Environment

Europe's largest offshore wind farm boots up in the Netherlands

Europe's largest offshore wind farm boots up in the Netherlands
The Gemini wind farm, one of the biggest in terms of size and production, has opened in the North Sea, about 85 km (53 mi) off the Groningen coastline in the Netherlands
The Gemini wind farm, one of the biggest in terms of size and production, has opened in the North Sea, about 85 km (53 mi) off the Groningen coastline in the Netherlands
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The Gemini wind farm took about two years to build, with Van Oord and Siemens contracted to perform most of the construction
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The Gemini wind farm took about two years to build, with Van Oord and Siemens contracted to perform most of the construction
The Gemini wind farm, one of the biggest in terms of size and production, has opened in the North Sea, about 85 km (53 mi) off the Groningen coastline in the Netherlands
2/3
The Gemini wind farm, one of the biggest in terms of size and production, has opened in the North Sea, about 85 km (53 mi) off the Groningen coastline in the Netherlands
The Gemini wind farm is made up of 150 turbines spread out across 68 sq km (26 sq mi), and can generate about 2.6 TWh of electricity every year
3/3
The Gemini wind farm is made up of 150 turbines spread out across 68 sq km (26 sq mi), and can generate about 2.6 TWh of electricity every year
View gallery - 3 images

One of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world has just started turning in the North Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands. Hidden over the horizon, the Gemini wind farm isn't visible from the mainland or the neighboring islands, and is set to produce about 2.6 TWh of electricity every year.

Situated 85 km (53 miles) north of the coast of Groningen, the Gemini wind farm is made up of 150 turbines spread out across 68 sq km (26 sq mi). The spot was chosen because not only is it out of sight and out of mind for Netherlands residents, but the wind speeds in the area are consistently high, averaging about 36 km/h (22 mph). With a capacity of 600 MW, Gemini is the second largest offshore wind farm in the world, behind only the London Array.

The electricity generated by Gemini's turbines is collected into two nearby substations before being piped 110 km (68 miles) to the Eemshaven seaport. There, a land station will manage and maintain the entire facility, and the power is then fed into the country's grid. Over the course of a few decades, the Gemini wind farm will apparently supply up to 1.5 million residents with power, and reduce the amount of CO2 emissions by about 1.25 million tonnes (1.38 million tons) every year.

The Gemini wind farm took about two years to build, with Van Oord and Siemens contracted to perform most of the construction
The Gemini wind farm took about two years to build, with Van Oord and Siemens contracted to perform most of the construction

The project took more than two years to complete, with Van Oord and Siemens contracted to do the majority of construction.

"We have built the wind farm within the scheduled time, within budget and in a safe manner," says Matthias Haag, CEO of Gemini. "Gemini thus makes an important contribution to the sustainability of the Netherlands."

The Gemini wind farm can be seen in action in the 360-degree video below.

Source: Gemini

Gemini Offshore Windpark 360

View gallery - 3 images
7 comments
7 comments
VinceOSullivan
You do realise that the UK with it's London Array is in Europe don't you? Europe's largest? Not quite.
MatthewRoberts
The U.K and therefore the London Array are in Europe, therefore the title of this article is incorrect, the fact that you even mention the London Array is even more bewildering!
amazed W1
What measures do they take to prevent both accidental and deliberate collisions from ships?
MartinVoelker
The speed at which wind farms can be deployed is astounding. On land it tends to take a little longer because typically several counties and hundreds if not thousands of land owners have to consent (especially where new transmission has to be built). Even so, that's fast compared to building fossil fuel power plants.
Horst
Something doesn't make sense here. If that field produces 2.6TWh per year, that means average generating rate of about 300 MW. And how much did you pay for this? I agree we don't want coal fired power stations, but nuclear should be considered. A typical nuclear station generates a few thousand MW and I would think the cost per MW would be much lower than this wind park.
Nik
The Dutch have a history of windmills/power, but its obsolete technology, thats why other means of power production were introduced a couple of hundred years ago, at least. Tidal power is by far the most reliable of old power production methods. Wind power is renowned for its unreliability.
JamesParenteau
Great, more dead birds, by the tens of thousands. These are a flawed design of a wind turbine. Better try a less efficient and safer alternative, Conical Vertical Axial leaf type turbines, ones which can be as much as 20 stories tall generating torque, not high velocities which is the result of thousands of dead birds every year. I am ashamed that Man can be proud of this crap.