Borkum West Generates First Offshore Power

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - First power has been generated from the much-delayed Borkum West II offshore windfarm located in the German North Sea.

The 200-megawatt (MW) windfarm is located 45 kilometers (km) off Borkum Island and features 40 Areva M5000 turbines, rated at 5 MW each. Owner Trianel Energie GmbH (Aachen, Germany) said the first turbine has been grid-connected and it hopes to get the plant fully commissioned this summer. The windfarm, one of Germany's largest offshore projects, will be able to generate enough power for approximately 200,000 homes when fully operational.

"After the permanent power connection was successfully established by the substation DolWin Alpha to the mainland on 23 December 2014, the first turbine is now in trial operation," explained Klaus Horstick, Managing Director of Trianel wind farm Borkum GmbH & Co. KG. "We hope the weather cooperates and we complete the commissioning in timely manner."

The windfarm has suffered a number of delays in getting to this stage and is running roughly two years late. The 800 MW transformer platform DolWin Alpha ran into technical difficulties during its final commissioning that put the project back by a few months. In addition, there were foundation problems early on.

Costs have spiralled at Borkum West II due to the delays. Originally scheduled to cost around €800 million ($905 million), Trianel has said that costs have exceeded the €900 million ($1 billion) mark through the rescheduling of construction. Trianel has plans for a second phase for Borkum West II with a further 200 MW of capacity but a final investment decision has not been made. The company said if it goes ahead it will not be until 2017/18 at the earliest.

Industrial Info reported on the completion of the windfarm's construction last August. For additional information, see August 11, 2014, article - North Sea Borkum West II Windfarm Finished.

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