Northwind NV To Build Wind Farm off Belgian Coast

Northwind NV received statements of compliance for site assessment and site specific design assessment from GL Renewables Certification (GL RC). The Northwind Offshore Wind Farm will be located on the Bank Zonder Naam (Lodewijkbank) off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium. Construction of the wind farm, which includes 72 Vestas V112 turbines, begins this year, with completion scheduled for 2014.

The statements of compliance were presented to Frank Coenen, CEO of project developer Northwind NV, at the Offshore Wind Power USA conference in Boston.

Within an assessment of site design conditions, the site conditions such as environmental and soil conditions are checked. Site-specific Design Assessment guarantees the compliance of the wind park design to the latest state-of-the-art. It covers assessment of load assumptions and design of the wind turbine including foundation with respect to site conditions. Wake effects, seismic conditions, complex terrain and extreme temperatures will be taken into account. Both modules have been assessed according to GL RC's "Guideline for the Certification of Offshore Wind Turbines, Edition 2005."

"The key to realizing successful wind energy projects lies in making the correct strategic decisions in the early stages of project development," explained Andreas Schroeter, Managing Director of GL Renewables Certification. "Completion of those two modules is an important step in realizing the project".

Recently, GL RC published its new "Guideline for the Certification of Offshore Wind Turbines," Edition 2012. The Guideline was compiled in cooperation with its Wind and Marine Energy Committee. The updated guideline tracks the main developments in the offshore wind industry, for example, the increased size of turbines and mitigation of loads using advanced, intelligent control systems. Every aspect of development from blade tip, to foundation and power export cable is considered and it also provides a fully integrated design and analysis concept for offshore wind turbines.

www.northwindenergy.eu

www.gl-group.com/glrenewables

Photo (from left to right): Andreas Schröter, Managing Director GL RC, Frank Coenen, CEO Northwind, Axel Juhnke, Head of Group Project Certification GL RC.