Windfarm update: French OWF Projects, Wikinger, Borkum Riffgrund 2, Butendiek, Galloper

French offshore wind projects

French transmission system operator RTE France has awarded ABB with a $25m contract to supply nine 400MVA booster transformers and accompanying services, which will help regulate the voltage of power transmitted from four large-scale offshore wind projects. ABB will deliver the transformers in 2017 and 2020.

The four French offshore wind farms will have a capacity of up to 500MW each, covering 3.5% of the country’s energy demand.

Wikinger

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier has been awarded a contract to transport and install 70 Adwen’s 5MW wind turbines at the Wikinger Offshore Wind Farm. As part of the contract, Global Wind Service will provide installation technicians. The work is scheduled to begin in early 2017 and completed during the second half of 2017.

Meanwhile, Bladt Industries is working to deliver 41 four-legged jacket foundations for the wind farm, with the first of the total 82 A-frames fabricated in August. The remainder of jacket foundations will be manufactured by Navantia, which is also in charge of Wikinger’s substation jacket.

Offshore construction phase is expected to start in spring 2016. The Wikinger offshore wind farm is located off the German island of Riigen in the Baltic Sea. With its 70 turbines and a 350MW capacity, it will be able to power 350,000 households.

Borkum Riffgrund 2

After selecting MHI Vestas Offshore Wind in June as a preferred bidder for the delivery of wind turbines for the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm, DONG Energy officially signed the supply agreement with the company in August. Under the contract, MHI Vestas will supply its VI64-8.0MW wind turbines to the German offshore wind farm, subject to DONG Energy making the final investment decision.

The developer said that it is using larger and more efficient wind turbines to cut down the cost of offshore wind power. Located in the North Sea next to the Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm, which will soon be fully operational, Borkum Riffgrund 2 has an awarded grid capacity of 450MW and is able to provide electricity to 450,000 households.

Butendiek

On 9 September, wpd officially opened 288MW Butendiek offshore wind farm, located 32km west of the island Sylt in the German part of the North Sea. The last of 80 Siemens 3.6MW turbines was commissioned at the beginning of August.

The €1,3bn Butendiek offshore wind farm, able to power around 370,000 households with renewable energy, is jointly owned by wpd, Marguerite Fund, Siemens Financial Services, Industriens Pension, Pensionskassernes Administration (PKA), CDC Infrastructure and ewz (Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zurich).

Galloper

At the beginning of September, VBMS subcontracted JDR for inter array cables for RWE’s Galloper offshore wind farm. As part of a £100m contract awarded to VBMS for the inter array cable installation, JDR’s £30m deal covers the supply of 56 subsea cables, which will be produced in 2016. RWE is expected to reach financial close for its £1.3bn Galloper offshore wind project by the end of the year. The project was initially owned jointly by SSE and RWE, however, last year SSE decided to exit the development. The company agreed to remain a 50% owner until the final investment decision has been made and will not invest in the project’s construction. The Galloper offshore wind project is an extension of the existing Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm off the coast of Suffolk, UK. It is planned to feature 56 wind turbines with a 6MW capacity.