First monopile installed at Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm.

The first of 197 monopiles has been installed at the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm, located approximately 120 kilometers from the coast of Norfolk, UK.

Ørsted announced on social media that a team of over 200 specialists from Ørsted, along with its contractors Cadeler and Menck, are collaborating to ensure the secure installation of all 197 monopiles in the Hornsea Zone. These monopiles are the largest ever utilized offshore in Europe, with each one designed to support a 15 MW wind turbine.

The XXL monopiles, produced by Haizea Wind Group and Dajin Heavy Industry, are being installed using Cadeler’s vessel Wind Ally, while the Wind Orca is being deployed for secondary structure installation. Foundation commissioning will be assisted by the service operations vessel (SOV) Esvagt Froude, based on earlier project information.

Hornsea 3, which is Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale initiative in the North Sea’s Hornsea zone, will feature 197 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbines, each with a capacity of 14 MW, excluding power boost.

With a total installed capacity of 2.9 GW, Hornsea 3 is expected to be the largest single offshore wind farm globally.

The offshore wind farm, owned by Ørsted and Apollo-managed funds, with Mubadala Investment Company recently joining as an investor, is projected to become operational in 2027.