Foundation Installation Complete

Foundation installation at the 600 MW Gemini offshore wind farm was completed during the summer of 2015, after a campaign that began on 2 July 2015 with Van Oord installing the first monopile at the Buitengaats and ZeeEnergie sites 85 km off the Dutch coast. The 150 steel monopiles, ranging from 59 to 73 metres in length and adjusted to the installation depth at each location, were hammered into the seabed until the top reached approximately 5 metres above the lowest astronomical tide, with scour protection material laid in advance and GPS-guided positioning ensuring precise placement. Van Oord's project sources describe the campaign as "record-breaking", with all 150 monopiles installed across the two adjacent fields during a single summer season. 75 monopiles were manufactured near Rostock in Germany and 75 in Antwerp, supporting the project's two-yard foundation procurement strategy. Foundation completion in Q3 2015 cleared the way for the offshore high-voltage substations to be lifted onto their jacket foundations in late August and early September 2015, and for subsequent transition-piece, turbine and array-cable installation campaigns.