Mott MacDonald completes client work for offshore wind farm

The Gemini offshore wind farm, located off the coast of the Netherlands, has been completed ahead of schedule. The 600 Mega Watt (MW) farm is one of the region's largest, and goes a long way towards reducing the Netherlands' reliance on unsustainable fuels. UK consultancy firm Mott MacDonald provided a range of due diligence and construction monitoring services to the project.

A newly installed offshore wind farm has been recently assembled off the north coast of the Netherlands by the Gemini Energy Corporation. The 600 MW farm, which generates energy for around 785,000 households, had an investment price tag of around €2.8 million. The project was part of the Netherlands’ wider goal of generating 14% of its total energy demand from renewable sources, and cutting CO2 emissions by around 1,250,000 tonnes annually. The park itself consists of 150 Siemens turbines, which each generate around 4 MW to the total generation capacity.

The project is operated and majority owned by Northland Power, other part owners include HVC Groep, Siemens Financial Services, and Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors. The original due diligence and lenders’ technical advisory for funding for the project was provided by a multidisciplinary consulting team of Mott MacDonald. The UK-based firm, consulting on a similar project in Jordan, continued to support its clients with construction monitoring reporting, which included advisory on the mitigation of risks in the areas of among others health and safety, design, manufacturing and the environment.

Commenting on the firm’s work for the project, Christos Kolliatsas, Project Director at Mott MacDonald’s, said, “We worked closely with the Gemini team, sponsors and lenders to reach this major milestone ahead of schedule and under budget. Our international experience in offshore wind construction allowed us to highlight risks that could potentially affect the project’s progress and offer advice on methods for mitigating these.”

Matthias Haag, Project Gemini’s Chief Executive Officer, added, “Working with Mott MacDonald continuously for the last three years has been a big benefit for the Gemini project. Their experience and advice helped us to avoid any pitfalls and make the project a success.”