Van Oord and Vestas Complete Turbine Installation at Ecowende Wind Farm

Van Oord and Vestas confirmed the installation of the last of the 52 turbines at the 760 MW Ecowende offshore wind farm, located in the Netherlands, bringing the project into its final construction phase.

The final turbine was installed on October 30, 2026, in Lot VI of the Hollandse Kust (West) wind zone, about 53 kilometers off the coast of IJmuiden. The first unit had been installed on May 30, meaning all 52 turbines, Vestas V236-15.0 MW models, were installed in under five months. The wind farm generated its first power in July 2026 and is expected to be fully operational by the end of that year.

Vestas supplied the turbines and is responsible for their installation and commissioning, while Van Oord transported them from Eemshaven aboard its installation vessel Boreas and had previously installed the foundations, interarray cables, and scour protection works. Jan Willem Elleswijk, project director at Van Oord, highlighted the Boreas's performance during this installation campaign and the collaboration with Ecowende, Vestas, and the other partners.

Ecowende incorporated a bird corridor between the Dutch coast and the Brown Ridge Natura 2000 protected area, with greater spacing between turbines and nacelles installed at a higher elevation in that zone. The project also uses an adaptive control system and AI-based species-recognition radar to reduce risks to birds and bats, and painted one blade red on seven turbines to assess whether the color contrast reduces collisions, an effect that has not yet been proven.

Underwater, different scour protection designs were tested, water exchange holes were installed in four monopiles, reefs made from old fruit trees were placed at four cable crossings, and oyster hatcheries were set up to support the return of the European flat oyster to the Dutch North Sea. Ecowende is a joint venture between Shell, Eneco, and Chubu, and the wind farm is expected to supply electricity equivalent to roughly 3% of the Netherlands' current demand.

Henrik Andersen, CEO of Vestas, noted that Ecowende demonstrates that offshore wind power can be safe, affordable, and sustainable, while also expanding knowledge about the coexistence of renewable infrastructure with nature. Tjalling de Bruin, CEO of Ecowende, stated that with the final turbine now installed, the learning process begins on how to build and operate a wind farm in harmony with its surroundings, knowledge that will be shared with researchers, governments, and developers of other projects.