WKN Group repowers the Weidehof wind farm

At the end of 2014 the Weidehof wind farm in the district of Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein was connected to the grid as scheduled within the framework of a repowering project. The former eight turbines of Vestas types V47 and V52 that had been mainly erected in 1999 were replaced by eight new and more powerful Enercon E 70 wind turbines. The new turbines have an installed capacity of 2.3 megawatts each and have been built to a hub height of 64 metres, taking into account that there is an airfield in the near vicinity. The Weidehof wind farm now has a total installed capacity of 18.4 megawatts.

Westküsten KG, which owns four of the eight new turbines, and three other companies, which are mainly held by local communities owning the other four turbines, had ordered the WKN Group with the implementation of the repowering project.

BGZ Fondsverwaltung GmbH, a subsidiary of the WKN AG, took on the economic and corporate law conception associated with the project. Wind pioneer WKN ensured the turnkey construction of the new plants. During the implementation of the repowering measures, WKN AG was also responsible for the construction of the foundations of the new wind turbines.

The disassembly and marketing of the old turbines was also organised by BGZ Fondsverwaltung. The old turbines, originally built by WKN, are to find a new home abroad.

“It is particularly good news that, despite a highly ambitious schedule, the commissioning of all wind turbines was able to be ensured under the more advantageous conditions of the former EEG (German Renewable Energies Act),” Olaf Nicolaisen, Managing Director of BGZ Fondsverwaltung, reports. “The partners benefit from this to a high degree.” WKN Chief Operating Officer (COO) Roland Stanze is particularly pleased that the repowering project once again provides conclusive proof of the extensive value-added chain of the WKN Group: “WKN had planned and built the original old turbines, supported them technically and commercially over their entire service life through its subsidiaries, and has now successfully implemented their renewal with significantly increased capacity. The fact that customers commission us again today is evidence of how much trust they place in us.”