Alpha Ventus Offshore Wind Farm
F2
- 6 × Areva M5000
- 6 × REpower Systems 5M
( initially called offshore wind farm Borkum West or test field Borkum West) is an alpha ventus offshore wind farm with twelve wind turbines off the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony in the German Bight.
- 6.1 Porpoises
- 6.2 Marine and tidal flats
Operation and meaning
The park is the first offshore wind farm in the German Exclusive Economic Zone, which went into operation. The pilot project has encouraged ( around 4100 Euro / kW) and the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU), an investment of 250 million euros. The EU Commission has provided a grant of 30 million euros. Originally an investment of 190 million euros was planned.
Offshore facilities obtained by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (§ 31 paragraph 3 ) with 19 ct / kWh instead of approx 9.2 ct a higher initial rate than wind turbines on land, so that the average feed-in tariff is significantly higher over the entire period of operation as at onshore facilities. The average wind speed at hub height is about 10 m / s, the originally projected annual energy yield was around 220 GWh. In the year 2011 267 GWh were produced, corresponding to a capacity factor of about 50 % and 4450 full load hours. 2012 produced alpha ventus around 268 GWh, corresponding to 4460 hours of full load, whereby the wind farm as in 2011 about 15 % higher than the predicted yield value. Previously, it was loud operators but to early to correct the earnings forecast upwards can. In 2013, low-wind months and shutdowns were obtained only 224.6 GWh for maintenance work on individual investments by four.
The wind farm is operated by the German offshore test field and Infrastructure GmbH & Co. KG ( DOTI ), a subsidiary of EWE AG ( 47.5 %), E.ON Climate & Renewables GmbH and Vattenfall Europe New Energy GmbH ( each 26, 25%).
Location
The wind farm is located 43 to 45 kilometers north- west of the island of Borkum in the German Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ) of the North Sea, ie outside the 12-mile limit. The water depths are here, depending on the tide, about 27-30 meters.
The corner coordinates are:
- Southwest: 54 ° 0 ' 0 "N, 6 ° 34' 24 " O546.5733333333333
- Northwest: 54 ° 1 ' 36 "N, 6 ° 34' 24 " O54.0266666666676.5733333333333
- Northeast: 54 ° 1 ' 36 "N, 6 ° 37' 18" O54.0266666666676.6216666666667
- East: 54 ° 0 ' 0 "N, 6 ° 37' 24 " O546.6233333333333 ( transformer station )
Directly adjacent, about 400 meters west of the park, the research platform FINO 1 is the distance of the four rows of three each is about 800 m ( exactly: 798 m, 761 m, 816 m). Even within the ranks, there is this distance.
The area of approximately 800 × 800 m is in the middle of a wind turbine; seen such use, the twelve, the wind over an area of 1.6 × 2.4 = 3.84 km ² ( = 384 ha).
History
The project was planned as a test facility for offshore use of wind energy. In 1999, the Prokon North Energy Systems GmbH in Leer the application for the construction of a wind farm north of Borkum. The approval was granted by the EEZ competent Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency ( BSH) on 9 November 2001, was being provided as the deadline for the latest Construction of 1 April 2004. In September 2005, the project was handed over to the initiated by the Federal Ministry for the Environment " offshore foundation". In subsequent years, the project of the German offshore test field and Infrastructure GmbH & Co. KG has been driven ( DOTI ).
In 2007 was begun with the laying of the submarine cable and the supply contract signed in June for the wind turbines. In July 2008, the construction of the platform "alpha ventus " with the substation began. The establishment of the first six wind turbines had to be postponed several times due to bad weather conditions, so they were set up in the summer of 2009. For the second construction site, the existing restricted area was extended as a safety zone on 27 March 2009 to the north.
On 15 July 2009 the first wind turbine was installed. After the establishment of the first five wind turbines, the first systems "AV 8" "AV 9" and " 12 AV " were located as of August 12, 2009 in the so-called set-up mode. On 16 November 2009, all twelve wind turbines were installed. The last six the operation took on Until the end of 2009. On 27 April 2010, the wind farm was officially put into operation.
