DONG Energy: Gode Wind 1 and 2 substation platforms successfully installed

The power to be generated in future by the wind turbines of Gode Wind 1 and 2 will now be converted from DC to AC for further transport by two substation platforms.

Trine Borum Bojsen, Managing Director of DONG Energy in Germany, who is responsible for the Offshore Wind segment says, 'This is an absolutely unique feature of this project. At all our previous wind farms, we have always only had one substation platform. But the Gode Wind 1 and 2 wind farm is special in many respects: with 97 wind turbines, it will be Germany's largest offshore wind farm. For this reason we had to install two platforms for the first time.'

The construction of the two offshore platforms was completed within the scheduled time frame. Both substations were successfully tested on shore and then commissioned. Ordering two substation platforms from the same manufacturer and the single installation planning resulted in cost savings for DONG Energy. The company plans to cut the costs for its offshore wind farms by about 40 percent by 2020 compared to 2012. Gode Wind 1 and 2 will therefore serve as a model for the construction of future offshore wind farms for the energy supplier.

At the same time as installing the substation platforms, the DONG Energy team also successfully laid the first cables. The foundations have been under construction since April of this year. 42 steel pipes and transition pieces were already installed.

With the installation of two substation platforms and the laying of the first cables, the foundations for the construction of the wind turbines are now in place. The Gode Wind 1 and 2 offshore wind farm is scheduled to go into operation in 2016. It is located 33 kilometres from the German islands of Juist and Norderney.  With a total capacity of 582 megawatts, the 97 wind turbines will generate enough green electricity to supply 600,000 German households.