Van Oord involved in Gemini offshore wind park
Van Oord announced its intention to acquire an equity stake of 10% in the Gemini offshore wind park. Yesterday, Northland Power Inc. (NPI), the Canadian producer of sustainable energy, announced that together with Siemens Project Ventures GmbH (Siemens), HVC N.V., Typhoon Offshore B.V. and Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors B.V., it will be developing, constructing and operating the Gemini offshore wind park. The share distribution is as follows: NPI 55%, Siemens 20%, Van Oord 10%, HVC N.V. 10% en Typhoon Offshore B.V. 5%. The total equity capital contributed by the parties amounts close to EUR 500 million. The further required capital will be financed by banks. As majority shareholder NPI is taking a leading role during the phases of further development, construction and operations, said in the company's press release.
The Gemini wind park will be built 60 kilometres from the coast of Dutch Schiermonnikoog island, an area with excellent wind conditions. The construction of the Gemini wind park will start early 2015. Construction will take place in the period 2015 – 2016, after which the project will be fully operational in 2017. The 600 MW wind park consists of 150 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 4 MW. Following construction, the wind park will supply electricity to more than 785,000 households.
Van Oord will be involved in the Gemini project in two ways: as a project shareholder and as an EPC contractor (engineering, procurement and construction) during the building of the wind park. The EPC contract, with a total value of approximately EUR 1.3 billion, involves supplying and installing the foundations, the entire electrical infrastructure, including the off and onshore high-voltage stations, the cables and installing the Siemens wind turbines. Van Oord will deploy the dedicated developed offshore wind turbine transport and installation vessel Aeolus for the construction of this wind park. The total Gemini project construction costs amount to EUR 2.8 billion.
The above shareholders are taking steps to come to financial close to the project, which will involve the financing by the banks. The project is expected to reach a financial close in 2014.
CEO Pieter van Oord: ‘Gemini demonstrates the added value of the Dutch offshore industry and illustrates Van Oord’s leading position in the market for offshore wind parks. The team of the shareholder are highly qualified and form a solid consortium that will advance the development of sustainable energy in the Netherlands. The project also is also an important step forward in meeting the climate objectives of the Dutch government.’
