TenneT has opened a new temporary information point on Velsen beach to inform visitors about the activities that are taking place on the beach for TenneT’s Hollandse Kust (west Beta) connection.
The information point is located next to the work site, near The HangOut on Reyndersweg and is open to the public daily during working hours. In the blue information container, visitors are informed about the activities related to the cable installation and why this is necessary to make the Dutch electricity production more sustainable. On panels, visitors can see how wind energy is brought from sea to land and what equipment is used for the installation of the two subsea cables. The roof of the container offers visitors a perfect view of the work site and the work that will be carried out in the coming months.
Cable installation to kick off in May
At the end of March, two ‘cofferdams’ will first be constructed to bury the cables at a depth of six to eight meters in the beach. As soon as the preparations are completed a dredger will be moored off the coast in April/May “This ship will dredge sand approximately 500 meters off the coast, so that the burial of the first sea cable can start in mid-May. This cable is pulled from the sea into the empty casing pipe under the dunes to the work site in the Sculpture Park. There, the two cables are connected underground with large terminal blocks to the electricity cables on land”, explains environmental manager Richard Koenders on behalf of TenneT. The works under the dunes were already performed last year by contractor NRG.
From May, contractor NBOS (Boskalis / Orient Cables) will moor several vessels off the coast for the installation of the sea cables. The cable layer will install 4,5 km of cable. The end of the cable is then laid capped on the seabed and the whole operation is repeated for cable number two.
The beach will be closed twice a week before retracting the cables. During the work, the work site is monitored 24/7 and traffic controllers ensure safe passage for all passers-by. The construction activities for the offshore wind farm connection can also be followed in the TenneT BouwApp (Android and iOS). Source: TenneT
