Vikings On the Loose In the Baltic Sea

It is currently Iberdrola's largest project in the Baltic Sea: 350-megawatt offshore wind farm Wikinger with its 70 wind turbines cost more than 1.4 billion euros. After a construction period of 18 months, all jacket foundations are anchored in the seabed and all turbines are installed. Over the next few days, all 70 Adwen 5.0 MW turbines will gradually ramp up and start supplying electricity for the German grid.

"With the first grid feed-in, we have mastered the decisive project step. At this important point, we should once again express our thanks to all the companies, authorities and employees involved. Without their cooperation, we wouldn't be able to announce successful grid feed-in today," says Jürgen Blume, Managing Director of Iberdrola Renovables Offshore Deutschland GmbH.

At the opening, local politicians also voiced their belief in the large-scale project. "With today's go-ahead, we are continuing the success story of wind power in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and at the same time it is a further step in the direction of the all-German mammoth energy transition project. The new offshore wind farm is an engine of the energy revolution and, in addition to safety, sustainability and climate protection, it also provides a driving force for the regional economy," said Energy Minister Christian Levels.

The new wind farm will provide electricity for around 350,000 households and at the same time save 600,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. This means that the wind farm covers more than 20 percent of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's energy consumption.

During construction, several hundred people were involved in the project, which covers an area of 34 square kilometres. The crew had to master various technological challenges and complications caused by the extreme weather conditions of the Baltic Sea in autumn and winter.

The Mukran Port on Rügen's east coast serves as base port for installation and operating phases.

With this commitment, Iberdrola underlines the importance of the offshore sector for the company. In the Irish Sea, the Spanish company already operates the West of Duddon Sands (WoDS) offshore wind farm with 389 MW, which at that time cost around £1.6 billion.

At present, Iberdrola is also working on the world's largest offshore wind farm, the 714 MW East Anglia One (EAO) in the British North Sea, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2020 and will cost more than £2.5 billion.