May 31 - Leading European energy company, Vattenfall, has awarded a contract to A2SEA for the transport of 30 5MW RePower turbines from Belfast Harbour to the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm, 10 km off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in the Irish Sea.

In addition to providing the specialist jack-up barge SEA JACK and its experienced crew, A2SEA will handle all the logistics and planning involved in transporting the 30 turbines and lifting the components into place ready for in situ assembly by an external crew. SEA JACK is expected to be on site from March 2011.

David Hodkinson, director, head of development, at Vattenfall Wind Power in the UK, says: "Vattenfall is making solid progress with the construction of the 150MW Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm, with offshore works starting at the beginning of May this year. The contract with A2SEA for the use of SEA JACK will allow us to deploy Ormonde's 30 wind turbines in 2011 and is therefore an important part of the project's supply chain jigsaw."

Already under construction both on and offshore, the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm will cover a total area of 8.7 sq km and Vattenfall expects to be producing power by late 2011.

A2SEA is the world's largest and leading installation contractor dedicated to providing offshore wind 
farm owners and energy suppliers with safer, sustainable and cost efficient wind installations and 
operations.

Companies active in this exciting area of the heavy lift and OOG market, will be interested to read that our industry focus item in the July / August edition of HLPFI will be on Power Generation - Renewable Energies. For more information about editorial or advertising opportunities please contact ian@heavyliftpfi.com