Van Oord Completes Ecowende's 52-Turbine Offshore Installation

Van Oord and Vestas have completed the installation of all 52 wind turbines at the Ecowende offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea, marking a major construction milestone for the 760 MW project. The final turbine was installed on 30 October 2026, approximately 53 kilometers off IJmuiden, completing a five-month installation campaign using Van Oord's offshore installation vessel Boreas. Developed by a joint venture of Shell, Eneco and Chubu, the wind farm is expected to become fully operational by the end of 2026 and supply electricity equivalent to around 3% of current Dutch demand.

 

Boreas Completes Five-Month Turbine Installation Campaign

 

The installation campaign began on 30 May, with Vestas supplying its V236-15.0 MW turbines and overseeing their installation and commissioning. Van Oord transported turbine components from Eemshaven to the offshore site using Boreas, a purpose-built installation vessel equipped to handle large offshore wind turbines. The contractor had previously installed the project's monopile foundations, inter-array cables and seabed scour protection.

 

Ecowende generated its first electricity in July 2026 after connecting to the offshore grid. With all turbines now installed, construction has entered its final phase ahead of full commissioning. Jan Willem Elleswijk, Project Director at Van Oord, credited the successful installation campaign to coordination between the contractors and Boreas's capabilities across several construction stages.

 

Wind Farm Design Incorporates Bird Protection Measures

 

Beyond electricity generation, Ecowende is testing measures intended to reduce the ecological impact of offshore wind infrastructure. The project includes a dedicated bird corridor between the Dutch coastline and the Natura 2000-protected Brown Ridge area, where turbines are spaced further apart. Selected turbine nacelles have also been installed at greater heights to increase clearance beneath the rotor blades for seabirds.

 

Additional measures include adaptive turbine curtailment based on prevailing conditions and radar systems using artificial intelligence to identify bird species. Seven turbines have been fitted with one red-painted rotor blade to investigate whether greater visibility reduces bird collisions. The effectiveness of these measures has not yet been established, and operational monitoring will assess them.

 

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Underwater Structures Support Marine Habitat Research

 

Ecowende is also testing biodiversity measures around turbine foundations and cable infrastructure. Ecowende is evaluating different scour protection designs while fitting our monopile foundations with additional openings intended to provide shelter for fish. At four cable crossings, reef structures constructed from old fruit trees will be placed to create habitat for marine organisms.

 

Oyster nurseries are also being introduced to support the recovery of European flat oysters, a species that has declined substantially in the Dutch North Sea since the 1950s. These installations will allow researchers to examine whether offshore wind infrastructure can contribute to marine habitat restoration alongside its primary energy-generation function.

 

Operational Monitoring Will Test Ecological Performance

 

Once turbine installation is complete, attention shifts to commissioning and assessing the project's environmental measures. Ecowende CEO Tjalling de Bruin said the development was designed to generate knowledge about operating offshore wind farms alongside marine ecosystems, with findings intended to support researchers, governments and future developers.

 

The project offers an opportunity to evaluate several ecological interventions within a single commercial-scale wind farm. However, their long-term effectiveness will depend on monitoring results, particularly whether bird protection measures reduce collisions and underwater structures produce measurable biodiversity improvements. Those findings will help determine which approaches could be applied more widely across future offshore wind developments.

 

Source: Van Oord