The SeaStar and Mermaid offshore wind projects, both located off the coast of the West Flanders province of Belgium, have been merged by their owners to form the Seamade project, which has a generation capacity of 487.2 MW. The project is owned by a joint venture of Eneco, Engie and Otary (a consortium of eight Belgian companies operating in the offshore wind industry), following the EU Commission's approval of the creation of the joint venture earlier this month.
Otary was set up in 2011 to develop the projects, securing concessions for both in 2012. The projects failed to advance past planning stages between then and now due to the Belgian government's reluctance to agree to subsidise the projects. Contracts were eventually agreed in October 2017 with significantly reduced subsidies of EUR79 (US$91.3) per MWh. One of the chief reasons for the merger is to increase the viability of the projects with the reduced subsidies.
Financial close is expected by the end of 2018, with construction to begin in 2019 and Seamade to be fully operational in 2020.
Country updates
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July 06, 2018
EU Commission approves new joint venture for Belgian offshore wind projects
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the restructuring of two offshore wind projects located in Belgian waters, known as Seastar and Mermaid. The proposed transac...
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July 06, 2018
Bladt Insdustries has been selected to deliver the monopiles and transitions pieces for the project
Bladt Insdustries has been selected to deliver the monopiles and transitions pieces for the project. Separately, Bladt will deliver one monopile and a transition piece foundation for the project’s sub...
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June 15, 2018
Fluence Corp to design and build ArcelorMittal's wastewater treatment and EfW facility
Fluence Corp has been awarded a €3.9 million (US$ 4.5 million) contract by ArcelorMittal for the design and construction of a wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy (EfW) system...
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May 05, 2018
Turbine installation has commenced and is expected to be completed after the summer
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May 03, 2018
Bladt Industries has secured a turnkey contract to supply an offshore substation for the project
Bladt Industries has secured a turnkey contract to supply an offshore substation for the project. The company will partner with Semco Maritime, which will be responsible for the electrical systems, an...
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