Technology
Wind turbines
It can be used twelve turbines in the 5 MW class from two different manufacturers:
- The southern six are of type M5000 Areva Wind GmbH. You have a hub height of around 90 meters ( over water) and a rotor diameter of 116 m. These systems are designed for a service life of twenty years. Your steely tower branches under water to a three-legged tripod ( tripod ) of almost 25 meters edge length that is based on stakes. This substructure is to have a life of sixty years. The Cut-in is around 3.5 m / s (force 3 ), rated power is from about 12.5 m / s reaches (wind force 6), from a wind speed of about 25 m / s ( wind force 10 ) the plants are shut down and removed from the network. The Weight of nacelle including rotor is about 309 t, built-up steel mass ( tripod foot, tower, nacelle ) amounts to about 1000 tons. Due to intense heating of the sliding bearings due to a material error, the gondolas had 2010 all multibrid equipment to be replaced.
- The northern six wind turbines of the REpower 5M from REpower Systems with rotors of 126 meters in diameter in 92 m height were installed on jacket foundations. These were mounted on a smaller base with four piles. The height of the jacket foundation is approximately 57 meters, the BC mass around 320 tons, composed of standard Bohrfeldrohren, the jacket surface area approximately 17 × 17 meters.
After initial problems, the operator was on 30 June 2011 in a press release that the twelve wind turbines installed were ready to almost 98 % of the days.
Transformer platform
The platform with the station was in September 2008 at the southeast corner of the project area as a lake-facing connection for three-phase submarine cable connection (" WindNet " ) built in to the country.
The steel structure was fabricated from the Bremerhaven company WeserWind Offshore Construction Georgsmarienhütte in Wilhelmshaven. The electrical equipment was acquired by Areva.
Submarine cables
Were manufactured the cables from the North German Seekabelwerken in the currently largest stranding in the world. The connection cables of three wind turbines are grouped together and managed as a 30- kV cable to the transformer station on the offshore platform "alpha ventus ". Here the voltage is re-clamped to 110 kV and passed through a submarine cable on the island of Norderney to the mainland by Hilgenriedersiel, from there by underground cable on the transformer station hall at Weener in the district of Leer. The cable was laid in three parts ( from the mainland to Norderney, through the island and thence to the wind farm ) and is 70 kilometers long. The two sections in the water were relocated from Ocean Team Power & Umbilical GmbH. The cable that connects the alpha ventus to the power grid of the mainland, runs in the region of the island of Norderney in an empty pipe system in the near the power cord for alpha ventus also cable for network connection of additional wind farms off the coast drawn (eg HVDC BorWin1 for BARD Offshore 1 ) were.
Accompanying research
Parallel to the construction of the BMU supports a number of research projects, which are summarized in the RAVE initiative (Research at Alpha Ventus ). This is to be gained experience and knowledge for the construction and operation of additional offshore wind farms a broad base. The BSH coordinates the accompanying ecological research and is responsible for the measurement service in the test field.
Clausthal University of Technology developed ( in the BMU-funded research project grid integration of large offshore wind turbines - base load from the North Sea ), a feasibility study for better network integration of offshore wind farms and was referring to an example of this wind farm.
In October 2013, the BSH presented the first results from a five-year ecological research: According to this fish species such as mackerel, dragonet and Seebull have settled. The feared obliteration of the fauna and mass death of birds had not occurred, would actually the movement of the rotor blades and the firing of the plants to scare birds, thus the risk of collision would drop significantly. The biodiversity has increased within the wind farm. Environmental groups criticized in a joint statement, this assertion devoid of scientific basis and seem politically motivated.
Criticism
Against the construction of offshore wind plant various ecological concerns have been expressed.
Porpoises
Criticism of alpha ventus was directed against, among others stress and disturbance of protected harbor porpoises in the construction of the plant. For each of the twelve plants an average of more than 15,000 Rammschläge were needed in the seabed. Researchers and environmental groups at risk, according to the resulting sound with partially over 200 decibels marine mammals. After a day of constant noise the hearing of whales will be damaged even many miles away. Aerial surveys have also shown that harbor porpoises during the construction of wind power plants avoided the area within a radius of more than 20 kilometers. NABU complained that a bubble curtain was not as planned used for sound insulation (also called " bubble curtain ").
The federal government responded to a question in parliament that a bubble curtain was indeed used, but this proved to be effective as insufficient. The values measured by BSH sound pressure values lying but even without bubble curtain, under the authorized limits.
Environmental groups criticized the occasion of the enactment of a noise protection concept of the Federal Government to protect the North Sea harbor porpoise in the future construction of offshore facilities that had been observed in any previous project the sound limit of 160 decibels.
Marine and tidal flats
Further criticism was directed against the laying of sea cables and Watt by marine Natura 2000 sites.