German turbine producer REpower Systems AG has erected the last of a total of six 5 MW wind turbines for the alpha ventus offshore test field to complete the first German offshore wind farm
Alpha ventus is located 45km north of the island of Borkum and was built by a consortium of energy companies including E.ON, German company EWE, and Vattenfall. Each turbine has a rated output of 5MW and stands 155m above sea level. The turbines are due to be supplying power to the grid before the end of 2009. Each of the six turbines is set to supply the electricity grid with around 18 million kWh (kilowatt hours) of power per year.
Director of offshore projects at REpower Systems AG, Norbert Giese, said: “Despite the partly adverse weather conditions of the last few weeks, this turbine construction project went quickly and smoothly – due to the experience that we gained from similar wind turbine construction projects, such as the Thornton Bank offshore wind farm. Due to the outstanding cooperation between all the people involved in the project, we were able to erect one turbine in almost a day.”