Giant Offshore Substation Begins Final Journey to Power Dutch Wind Farm

A 3,500-Tonne Marvel of Engineering Hits the Waves

On May 17, a critical piece of the Netherlands’ renewable energy puzzle will set sail from Hoboken port near Antwerp. The steel topside for the Hollandse Kust (west Beta) substation platform—a behemoth weighing over 3,500 tonnes—is being transported via floating pontoon to its permanent home 50 kilometers off the coast of Egmond aan Zee. This marks a pivotal moment for the 700 MW offshore wind farm, which aims to bring clean power to Dutch households by 2025.

“Projects like this are the backbone of Europe’s energy transition,” says an industry insider. “Moving infrastructure at this scale requires military precision.”

Heerema Marine Contractors’ vessel Sleipnir, fresh from duties in British waters, will handle the delicate installation. The topside’s dimensions—45 meters long, 20 meters wide, and 25 meters high—demand one of the world’s strongest heavy-lift vessels. Sleipnir’s cranes, capable of lifting 10,000 tonnes, will position the structure onto a jacket foundation anchored to the seabed in May 2024. The two components will then be welded together in a process likened to “assembling Lego for giants.”

From Sea to Socket: The Grid Connection

Once installed, the substation will act as the nerve center for RWE/OranjeWind’s wind farm, channeling electricity through undersea cables to the Wijk aan Zee transformer station. The Hollandse Kust West Beta project is part of the Netherlands’ aggressive push to generate 21 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030—enough to power 15 million homes. “Every bolt tightened here is a step toward energy independence,” notes a project engineer.

“Offshore wind is no longer experimental—it’s industrial,” says a renewable energy analyst. “The Netherlands is proving megaprojects can be executed on schedule.”

With testing and grid synchronization planned for the coming months, the substation is on track to meet its 2025 operational deadline. As the topside drifts toward its destination, it carries more than steel and cables—it’s a floating symbol of Europe’s bid to ditch fossil fuels.