Monopiles are the foundations of wind turbines, securely piled into the seabed, enabling the turbine to spin and generate electricity.
In some parts of the Hornsea 3 site we need truly massive monopiles in areas of deeper water or where our expert geotechnical analysis of the sea bed shows we need them.
These gargantuan structures are more than 2,300 tonnes and 105 metres long - the equivalent weight to 13 of the heaviest blue whales and almost the length of a Premiership Football Pitch. The first batch of these have been produced by Haizea Wind Group and have just been loaded out from their facility in Bilbao, Spain. Just 24 of our 197 total (or 12%) , will be of this size and will be produced by a range of our existing suppliers.
The large wind turbine and the harsh offshore wind and ocean conditions demand a strong foundation. Each monopile foundation has been individually designed to account for the position specific water level and soil condition ensuring that the turbine can withstand and operate safely though both extreme events and the full lifetime.
Gabriele Makauskaite, deputy foundations package manager for Hornsea 3 said: “The larger size and weight of these monopiles, the biggest ever manufactured in Spain, means the preparation and load out of the structures becomes even more complex. It took very careful preparation and great team work to achieve this successful operation.”
Jason Ledden, Senior Project Director, Hornsea 3, said: “This is one more example of safe and efficient delivery on Hornsea 3 and of excellent collaboration across Ørsted and with our supply chain partners.”
Once completed, Hornsea 3 will be capable of generating 2.9 GW of renewable energy – enough to power more than 3.3 million UK homes.
