Largest monopile installed by jack-up in Europe
The first foundation of a €4.7 billion offshore wind farm in the UK has been installed, standing 84 metres tall, more than 10 metres in diameter and 1,800 tonnes in weight.
It is the first monopile of ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia Three wind farm, under the Iberdrola umbrella.
Iberdrola says it is the largest monopile installed to date by a jack-up vessel in Europe, and just the first of 95. Manufactured by Joint Venture Seaenergies Navantia Windar Renovables (JVNW), it was installed by the Seaway Ventus jack-up vessel, owned by Seaway 7, which is in turn part of the Subsea 7 Group.
“East Anglia Three will be the biggest-ever wind farm across the whole of the Iberdrola group and the second largest in the world when it comes into operation,” said ScottishPower Renewables CEO Charlie Jordan. “To visibly see it starting to take shape in the North Sea is a real milestone moment and definitely something to be proud of.”
Seaway7 is installing all of the East Anglia Three monopiles and transition pieces with Seaway Ventus, which has been fitted with a custom-built mission equipment spread that was designed, fabricated and installed in under two years to meet the project schedule and performance requirements, Iberdrola says.
“It really is testament to the scale of engineering that can be achieved together with partners across the supply chain,” said Lloyd Duthie, Seaway7 Vice President UK, Ireland & Asia. “We look forward to progressing this significant multi-year construction project, encompassing foundation and inner-array cable installation.”
All 95 turbines are due to be in place by early 2026.
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