Pile Driving Nearing Completion at Butendiek

The Bremen-situated planner and operator wpd takes positive stock for the construction of the offshore windfarm Butendiek.

“We are about to complete pile driving, we are well within our time schedule and we have fallen short of the predefined sound levels”, said Achim Berge Olsen, managing director of Butendiek and wpd offshore. Of the 80 foundation structures for the wind turbines, 71 have been erected since April – presumably, construction will be completed by the beginning of next week. Subsequently, the transition pieces, the connecting pieces between the foundations and the turbine towers, will be set, a third of which have already been installed. The substation has been erected at the end of May as scheduled.

“We have fallen short of the predefined sound levels and overall, we have reached the best levels of all wind farms that have been erected in the North Sea so far”, Berge Olsen says. The analysis of the data from the accompanying ecological monitoring shows no measurable differences in the population of the common porpoise in the surroundings of the offshore wind farm Butendiek. Elaborate counting by plane and ship examining the protected ecological assets birds and maritime mammals as part of the accompanying ecological monitoring will be conducted by independent experts from the Husum-based Bioconsult GmbH for at least two years before construction start, during the complete construction phase and for 3 – 5 years during the operational phase, as provided by BSH Standard Meeresumwelt (BSH Standard Maritime Environment). “Analysis of the data shows that the common porpoise is still present in the surroundings of the construction site, furthermore there was no evidence as to a decrease in the population. For us, this means that our elaborate and cost-intensive sound protection measurements are effective and working”, Berge Olsen says.

Both POD stations in long-term operation where the presence of common porpoises has been recorded acoustically have shown levels this year that conform to the experiences of the years before. “The number of common porpoises at both POD stations has increased since March of this year due to seasonal reasons. There is no trend towards a decrease in numbers. At the BU1 station, which is close to the construction site, the highest level has been recorded in May and June. Population development and population level are thus normal and the quantity of common porpoises is the same as in previous years”, Berge Olsen reports.

wpd has developed the Butendiek project and is one of the shareholders and also the competent project manager during construction and operation. Preparation for the works in the construction site have begun in March 2014, in the fall of 2014, the first wind turbines will be implemented and taken into operation continually, construction is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2015. The Butendiek offshore wind farm will provide some 370,000 households with renewable energy.