Vestas has installed the first wind turbine at Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, the “EnBW He Dreiht”. This progresses the 960 MW project’s construction phase as 63 more turbines await installation. Cumulatively, the 64 wind turbines will supply 3.6 billion kWh of wind energy annually once commissioned. This will be able to power around 1.1 million homes through the same period of time.
EnBW He Dreiht Project Factsheet
Location: Germany’s North Sea
Owners: EnBW, and Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, Norges Bank Investment consortium
Developer: EnBW
Cost: € 2.4 billion
Wind farm area: 63 km2
Installation capacity: 960 MW
Annual production capacity: 3.6 billion kWh
Turbine supplier: Vestas
Turbine units: 64
Hub height: 142 meters
Rotor diameter: 236 meters
Sweep area: 43,742 square meters
Foundations: Monopiles
Final monopiles installation date: August 27 2024
Start of construction: 2024
Vestas’ latest milestone at the “EnBW He Dreiht”
Germany’s largest offshore wind farm, the “EnBW He Dreiht”, otherwise referred to simply as He Dreiht has not only marked a milestone in its construction progress, but also one for Vestas.
Vestas’ 15 MW turbine installed at the wind farm site is currently the largest 15 MW turbine in the market. It is also the first time Vestas has installed it. To put the impressive technicality of the largest 15 MW wind turbines currently in the market, a single rotor rotation is said to generate enough power to supply four homes with electricity for a day. Quite impressive!
When assessed from a different angle, the first turbine installation at the EnBW He Dreiht also marks the start of culmination of the development of a 15-year old project.
“EnBW He Dreiht” project cost
The € 2.4 billion He Dreiht is also being build without financial support from the German government. This means no renumeration from the Renewable Energy Act. To help pool the project funds, EnBW focuses on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) from major industry players like Evonik, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, Fraport, and Germany’s national railway operator Deutsche Bahn.
The Vestas V236-15 MW turbines in Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction
Vestas’ installation marks the first of 64 at the North Sea site for Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, the “EnBW He Dreiht”. Together, the 64 V236-15.0 MW turbines from Vestas will work at an installation capacity of 960 MW. This capacity will be enough to power 1.1. million German homes once the offshore wind project is commissioned.
The turbines’ hub stand at 142 meters, while the massive 236 meters wide rotors sweep Germany’s North Sea through an area of 43,742 square meters with each revolution.
Also implicated in the project is TenneT. The Dutch-German grid operator will connect the wind farm to the electricity grid. This will involve the use of an offshore converter station, and two high-voltage DC (HVDC) cables. The HVDC cables will stretch over 120 kilometers in the sea, and 110 kilometers on land.
More on the project
The “EnBW He Dreiht” wind project sits in Germany’s North Sea. The wind farm area is about 85 kilometers northwest of Borkum and approximately 110 kilometers west of Helgoland.
The baseline turbine foundations were installed last year, while internal wind farm cabling are being done concurrently with the turbine installations.
Other than the promise to supply the country with affordable renewable energy, the offshore wind project has also delivered on creating jobs and boosting the local and regional economy. More than 500 construction jobs and over 60 marine vessels have so far been involved in the project.
Interestingly, as a wind turbine stands in the ‘EnBW He Dreiht” wind farm, around 10 countries have a piece to it. For instance, the turbine towers are made in Denmark, the blades in Italy, and the transition piece joining the monopiles and towers are made by 5 countries including the UK.
Other offshore wind projects by EnBW
Additionally, according to the developer, EnBW, this offshore wind project will help the company achieve its goal of more than 10 GW of installed capacity by 2030.
EnBW also operates the 336 MW Baltic 1 and 2 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea. The company has also ventured in other offshore wind farm projects close by in the North Sea. These are the, Hohe See and Albatros. There are also other farms in the UK, like the Mona, and Morgan.
