Offshore wind farms:

Future-oriented energy from the sea

The future of energy production from wind energy also lies at sea, where higher wind speeds and consistent wind conditions allow considerably more energy to be generated than on land.

Offshore wind farms are both an opportunity and a challenge. In Germany alone, according to a Greenpeace study, more than half of total national energy consumption could be covered by wind energy from offshore wind farms. PNE WIND AG is actively seizing the opportunities available in this area. As a specialist in the project planning of wind farms, it has already been developing offshore wind farms off the coast of Germany since 1999. Four projects developed by PNE WIND AG in the North Sea have already been approved by the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).

We developed the offshore wind farm "Gode Wind II" right through to readiness for construction. In July 2009, this wind farm was approved by the BSH. Since then, our experts have been working intensively on implementing the project, selecting suitable wind turbines, foundations, substations and other components, in order to create an attractive proposition for the future purchaser. The objective of PNE WIND AG's project planning work was quickly to bring "Gode Wind II" to the point at which an investor could start building immediately upon becoming involved in the project.

In order to get ready for construction, many qualified companies were involved in the technical development of this offshore wind farm in 2010. These included wind turbine producer Vestas and the Danish management company K2 Management A/S, which is highly experienced in the technical development and implementation of offshore projects. Also involved were MT Højgaard A/S (foundations), DRAKA Norsk Kabel AS (wind farm's internal cabling) and ALSTOM Grid GmbH (substation) as additional specialised partners.

An important step on the road to preparing to start construction was the ground survey in 2010 of the project site, around 40 km north of the island of Norderney. Over a period of around 10 weeks – from March to May 2010 – the foundation soil on the positions of all 84 wind turbines planned for "Gode Wind II" and the substation site were surveyed. Using a specialist ship, the investigations were carried out in line with the BSH "ground survey" standard. During this process, 84 cone penetration tests with an average exploration depth of 48 m were carried out under the seabed, plus a further 11 boreholes were drilled to extract soil samples.

At the same time, we are also developing the offshore wind farm "Gode Wind I". This project, which already has BSH approval as well, is a close neighbour of "Gode Wind II". On this site, 54 wind turbines by the manufacturer Repower will be erected, each with a rated output of 6.15 MW. "Gode Wind I" will also be developed to construction readiness.

Additionally, we made applications to BSH for three further offshore wind farms in 2010. These are the project "Jules Verne", "Nautilus" and "Nemo" in the mid-North Sea. Preliminary surveys have already been carried out of these sites. In order to be granted BSH approval, further extensive analyses are required, which are currently in progress. These include a nature conservation study programme over several years, which will, amongst other things, calculate the effects of the wind farm on the marine environment (fish, birds, marine mammals and life on and around the seabed) and work out ways of resolving any conflicts. Studies on the safety and ease of shipping are also required.