Major Order For Siemens Gamesa: Wpd Starts Implementation Of Gennaker Offshore Project
Bremen, Germany - After the Gennaker offshore wind energy project in the German Baltic Sea received approval in 2019, another important milestone for project implementation has now been reached. Once commissioned, the project will be the most powerful wind farm in the German Baltic Sea to date.
Siemens Gamesa and Wpd sign Master Supplier Agreement for 103 turbines
With the conditional order of 103 Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines, each with a capacity of up to 9 MW, and the start of the main ground investigation at each turbine site, Wpd has started the realization of the Gennaker offshore wind farm located 15 kilometers off the Baltic Sea coast near the Darß peninsula. At the same time, the tendering process for the other main components and installation vessels is underway.
The schedule for the construction of the wind farm with a total capacity of 927 MW envisages that the full project capacity will be installed by the end of 2026. The agreement is still subject to certain conditions, including confirmation of grid connection, which is expected in the second half of calendar year 2023.
The Siemens-Gamesa direct-drive wind turbines have a rotor diameter of 167 meters. With the PowerBoost option, the output of each turbine can be increased up to 9 MW, starting from a nominal output of 8.6 MW. Siemens Gamesa has also been awarded a conditional service contract with a term of 20 years.
"It is thanks to the unconditional will of the parties involved to realize the Gennaker project that we have reached this important milestone. With this turbine, we are relying on proven technology and, in Siemens Gamesa, on a long-standing partner with whom we are now realizing our fifth offshore project", said Wpd COO Achim Berge Olsen at the signing of the Master Supply Agreement with Siemens Gamesa.
"We are pleased with wpd's confidence in our reliable and proven Direct Drive offshore wind turbines. In addition, we are proud to be able to contribute to the achievement of the ambitious offshore wind targets of the German government", added Marc Becker, CEO of the Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit.
The status of offshore wind energy utilization in the Baltic Sea
So far, four offshore wind farms are in operation in the German Baltic Sea with the Wikinger, Arkona, EnBW Baltic 1 and 2 wind farms. The Wikinger wind farm is located about 45 km northeast of the island of Rügen, where water depths range from 36 to 42 meters. Wikinger comprises a total of 70 wind turbines manufactured by Adwen, each with a capacity of 5 MW, and comes to a total output of 350 MW. The project owner Iberdrola has invested around 1.4 billion euros in the Wikinger offshore wind farm. The project was officially inaugurated on October 29, 2018. The Arkona offshore wind farm is located about 35 km northeast of Rügen. The wind farm has a capacity of 385 megawatts (MW). According to the wind farm owner E.ON, the investment volume amounts to 1.2 billion euros. EnBW's Baltic 1 wind farm, the first commercial wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, went into operation back in 2011. The site is home to 21 wind turbines with a total capacity of 48.3 MW. In 2015, EnBW then commissioned Baltic 2, the largest offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea at the time, with a capacity of 288 MW.
In addition to the Gennaker offshore wind farm (approx. 930 MW), the Arcadis Ost (247 MW), Baltic Eagle (476 MW), Wikinger Süd (10 MW, expansion project) and Windanker (300 MW) wind farms are in the planning stage or in preparation for construction.
Source: IWR Online, 06 Jul 2022