Ballast Nedam Wins Subsea Inspection and Maintenance Contract

Ballast Nedam has been awarded the contract for the subsea inspection and maintenance of Offshore Wind Farm Butendiek by OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co KG, a company managed by German developer and wind farm operator wpd AG. The contract commences on January 1, 2015 and has an initial duration of five years.

The contract comprises the subsea inspection and maintenance of the foundations of the wind turbines, the offshore substation and the cables. The offshore activities will be performed from the port of Havneby on the Danish island Rømø. The inspection works consist among others of:

• Preparation of a maintenance plan for approval by the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency BSH (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie);
• Internal inspections inside the foundations;
• External inspections of the foundations below water, using unmanned ROV equipment;
• Bathymetric survey of scour protection and cable routes.

Butendiek is a 288 MW offshore wind farm located in the German part of the North Sea, approximately 32 km west of the island Sylt. The water depth at Offshore Wind Farm Butendiek ranges from 17 to 22 meters. wpd will operate 80 wind turbines and one offshore substation station in the project area. Ballast Nedam has designed, supplied and installed the foundations for this wind farm. The final foundation was installed last month.

This contract for the subsea foundations and cables of Offshore Wind Farm Butendiek is the first inspection and maintenance contract Ballast Nedam has acquired outside the Netherlands. Ballast Nedam has been providing inspection and maintenance services for the foundations of the Dutch offshore wind farms Egmond aan Zee from 2007 until 2012 and Prinses Amaliawindpark since 2009. The contract for Prinses Amaliawindpark will end in 2014. Eneco is currently holding a tender for inspection and maintenance of Prinses Amaliawindpark and Eneco Luchterduinen. The new contracts will be effective as of January 1, 2015.

Including the new contract, Ballast Nedam's offshore inspection and maintenance portfolio includes the balance of plant of 140 wind turbines and related infrastructure with a combined capacity of 408 MW.

Furthermore, Siemens has selected Ballast Nedam as preferred party for the inspections and maintenance of the foundations and cables of the Westermeerwind wind farm, which will start delivering power at the end of 2015.