• Largest offshore wind turbine in Belgian waters
• Need for a stable legal framework for finalization of the project
OSTEND – RENTEL NV has chosen Siemens NV as its preferred bidder for the supply and installation of 42 of its offshore wind turbines, involving a 15-year maintenance agreement as well. The choice can be considered as a decisive step towards realization of the fourth complete offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea. In order to enable the construction of the offshore wind farm in 2017-2018, Rentel repeats the need for continuity and stability of the applicable investment framework.
The final negotiations with Siemens include both the supply and installation works. Model of choice is the SWT 7.0-154 model, a turbine with an installed capacity of 7 MW, the largest ever within the Belgian North Sea (hub height of 106 meters and rotor diameter of 154 m, being the span width of two A380 airplanes). It will be the first wind power plant in the Belgian waters with a so-called ‘direct drive’ (without gearbox), connecting its rotor directly to the generator.
By choosing for Siemens’ offshore wind turbine technology, Rentel sets a decisive step towards the realization of a new Belgian offshore wind farm of 294 MW, located at +/- 35 km off the Belgian coast. The estimated annual production of more than 1 GWh corresponds to the annual consumption of 288,000 households, or 50% of the Doel 1 nuclear power plant.
