The wind farm is being constructed by wpd offshore GmbH within a 12-mile zone at the mouth of the Weser river, about 40 kilometres northwest of Bremerhaven. The companies signed the contract for delivery, installation and commissioning of the 18 Senvion 6.2M126 turbines on 20 February in Bremen. Each turbine has a rated power of 6.15 MW, enabling it to supply about 4,000 households with renewable energy. After its completion in Autumn 2016, the Nordergründe offshore wind farm will have an installed capacity of approximately 111 MW and be able to supply power to more than 70,000 households per year.
The turbines and rotor blades are produced by Senvion and PowerBlades in Bremerhaven, from where the components will be transported directly to their destination by sea. The nacelle of one of the turbines alone is as big as two single-family houses and will be assembled offshore at a hub height of between 97 and 100 metres. Each rotor blade is more than 60 metres long and weighs about 23 tonnes. The rotor star has a diameter of 126 metres with the rotors sweeping an area larger than two football pitches.
“Successful energy turnaround needs offshore wind energy” said Andreas Nauen, CEO of Senvion SE. “Clear framework conditions will fill the order books again. We are very happy that our turbines and rotor blades from Bremerhaven are being used for the wind farm of wpd, a Bremen company. This project will create a lot of value locally. Thanks to the clear compensation provisions of the EEG (Renewable Energy Sources Act) our clients will be able to plan reliably, but the German offshore sector will soon need clear indicators for the years after 2019. The preparations for EEG 3.0 are the next step, and must start already this year.”
Martin Günthner, Senator of Economic Affairs, Labour and Ports of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, added that the new contract means PowerBlades can return to production and therefore the project sends an important message to the offshore sector and the region of Bremerhaven.
To date, the Senvion 6.2M126 is the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine to be produced in series. Senvion established itself in the multi-megawatt category in 2004 and since then has achieved a great deal of success, with more than 140 turbines from the 5 and 6 MW class installed offshore.
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