Germany Commissions Two Offshore Windfarms

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--DONG Energy A/S (Fredericia, Denmark) has cemented its position as the world's leading wind energy company by commissioning two offshore windfarms in the German North Sea with a combined generating capacity of 582 megawatts (MW).

At the premises of the Royal Danish Embassy in Berlin, the company officially inaugurated the Gode Wind 1 (330 MW) and Gode Wind 2 (252 MW) offshore windfarms located 45 kilometres (km) off the German coast. With 97 turbines from German engineering giant Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany), the windfarms can generate enough power to supply roughly 600,000 households. Industrial Info reported on the first 6-MW turbine going in at the Gode projects in August 2015. For additional information, see August 14, 2015, article - First Turbine Up at Germany's Gode Offshore Windfarm.

"Through technological progress, system services and efficiency, the offshore wind industry has become a driver in the energy industry and focuses on strengthening competitiveness in export, innovation and digitisation," commented Uwe Beckmeyer, German Parliamentary State Secretary. "A strong home market is a crucial factor in this regard."

Samuel Leupold, member of DONG Energy's Executive Committee and chief executive officer of Wind Power, added: "The wind turbines at Gode Wind 1 and 2 are already generating clean power off the coast of Norddeich, and our next German offshore windfarm, Borkum Riffgrund 2, is well under way. These large-scale projects are testament that offshore wind has become a reliable, predictable and cost-effective technology which will contribute significantly to Germany's energy transition."

The German government has a target to reach a total capacity of 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2020.

Earlier this year, the wind energy sector reached a milestone when a number of proposed German offshore projects became the first windfarms in the world to be built without government financial aid. Three of the four projects accepted in Germany's latest wind power auction will not seek any aid and will be constructed by DONG and EnBW (FWB:EBK) (Karlsruhe, Germany). For additional information, see April 20, 2017, article - World's First 'Subsidy-Free' Windfarms Get German OK.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.