The Anonymous Widower

First Monopile In At ‘Most Ecological Offshore Wind Farm Yet’

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Van Oord, using its installation vessel Boreas, installed the first monopile at the Ecowende offshore wind farm on 3 December. The project, a joint venture between Shell, Eneco and Chubu Electric Power, is being built off the coast of the Netherlands and is said to become the most ecological offshore wind farm to date.

These four paragraphs add more details.

The offshore wind farm, located approximately 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast near IJmuiden, will have 52 monopile foundations produced by Sif and Smulders supporting 52 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines.

The offshore wind farm is dubbed “the most ecological to date” since it incorporates several technologies and methodologies that are nature-inclusive, including monopiles coming in two diameters, 8.8 metres and 9.3 metres, to support varying turbine tower heights, as research indicates that higher turbine tip heights may allow birds to fly more safely between the structures, reducing collision risks.

Some of the wind turbines will feature red blades as part of a trial to assess whether increased visibility reduces bird collisions.

Offshore construction on Ecowende (Hollandse Kust West Site VI) offshore wind farm started in September with the installation of eco-friendly scour protection.

Note.

1. It looks like its a 780 MW wind farm.
2. They’re certainly looking after the birds.
3. Scour protection is mainly to protect the wind farm, but at least it’s eco-friendly.

But then the Dutch must know a bit about building windmills, that last a long time.

December 6, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Environment | Birds, Birds And Wind Turbines, Ecowende Wind Farm, Offshore Wind Power, scour, The Netherlands, Wind Power