Germany: Full power at Butendiek offshore wind farm

Bringing the 80th and thus final wind turbine into operation, the construction of the offshore wind farm Butendiek is now complete. Joint owners wpd, Marguerite Fund, Siemens Financial Services, Industriens Pension, Pensionskassernes Administration (PKA), CDC Infrastructure and ewz (Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich) are therefore pleased to announce, that the 288 MW wind farm, located in the North Sea, is now in full operation. wpd, the Bremen wind developer and operator is responsible for the construction and operation phases.

In March 2014, offshore works began. All foundations, cables and the substation were installed according to schedule during the last year. Mid-June, the 80th wind turbine was installed and now brought into operation. 

"Already eleven months after start of construction, the first wind turbine fed electricity into the public grid. This makes Butendiek the fastest established offshore project", says project director Martin Lehnhoff.

"Thanks to the intensive collaboration of all parties involved, the Butendiek project became a real success story in many ways", says Achim Berge Olsen, Managing Director of OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG and wpd offshore GmbH. "The lowest value has been measured regarding noise emissions during installation and the 1.3 bn euro OWF Butendiek project has been completed on schedule and within budget. From now on, OWF Butendiek is able to supply 370,000 households with green energy."

Basic data offshore wind farm Butendiek:

• 80 wind turbines with a total output of 288 MW
• Location: North Sea, approximately 32 km to the west of Sylt
• Water depth: about 20 meters
• Investors: Marguerite Fund, Siemens Financial Services, Industriens Pension, Pensionskassernes Administration (PKA), CDC Infrastructure, ewz (Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich) and wpd
• Collaboration with notable suppliers: Siemens (Siemens SWT 3.6-120 Turbines), Ballast Nedam (Foundations), VBMS (Cabling ), Cofely Fabricom GdF Suez (Offshore Substation)
• Supply of approximately 370,000 households with green energy
• Total amount invested: 1.3 billion euro