Prinses Amalia windpark

Profile for Princess Amalia Wind Farm

General Information

• Name: Princess Amalia Wind Farm (also known as Prinses Amaliawindpark in Dutch and previously as Q7 Wind Farm).
• Location: Approximately 23 km off the coast of IJmuiden, Netherlands, on the Dutch Continental Shelf at block Q7.
• Owner: Eneco Holding N.V..
• Operator: Eneco.

Specifications

• Total Nominal Power: 120 MW.
• Number of Turbines: 60 Vestas V80-2.0 MW wind turbines.
  • Turbine Details:
    • Power: 2 MW each
    • Rotor Diameter: 80 meters
    • Hub Height: 60 meters
    • Tip Height: 100 meters.
• Foundation:
  • Type: Monopile foundations
  • Diameter: Approximately 4 meters
  • Length: Over 50 meters
  • Weight: 320 tonnes
  • Installation Depth: 30 meters into the seabed at water depths of 19-24 meters.

Construction and Development

• Project Initiation: The project began in 1998 with firms such as E-connection, Vestas, Mammoet van Oord, Smulders, and Fabricom involved.
• Permission and Agreements:
  • Permission to construct and operate was issued in February 2002.
  • An agreement for the takeover of the rights was signed by Econcern and Energy Investments Holding in October 2004.
  • Eneco joined the project in March 2005.
• Construction Phase: Started in 2005-06 and completed by April 2008.
  • Key Activities:
    • Installation of onshore sea cables and offshore foundations began in October 2006.
    • Installation of wind turbines was carried out from May 2007 to November 2007 by Vestas.
    • The wind farm was connected to the Dutch grid by December 2007.

Operational Details

• Commissioning: Officially opened on June 4, 2008.
• Annual Production: Approximately 435,000 MWh (or 422 GWh as per some sources), sufficient to power around 125,000 households.
• CO2 Emissions Reduction: The wind farm avoids CO2 emissions by about 225,000 tonnes per annum.
• Maintenance and Operations:
  • Vestas is contracted for operations and maintenance services.
  • The maintenance port is located at IJmuiden.

Infrastructure and Contractors

• Main Vessels Used: Jumping Jack and Sea Jack.
• Contractors:
  • Van Oord: Engineering, procurement, and construction services for foundations, electrical infrastructure, and scour protection.
  • Vestas: Turbine supplier and installation of towers and nacelles.
  • Smulders: Monopile foundations and transition pieces.
  • ABB and Van Oord: Installation of sea cables.

Grid Connection

• Grid Operator: TenneT.
• Substations:
  • Offshore substation on a monopile foundation with the topside by Bladt Industries & SEMCO (DK) and monopile by Smulders (BE).
  • Onshore substation located at Wijk aan Zee.

Environmental Considerations

• The turbines were installed at a depth of 19-24 meters to reduce the impact on migrating birds, and a distance of 550 meters is maintained between the turbines.