Offshore Windfarm in German North Sea Receives Approval

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Germany's BARD-Group (Emden, Germany), a designer and constructor of offshore windfarms, will call on subcontractors to tender for the construction of the company's second offshore windfarm, Veja Mate, in the German North Sea.

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Hamburg recently granted approval for the construction of the 400-megawatt (MW) offshore windfarm, which will be located approximately 90 kilometres northwest of the island of Borkum, near the Germany-Netherlands border. The water depth is between 39 and 41 metres. The first turbines are projected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2011, and full operation of the windfarm is scheduled for September 2012. The 80 steel towers will be equipped with 5-MW BARD 5.0 turbines. The project's estimated investment cost is about $900 million.

Veja Mate is the second BARD-owned windfarm in the German North Sea. The 400-MW BARD Offshore 1 Windfarm will be located about 100 kilometers northwest of Borkum. Construction has already started, and completion is expected for December 2010. For the erection of the 80 wind turbines, the company bought an installation ship with two cranes. The ship can be hydraulically lifted using four 71-meter legs and is able to work 10 meters above water. The wave height during construction works is expected to be about 5 meters. The ship will later be used for maintenance work.

To control the windfarms, BARD subsidiary BARD Service GmbH recently inaugurated the control centre for offshore windfarms in Emden. The company is now capable of monitoring and managing offshore windfarms with more than 400 wind energy converters and a power output of more than 2,000 MW. All relevant data for each turbine can be accessed and shown on a display of several square meters in size. There is also a real-time display of the position of the installation vessels during the construction phases, as well as of the supply and maintenance vessels in later operating phases.

At the moment, Germany is bringing forward various offshore windfarm projects in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Twenty-five projects with a total capacity of 7,400 MW have already been approved by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency. The 60-MW Alpha Ventus windfarm, owned by a consortium of companies including E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany); Vattenfall Europe, part of Swedish utility Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden);and EWE AG (Oldenburg), a German energy and gas provider, has recently installed its first offshore wind turbine. For details, view related July 22, 2009, article - Germany Installs First Offshore Wind Turbine.

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