Germany: DanTysk Wind Farm Maintenance Team to Get Offshore Accommodation Platform

From 2014 onwards, quiet rooms with a shower, internet access and a TV will make everyday life more comfortable for the members of the DanTysk Wind Farm maintenance team – right in the middle of the harsh North Sea. Vattenfall and the Stadtwerke Munich have now commissioned the Schleswig-Holstein based company Nobiskrug, whose headquarters is in Rendsburg, to build the offshore accommodation platform.

The platform will be built in the Abu Dhabi MAR dockyard Kiel. The beginning of construction work is scheduled for spring 2013; the platform should then be erected on the DanTysk wind farm 70 km from Sylt in autumn 2014. The platform will be able to cater for up to 50 people and will be in use 365 days a year.

“We are pleased to have gained in Nobiskrug an experienced partner from Northern Germany, for the construction of the accommodation platform,” says Holger Grubel, project manager of Dan Tysk. “This proves that offshore wind can generate local added value in Germany.”

The idea of housing service teams in living quarters directly on offshore wind farms has not been seen in Germany before. The idea originates from the oil and gas industries. As well as providing accommodation for the crew, the living quarters will include a catering complex, washing facilities, workshops, storage areas, offices and room for leisure activities.  

“Anyone who’s experienced the harsh climate of the North Sea, with its strong winds and waves, will understand the importance of good working and living conditions for the maintenance teams on site. In Germany we’re facing particular challenges because offshore wind farms are located up to 100 kilometres from the coast,” explains Holger Grubel, head of the DanTysk project. “At these distances it simply isn’t possible for crews to commute by ship every day. It would take too long to transfer crew members and the risk of some of them getting sea sick and being unable to work would be too high. The accommodation platform will be anchored on solid ground which means a safer and more comfortable environment for our teams,” says Grubel.

In total there will be 80 wind turbines at the DanTysk wind farm, generating 288 MW of climate neutral electricity for around 400,000 households. Installation of the wind turbines at DanTysk is due to start in December 2012. The entire wind farm is planned to be up and running in 2014.

[mappress]

Press release, October 23, 2012; Image: Vattenfall