The charging station at the Nobelwind wind farm provides clean electricity directly from wind turbines to ships, helping to reduce environmental impact.
Parkwind, the Belgian offshore wind energy company, has installed the world’s first offshore wind charging station for vessels, as reported by Interesting Engineering on July 23. The new charging station operates at the Nobelwind wind farm, allowing transportation and maintenance vessels of the farm to utilize green energy produced on-site, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Parkwind stated that this method enables ships to connect to the charging line and maintain a stable status while charging, despite ocean currents.
The world’s first offshore green energy charging station at the Nobelwind wind farm. (Photo: Parkwind)
The Nobelwind wind farm is located in Belgian waters in the North Sea, approximately 47 km from the coast. This facility consists of 50 turbines spread over an area of 19.8 km2, providing electricity to around 190,000 households.
The modules of the new charging station were transported by vessels from the port to the designated offshore location, where they were then lifted and installed using cranes. The assembly, connection, and commissioning process took less than two days. Parkwind confirmed that the charging station has been successfully tested.
“We are committed to making all operations as sustainable as possible, and this is a breakthrough for our maintenance vessels. They can now access green energy directly from the wind turbines while working,” said Kristof Verlinden, Head of Operations and Maintenance at Parkwind.
The station is designed to support Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) charging up to 2 MW and Service Operation Vessels (SOV) charging up to 8 MW. The station can also supply power to traditional vessels, significantly reducing emissions from onboard diesel generators. The charging technology of the station has been developed and implemented in collaboration with MJR, a UK-based electrical and automation company.
Parkwind emphasizes that the new system reduces environmental impact, saves costs, is convenient and reliable, eliminating the need for anchoring and installing underwater cables. All sensitive equipment of the station is located away from the splash zone (the area close to the water surface, frequently affected by waves and prone to erosion) while remaining easily accessible for maintenance.
