Nordsee Ost Offshore Wind Farm Service Staff Get Two Buildings in Heligoland, Germany

RWE Innogy today celebrates the topping-out ceremony for two buildings on Heligoland. The two new apartment blocks being built near the inland port will accommodate service staff for the operation and maintenance of the Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm in the future.

The Nordsee Ost wind farm with an installed capacity of 295 MW is currently being erected 30 kilometers off Heligoland. The two buildings with a size of 320 and 200 square meters will comprise 18 and 12 apartments, respectively. This provides accommodation for about 30 people. Every apartment has a size of approx. 25 square meters. The construction of the new buildings started in April 2012. They are due to be completed early in 2013. The houses will be built as solid structures and with complete thermal insulation to meet highest energy efficiency standards.

 “When Heligoland was resettled 60 years ago, this ushered in a new era for Germany’s island on the high seas. The new beautiful and colourful homes for the offshore employees of RWE Innogy and REpower now again provide new and promising prospects for the future of the offshore companies and the inhabitants of Heligoland”, pointed out Jörg Singer, Mayor of the Heligoland community.

RWE Innogy’s contractor for the construction of the two apartment blocks is the Schramm group based in Brunsbüttel in the district of Dithmarschen . Following completion, RWE Innogy will rent the first of the two buildings; the turbine vendor REpower Systems from Hamburg will rent the second one. The company is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the wind power systems of Nordsee Ost in the first five years.

“We intend to operate our Nordsee Ost wind farm from Heligoland in the next 20 years. To this end, we have to create the necessary infrastructure now. The erection of the apartment blocks is an important step in turning Heligoland into the offshore hub for the operation and maintenance of wind farms in the North Sea. Some 30 people will live and work for us on Heligoland in the future. This is also going to benefit the local economy on the island”, explained Prof. Martin Skiba, Head of Offshore Wind Power at RWE Innogy.

In fact, contracts have already been let for the erection of the houses to companies based on Heligoland like HC Hagemann, Plambeck or the logistics company EMT. Overall, RWE Innogy is investing some € 10 million in the creation and development of Heligoland’s infrastructure. At present, activities are ongoing in the southern port to prepare for the construction. This is where the service station proper is to be built. The construction of roads and the upgrading of the southern port can start before the end of 2012. The construction of the operations and service station is due to start early in 2013 and is expected to be complete at the end of 2013.

RWE Innogy has rented space on the inland port pier and in the southern port in order to be able to use Heligoland already while the Nordsee Ost wind farm is being built. Office, warehouse and sanitary containers are to be set up there until the service station is complete. Marine coordination functions will be performed from here, and teams will start from here to service the measuring tower installed in the construction field of Nordsee Ost. These areas will also provide space for the interim storage of tools, spare parts and accessories, such as buoys.

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Offshore WIND staff, August 15, 2012; Image: rwe