First monopile installed at OranjeWind offshore wind farm

Overview

Updated Sep 2

The first of 53 steel monopiles is now driven into the seabed 53 kilometers off the Dutch coast. The September 1 installation by RWE and TotalEnergies marks the official start of construction at the 795 MW OranjeWind wind farm.

Each foundation is 90 meters long and 8 meters in diameter, with no transition piece: the turbine tower bolts directly to the pile to save steel. All 53 piles are due in place by early 2027. Turbines go up through 2027, with full commissioning expected in early 2028.

The project is also a grid test case: it pairs wind output with flexible demand to smooth the swings of renewable generation. Its construction methods include a floating installation vessel, bubble-curtain noise barriers, and per-position seabed surveys. Those methods show how the next generation of larger, farther-offshore wind farms will be built.

Why it matters

If OranjeWind delivers on schedule, it will power one million Dutch households and show how offshore wind can balance a flexible grid.

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Key Indicators

Monopiles in the installation campaign

First installed September 1, 2026; all due in place by early 2027.

795 MW

Total installed capacity

Enough to power the equivalent of one million Dutch households per year.

53 km

Distance from the Dutch coast

The site sits off IJmuiden in the North Sea.

114 km

Inter-array cable length

DEME will connect all 53 foundations to the offshore substation.

90 m

Monopile length

Each pile is 8 meters in diameter; turbines bolt directly to the top flange.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

Organizations Involved

RWE

Energy company

Co-developer and construction lead for OranjeWind

German energy company developing OranjeWind as a 50-50 joint venture with TotalEnergies.

TotalEnergies

Energy company

Co-developer of OranjeWind (50% joint venture)

French multinational energy company and equal partner in the OranjeWind joint venture.

Vestas

Wind turbine manufacturer

Supplying 53 V236-15.0 MW turbines for OranjeWind

Danish wind turbine maker supplying all 53 turbines for OranjeWind.

Sif Holding

Steel foundation manufacturer

Supplying all 53 monopile foundations

Dutch steel manufacturer producing OranjeWind's monopiles at Maasvlakte near Rotterdam.

Jan De Nul Group

Offshore construction contractor

Installing OranjeWind's monopiles with the vessel Les Alizés

Luxembourg-based offshore contractor operating the floating installation vessel Les Alizés.

DEME Group

Marine engineering contractor

Installing OranjeWind's inter-array cables

Belgian marine engineering group contracted for OranjeWind's cable installation.

Timeline

July 2026 March 2028

5 events Latest: September 1st, 2026 · 1 week ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

March 2028
Full commissioning expected
Upcoming Milestone

OranjeWind is expected to reach full operation in early 2028, powering the equivalent of one million Dutch households.
March 31st, 2028
December 2027
Turbine installation campaign due
Upcoming Construction

All 53 Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines are scheduled for installation during 2027. First power to the grid is planned for spring 2027.
December 31st, 2027
December 2026
Inter-array cable installation scheduled
Upcoming Construction

DEME is due to start laying 114 km of cables connecting the 53 foundations to the offshore substation.
December 31st, 2026
September 2026
First monopile installed at OranjeWind
Latest Construction

Jan De Nul's Les Alizés drives the first of 53 transition-piece-less monopiles 53 km off IJmuiden, officially starting offshore construction.
September 1st, 2026
July 2026
Seabed prep and onshore dry run completed
Construction

RWE details the construction plan ahead of the first pile. Scour protection is already in place, and the team has run a full dry run of foundation installation at Smulders in Hoboken.
July 16th, 2026

Scenarios

OranjeWind reaches full power in early 2028, on schedule

Likely Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: RWE's published project schedule (July and September 2026 announcements); Windtech International and WindpowerNL reporting

The remaining 52 monopiles go in through early 2027, DEME lays the inter-array cables from late 2026, and Vestas installs all 53 turbines over 2027. First power lands in spring 2027, and full commissioning follows in early 2028, matching the timeline RWE published.

Monopile installation slips past early 2027

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: RWE's construction preview, which flags soil variability and floating-mode installation as the main technical risks

Les Alizés installs piles while floating, so the vessel moves with the sea. Soil resistance also varies sharply between positions: at some spots the pile sinks under its own weight, at others it resists hammering. Bad weather windows or unexpected pile runs could stretch the campaign past early 2027 and push turbine installation later.

First power slips past spring 2027

Unlikely Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: The project schedule in RWE's July 2026 construction preview, which plans first grid power for spring 2027

Cable installation is scheduled for late 2026, and turbines go up through 2027. If either slips, the first delivery of power moves into the second half of 2027. That would delay first power and the system-integration demonstrations OranjeWind is meant to run.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2015–2017

Gemini wind farm (2017)

Gemini, a 600 MW wind farm 85 km off the Dutch coast, was one of the first projects built that far from shore. Mid-construction, its owners faced a financing shortfall and had to renegotiate loans before completing the farm with 150 turbines in 2017.

Then

The farm came online in 2017, but the episode showed that Dutch offshore wind projects can stumble financially even after construction starts.

Now

Later Dutch tenders drew larger, better-capitalized sponsors, and the country's offshore wind program scaled up rapidly.

Why this matters now

OranjeWind is also far offshore at 53 km and is being built in phases. Its sponsors, RWE and TotalEnergies, are far larger than Gemini's original consortium, which reduces the financing risk Gemini exposed.

2016–2021

Borssele I & II (2021)

The Netherlands tendered the Borssele sites in 2016 and drew a then-record low bid of €72.70 per megawatt-hour. The 752 MW farm, built on standard monopiles with 8 MW turbines, was fully online by 2021.

Then

Borssele proved Dutch offshore wind could be delivered at competitive cost and at scale, launching a pipeline of new North Sea sites.

Now

It became the template for Dutch projects: competitive tender, monopile foundations, rapid scale-up. OranjeWind follows the same formula with turbines nearly twice as large.

Why this matters now

OranjeWind's transition-piece-less monopiles and 15 MW turbines are the Borssele approach scaled up; the steel-saving pile design is the main structural change.

2018–2023

Hollandse Kust Zuid (2023)

Vattenfall won the Hollandse Kust Zuid sites with subsidy-free bids and built 1.5 GW across 140 turbines. Completed in 2023, it was the world's largest operational offshore wind farm.

Then

The zero-subsidy project showed offshore wind could compete with fossil generation on cost in the Dutch North Sea.

Now

It opened the door for follow-on projects such as OranjeWind, which add grid-integration features to the standard offshore wind model.

Why this matters now

OranjeWind's 795 MW is the next step in the same Dutch pipeline, with an added mandate to test how wind farms can balance a flexible, electrified grid.