Developed by Inch Cape Offshore Limited, the wind farm will significantly contribute to the latest UK Government target of 43 to 51 gigawatts of offshore wind installed by 2030. Green electricity from Inch Cape will reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 million tonnes per year compared to fossil fuel equivalents.
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 are already progressing for transporting and installing the monopile foundations, commencing in late 2025.
The monopiles are up to 110 meters long and weigh up to 2,500 tonnes, equal to the weight of about 2,500 average cars. They will be loaded at a newly built quayside at the entrance to the Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Third Assignment for the Vessel
Jan De Nul will deploy the heavy-lift vessel Les Alizés for the project as her third consecutive assignment. Les Alizés is customized for the transport and installation of offshore energy infrastructure. In December 2024, the vessel finished her first project: 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 on RWE’s Thor, Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date.
David Debaere, Manager Offshore Energy Structures at Jan De Nul: “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 Limited: “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 program tied in nicely with a gap in the vessel’s planned activity with RWE. We appreciate this unique industry collaboration.”
The Jan De Nul vessel is on long-term charter to RWE. The energy leader has already taken steps to ensure the vessel could be made available to other developers during downtime between its own projects. The Inch Cape project is a good example of offshore wind developers sharing equipment to help build out more offshore wind capacity.
Jon Darling, Head of Construction Delivery at RWE: “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 utilized 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.”
“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,” added David Debaere, Manager Offshore Energy Structures at Jan De Nul.
