Gemini is a 600
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
(MW)
offshore wind farm
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of ca ...
off the coast of the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Construction started in 2015 with final commissioning in 2017.
At the time of completion it was the second
largest offshore wind farm on Earth after the
London Array.
The wind farm consists of two parts. The first part with 75 turbines is located north of
Ameland
Ameland (; ) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes and is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Terschelling to the west a ...
. The second part also with 75 turbines is located 55 kilometres north of
Schiermonnikoog. The 150 wind turbines are Siemens SWT-4.0, each with a capacity of 4 megawatts.
[Gemini]
''4C''
The wind farm has been developed by a consortium led by
Northland Power, while
Van Oord is the main contractor. Initially it was expected that the wind farm would be ready in the fourth quarter of 2015, but the start of construction was delayed until 2015. Electricity production started in February 2016 when the first turbine was connected to the grid. In the first week of December 2016, all 150 turbines began producing power, and the project was fully commissioned in May 2017.
The total construction cost of the Gemini project is estimated at around 2.8 billion euros,
[NRC Handelsbla]
Nieuw windmolenpark in Noordzee ter waarde van 2,8 miljard euro, 30 januari 2014
, accessed 8 February 2015 and subsidies will be 3.6 billion euros.
[
Gemini has licences to operate the wind farm for 20 years. After this period, the wind farm and everything that has been introduced onto the seabed must be removed. A bank security of 40 million euros has been made available for this.
The first offshore service vessel with inverted bow and X-Stern was launched by ]Ulstein Group
Ulstein Group is a group of companies focusing on various marine-related industries, but is mainly known for its shipbuilding and ship design activities. The largest unit is ''Ulstein Verft AS''. The company's head office and primary operations ar ...
in April 2016 to service Gemini, housing 40 workers.
See also
* Wind power in the Netherlands
*List of offshore wind farms
This article lists the largest offshore wind farms that are currently operational rated by nameplate capacity. It also lists the largest offshore wind farms currently under construction, the largest proposed offshore wind farms, and offshore ...
* List of offshore wind farms in the Netherlands
* List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea
References
{{reflist
External links
*https://geminiwindpark.nl, official site
Gemini Wind Farm
Facebook page (partly Dutch)
Offshore wind farms in the North Sea
Wind farms in the Netherlands
Energy infrastructure completed in 2017
2017 establishments in the Netherlands