German engineering group Bilfinger has been selected to manufacture, install and test several steel foundations for Iberdrola's 350 MW Wikinger offshore wind project in the Baltic Sea.
Work under the €20 million contract will begin this autumn when Bilfinger will drive steel piles up to 38 m long into the seabed at selected locations of the site. Tension and pressure tests will then be conducted under water following a static period of several weeks.
The work, which builds upon geological surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012/13, is 'essential for the project's engineering solution to be technically and economically optimised,' says Xabier Viteri, director of Iberdrola's Renewables business.
The findings of the works will also provide valuable information on offshore piling in similar Baltic Sea geological formations.
In addition, Bilfinger says it will test noise protection systems during the project.
The €1.4 billion Wikinger offshore wind farm is being developed by Iberdrola about 30 km off the coast of the island of Rügen, where the water depths range between 37 and 43 meters. Construction could begin in late 2015, with commissioning in 2017.
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