WIND FARM UPDATE

Borkum Riffgrund 1

Turbine installation work is ongoing at the 312MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm, located 54km off the German coast and around 37km from the island Borkum. The installation, performed by A2SEA’s SEA INSTALLER, reached half way in mid-March. The first of the 78 Siemens SWT-4.0-130 turbines was installed back in August 2014 and the first electricity was already produced mid-February.

Borkum Riffgrund 1 is expected to be fully operational in the first half of this year, providing electricity for around 320,000 households. It is connected to the DolWinl HVDC platform. It is a project by DONG Energy (50%), KIRKBI Invest A/S and William Demant Holding A/S (together 50%).

Gode Wind

On 14 April the first of 97 foundations for the 582MW Gode Wind offshore wind farm, a project by DONG Energy, was installed. Installation is performed by GeoSea. The monopiles were fabricated by EEW SPC in Rostock, Germany, while the transition pieces were produced by Bladt Industries in Aalborg, Denmark. The largest of the monopiles, with a diameter of 7.5m, a weight of 939t and a length of 67m, is the largest and heaviest ever to be installed in the German part of the North Sea.

The Gode Wind wind farm consists of 2 wind farms Gode Wind 1 (330MW) and Gode Wind 2 (252MW). It will  have in total 97 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 installed. The turbines will be installed by A2SEA A/S using the SEA INSTALLER.

It will be both Germany’s and DONG Energy’s largest wind farm to be built to date and also the largest single investment made by the company once completed. Gode Wind 1+2 are expected to be fully commissioned in the second half of 2016.

Nordsee One

On 19 March the 332MW Nordsee One wind farm reached financial close.

Nordsee One is located 40km north of the island Juist in water depths between 26 to 28m and is the first of the 3-phased large 1GW Nordsee offshore wind farm being developed by Northland Power Inc (85%) and RWE Innogy GmbH (15%).

Approximately 70% of the project’s required costs, estimated at €1.2bn, will be provided from a €840m nonrecourse secured construction and term loan and related loan facilities from ten international commercial lenders, including ABN AMRO, Bank of Montreal, Commerzbank, Export Development Canada, Helaba, KfW IPEX, National Bank of Canada, Natixis, Rabobank and The Bank of TokyoMitsubishi.

Offshore construction is planned to start in 201 6. The wind farm will have 54 Senvion 6.2M126 turbines installed on monopile foundations. Each turbine has a rated power of 6,15MW. The monopiles and their TPs are manufactured by AMBAU in their production facilities in Bremen and Cuxhaven. Siem Offshore Contractors GmbH was awarded the contract for the supply and installation of the inter array cables. The cables, consisting of around 72km of 33kV medium voltage cables, will be produced by JDR at their Hartlepool production site in the UK.

After the planned completion in autumn 2017, the Nordsee One offshore wind farm will be able to supply approximately 215,000 households with green energy annually.

Veja Mate

New announcements were made in the first quarter of 2015 for the 400MW Veja Mate wind farm, located 129km off the German coast, near the BARD Offshore 1 wind farm. The project was acquired by Laidlaw Group from BARD Offshore in September 2014.

Siemens has been selected as the preferred turbine supplier. The contract scope includes the supply, installation and commission of 67 of its SWT 6.0154 wind turbines and also 15 years of service and maintenance. Siemens awarded Fred. Olsen Windcarrier the contract for the transport and installation of the 67 turbines. Siem Offshore Contractors was awarded the contract for the supply and installation of the inter array 97km between the turbines and to the offshore substation.

Construction is expected to start in early 2017. Veja Mate will be connected to the offshore HVDC platform BorWin2..

Wikinger

Iberdrola Renovables Offshore Deutschland GmbH, the developer of the 350MW Wikinger offshore wind farm, awarded Prysmian Group a contract of around €60m for the supply and installation of the inter array cables in February. The scope includes the design, manufacture, installation, burial, termination and testing of total 81 km of 33kV submarine cables in different cross-sections to connect the  70 wind turbines and the offshore substation. The cables will be produced in Prysmian’s facility in Drammen, Norway. Installation works are scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016. The port of Sassnitz will be used as the base port.

Wikinger is located 30km north east off the coast of the island of Rugen in the German Baltic Sea. Once in operation, the €1.4bn project will produce electricity for around 350,000 German households and create around 100 direct and indirect jobs.