E.ON Invests EUR 7 Billion in Renewables (Germany)

Investments of EUR7 billion in renewables, three large wind farms in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and new transmission lines for wind power: they are all ways Johannes Teyssen is making E.ON a green energy provider.

Today E.ON outlined the company’s comprehensive program for helping to transform Germany and Europe’s energy landscape.

 New offshore wind farm every 18 months

In the German North Sea, E.ON is building Amrumbank West, a deepwater wind farm that will cost about EUR1 billion and enter service in 2015. With 80 Siemens turbines, it will have a total capacity of 288 megawatts (MW) and supply enough green electricity to power about 300,000 households. The nearby island of Helgoland will serve as the wind farm’s operations and maintenance center.

 Johannes Teyssen: “Amrumbank is our clear commitment to helping to transform Germany’s energy system. Renewables are a cornerstone of our strategy, and offshore wind is one of E.ON’s growth areas. Going forward, we intend to commission a new offshore wind farm every 18 months. We have invested EUR7 billion in renewables during the past five years, and we will invest further EUR7 billion over the next five years as a substitute for other power generation.“

Off the U.K. coast, E.ON is building Humber Gateway wind farm, which will cost about EUR850 million, have 219 MW of capacity, and also enter service in 2015. In the Baltic Sea off Sweden’s southern coast, E.ON is building Kårehamn wind farm, which will become operational in 2013. Kårehamn will have a capacity of 48 MW and will cost around EUR120 million. Both Kårehamn and Humber Gateway will use the new Vestas 3 MW V112 turbine.

 New construction ship

Among the vessels being used to build these farms is the ‘MPI Discovery’, a technologically advanced construction platform that E.ON commissioned specifically for its offshore wind projects and that it has been chartered exclusively for the next six years. The Discovery, which is 140 meters long and 40 meters wide, is a jack-up ship. Its six legs raise it above the sea’s surface, creating a stable platform for installing foundations and turbines, even in rough seas.

Over the last few years, E.ON has already invested roughly EUR2 billion in offshore wind and has, partly together with partners, built six wind farms in the North, Baltic, and Irish Seas. Together with partners, E.ON is currently building London Array in the Thames Estuary off the U.K. coast, which, when completed, will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

 Grid connections for wind farms in northern Germany improved

To improve the transport of wind power produced in northern Germany, E.ON is adding new transmission lines. One of these is a new high-voltage line between Breklum and Flensburg, which became operational this week, took just a year to build, and will strengthen Germany’s grid. The line connects the north Frisian coast, which is home to numerous wind farms, with the ultrahigh-voltage transmission system. It triples the transmission capacity in northern Friesland, from 310 MW to more than 1,000 MW. It will also transport the electricity generated by deepwater wind farms like Amrumbank West.

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Offshore WIND staff, December 15, 2011; Image: e.on