Overseas

Butendiek powers through

WPD Group has signed a deal to bring the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm to construction in 2013. 

The €1.2 billion Butendiek Wind Farm has been in the works for over a decade, following previous ‘unworkable’ attempts to move forward with the project. When completed, the scheme will be one of the most advanced offshore projects in German waters.

The development is located in the German North Sea, 34km west of the island of Sylt in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near to the German-Danish border.

Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm will comprise 80 turbines with a combined capacity of 288 MW. In total the wind farm will power 161,035 homes, reduce CO2 emissions by 325,452 tonnes per year and decrease annual SO2 emissions by 7,569 tonnes.

Siemens will supply the 3.6 MW offshore wind turbines, which have a rotor diameter of 107m, a turbine height of 133.5m and a hub height of 80m.The substation platform will be supplied by Fabricom GDF Suez JV and Visser Smit Marine Contracting will provide the inter-array cabling. Power generated from the wind farm will be supplied through Dutch network operator TenneT.

WPD Offshore GmbH Managing Director, Achim Berge, said:

“In Autumn 2010 we took over the Butendiek project, a venerable project which at that time was regrettably stranded. After a new start through WPD, it is now one of the most interesting offshore projects in Germany.

“The low-risk profile of the project is supplemented by a set of agreements with especially seasoned and successful companies like Siemens and Ballast Nedam, with whom WPD has already built another offshore wind farm.

SSE Finance Director, Gregor Alexander, added:

“We have a flexible approach to the development of our wind energy capacity, with acquisitions and disposals both being considered to optimise the portfolio.

“Our strategy means we prioritise investments in the UK and Ireland. As a supporter of EU renewable energy targets we wish WPD AG well in taking the Butendiek development forward.”

The construction of Butendiek will begin with the installation of foundations 35 miles off the west coast of Sylt.

In September 2011 Ballast Nedam signed a €250m contract with WPD to supply, engineer and install the foundations, which are made from steel tubular piles called monopiles. The monopiles weigh 400 tonnes each and have a total length of 50-60m. Ballast Nedam will install the monopiles 25-30m deep in the ground using their Heavy Lift Vessel Svanen.

Design and fabrication of the foundations will begin in 2012 and the installation is scheduled for 2013. Construction work will continue through 2013 and the wind farm is expected to start generating power towards the end of 2014.

The WPD Group is an operator and developer of wind farms and owns approximately 1,600 wind turbines, with wind farms in 20 countries. In addition to Butendiek, WPD Group have a number of additional international projects in the pipeline.

Ballast Nedam Offshore 

Ballast Nedam Offshore is the offshore construction subsidiary of Ballast Nedam. Working on civil and marine engineering contracts, the company provides design and construction services for offshore foundations.

On the Offshore Windpark Butendiek project Ballast Nedam Offshore is supplying the foundations for 80 wind turbines, which includes all designing, engineering and installation work. Construction will begin in mid-2012 with installation in March/April 2013. All of the foundations will be installed by the end of 2013.

Ballast Nedam Offshore Project Manager, Sander Dekker, said: “At Ballast Nedam Offshore we consider ourselves to be a very reliable and innovative company. We are pleased with the level of service that we provide and can proudly boast that when working with our offshore wind farm partners we have completed all of our projects on time.

“Our greatest strength is that we have a number of in-house operations, including engineering, installation and maintenance departments, which allow us to provide a full service for all of our clients.”

For more information, visit www.bnoffshore.com

About the author

Roma Publications