September 2 - Ballast Nedam's heavy lift vessel Svanen has been commissioned by Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors to drive 56 steel piles for the foundations of the Belwind offshore wind farm, off the Belgium coast. This is the first phase of the B

Once the project is completed the 110 wind turbines will supply power to approximately 350,000 households. The offshore wind farm is located on Bligh Bank, a sand bank 46 km from the Belgian coast where the sea has a depth of 15 to 37m. This makes Belwind the furthest offshore wind farm which is also being constructed in the deepest water.

Ballast Nedam previously received an order from the German energy company EnBW for the design and installation of 22 foundations for the Baltic I offshore wind farm. Ballast Nedam sees good opportunities for further work in the offshore wind turbine market in 2010.