Soon we will see monopiles being installed off the shores of New York City, as Equinor’s project Empire Wind I reaches this major milestone in its development. The monopiles will be installed by the heavy lift vessel Thialf, which will soon arrive at the project site.

The monopiles are being manufactured and loaded out at Sif’s facility in Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, and GPO has allocated a number of vessels to transport them across the Atlantic to feed Thialf on site. Thialf is equipped with two large cranes and a motion-compensated gripper — the key tool for installing these monopiles.

The installation method to be used by Thialf will be similar to what the vessel has successfully executed on European projects, meaning the crew will not be hindered by the challenges of adopting a new installation method — an issue that has affected other efforts in the U.S. market.

Empire Wind I will consist of 54 turbines upon completion, delivering a total capacity of 810 MW.

Image source: Heerema Marine Contractors