Posted on February 28, 2025
Jan De Nul has confirmed it has secured a deal to transport and install the monopile foundations for the 1080MW Inch Cape offshore wind project off Scotland.
Inch Cape recently reached financial close and is now progressing into construction.
Jan De Nul’s heavy-lift vessel Les Alizes will be deployed to transport and install the monopile foundations off the Angus coast in Scotland. Its involvement on the project was reported first by subscriber-only reNEWS in December.
Inch Cape, an equal joint venture between ESB and Red Rock Renewables, will be the UK’s first offshore wind farm to install 15 MW Vestas turbines.
Engineering and project preparation is already progressing for transport and installation of the monopile foundations, commencing late 2025.
The monopiles are up to 110 metres long and weigh up to 2500 tonnes.
They will be loaded at a newly built quayside at the entrance to the Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Jan De Nul will deploy the heavy-lift vessel Les Alizes for the project as her third consecutive assignment.
Les Alizes is customised for the transport and installation of offshore energy infrastructure.
In December 2024, the vessel finished her first project, installing 107 monopile foundations on German wind farms Gode Wind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 3.
This spring, she will continue her mission with the installation of 72 monopiles for RWE’s Thor, which is Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date.
David Debaere, Manager Offshore Energy Structures at Jan De Nul, said: “Looking at the journey of Les Alizés, it is clear that Jan De Nul is playing an important role in Europe’s transition to renewable energy. From a wind farm in Germany to another in Denmark, and one in Scotland — and this is just the beginning.
“But it is not only about the vessels, it is just as much about our skilled co-workers who operate them.
“They are the ones carrying out the demanding work at sea.
“They are the heroes of the energy transition.”
John Hill, Project Director for Inch Cape Offshore, said: “There are few vessels globally with the capability to install the XXL monopiles we have chosen for Inch Cape, so we are delighted to have Jan De Nul’s Les Alizés as part of our construction fleet.
“Our installation programme tied in nicely with a gap in the vessel’s planned activity with RWE.
“We are appreciative of this unique industry collaboration.”
The Jan De Nul vessel is on long-term charter to RWE, which has taken steps to ensure the vessel could be made available to other developers during downtime between its own projects.
Jon Darling, Head of Construction Delivery at RWE, said: “As one of the world’s leading offshore wind developers and operators, we are aware that our long-term charter vessels from Jan De Nul may not always be fully utilised on our projects.
“We are highly sensitive to the pressures on the global offshore industry, created by the limited availability of these highly capable construction vessels.
“We are pleased to make the vessel available for this unique and highly collaborative initiative, supporting Inch Cape’s continued drive to deliver new UK energy infrastructure and to evolve towards net zero.”
