm is a project by Italian developer Renexia, through project company Beleolico. Its location is near the main pier in the Port of Taranto (Puglia Region). The wind farm will feature ten 3 MW wind turbines from Chinese MingYang, type MySE3.0-135. Renexia reached financial close for the project in February this year. The project is Italy’s first offshore wind farm and the first to be built in the Mediterranean Sea.
Van Oord is responsible for the installation of the monopile foundations. The Dutch marine contractor will use their installation vessel MPI Resolution. MENCK will supply one MHU 800S hydraulic hammer spread, including service technicians. The installation campaign is to start in Q3 2021 and is expected to take 16 days.
The companies previously worked together on the Danish Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm, where the companies collaborated to install 72 monopiles in record time.
“The contract is another important step for MENCK as it supports Van Oord’s strategic projects,” says Nils Raab, MENCK Sales Manager. “After the success of Kriegers Flak, we appreciate the level of trust Van Oord has placed in MENCK by awarding us the monopile installation scope. The success of the hammer spread has been proven on previous projects and has achieved a reduction in project footprint through integration with the client’s vessel and reducing the number of people required for installations.”
“We look forward to working together again with MENCK on this first offshore wind farm in the Mediterranean,” adds Thijs Dikkers, Project Manager, Van Oord. “MENCK performed well in the recent project, making it a reliable partner.”
