Posted on April 6, 2026
In the coming weeks, our rock installation vessel Simon Stevin will be working off the Dutch coast for the offshore wind farm OranjeWind. The vessel is installing an initial layer of scour protection on the seabed – the preparatory step in the construction process. The first two loads of rocks have now been successfully installed.
The scour protection placed on the seabed forms a solid base layer for the future offshore wind farm. It provides stability, protects the seabed from erosion caused by currents and waves, and prepares the location for the installation of the 53 foundations on which the turbines and one subsea battery will later be mounted. With this step, we are quite literally laying the groundwork for what is to come.
The stones for the scour protection are loaded onto Simon Stevin in Norway and then transported to the OranjeWind site at sea. There, the vessel places the stones with precision at the designated locations, using a vertical and inclined fall pipe. Simon Stevin is specifically designed for this type of precision work. The first two loads have now been successfully installed. If everything proceeds according to plan, we will complete these activities in May.
About OranjeWind
The OranjeWind wind farm is a joint project by partners RWE and TotalEnergies. The wind farm is located 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast. Physical preparations for the wind farm began last week, and it will be fully operational at the beginning of 2028. At that point, OranjeWind will generate enough electricity to match the consumption of one million Dutch households.
To address the challenges of fluctuating electricity production from wind energy and the flexible demand for electricity, OranjeWind will serve as a blueprint for the integration of offshore wind farms into the Dutch energy system.
