Windfarm Update: Amrumbank, Global Tech I, Borkum West 2.1, DolWin Beta, Ostwind 1

Amrumbank

MPI Adventure installed the last turbine blade at the Amrumbank West offshore wind farm in early September. The installation work started in February, with the vessels operating in water depths of approximately 25m. Amrumbank West is located approximately 35km north of Helgoland and 37km west of Amrum in the German part of the North Sea. The wind farm, scheduled to be fully commissioned by the end of this year, features 80 Siemens 3.6MW turbines and has the capacity to power 300,000 households and 37km west of Amrum in the German part of the North Sea. The wind farm, scheduled to be fully commissioned by the end of this year, features 80 Siemens 3.6MW turbines and has the capacity to power 300,000 households.

Global Tech I

On 2 September, the 400MW Global Tech I offshore wind farm was officially opened.

The wind farm’s 80 turbines have been feeding power into the German grid from 27 July. To ensure the wind farm operates smoothly, the offshore substation within the wind farm is manned by 37 persons who work closely together with the operations control centre in Hamburg’s HafenCity. Global Tech I offshore substation I  by 37 persons who work together with the operations control centre in Hamburg’s HafenCity to ensure the wind arm’s smooth operation.

With its 5MW turbines, mounted on steel tripod foundations, Global Tech I can supply power to around 445,000 households.

Borkum West 2.1

Trianel officially put its 200MW Borkum West 2.1 offshore wind farm into operation on the 1st of September. The offshore wind project is first of its kind to be owned by municipal utilities. The wind farm, located 45km off the Borkum island, is expected to produce enough electricity for around 200,000 households.

This is the first phase of Trianel’s Borkum West 2 wind farm development. The company plans to install further 40 turbines in the second phase, for which it will make an investment decision next year.

DolWin beta

In August 2015, ABB installed the DolWin beta converter station, the heart of TenneT’s DolWin2 offshore wind connection project, in the German part of the North Sea. With a 916MW power transmission capacity, DolWin beta is able to supply offshore wind energy to more than one million households, which makes it the most powerful offshore converter station in the world. The 320kV converter station, together with its offshore platform, is around 100m long, 100m tall and weighs around 23,000t.

ABB, which was contracted by the transmission system operator TenneT to supply and install the offshore wind connection, handed over a fully commissioned DolWin1 grid connection to TenneT in July.

Ostwind 1

50Hertz, a transmission system operator responsible for the electrical network at the northern and eastern part of Germany, has launched the construction of Ostwind 1 offshore cable connection in the Baltic Sea after obtaining all necessary approvals. The preparation for building this 93km route, which will connect Wikinger and Arkona-Becken Siidost offshore wind farms to the national grid, is coming to an end as UXO clearance and subsoil tests along the already cleared routes are underway.

The construction will then start with horizontal directional drilling (HDD). To set up an exit trench for the land connection drilling works, temporary cofferdams are being built 400m off the coast. Before installing the cable, a cable-laying vessel will carry out a pre-lay run, most likely by the end of this year.