Alpha ventus offshore wind farm

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alpha ventus offshore wind farm
The alpha ventus offshore wind farm seen from the south, the transformer station on the right (aerial photo in May 2012)
The alpha ventus offshore wind farm seen from the south,
the transformer station on the right (aerial photo in May 2012)
location
Coordinates 54 ° 0 '30 "  N , 6 ° 35' 54"  E Coordinates: 54 ° 0 '30 "  N , 6 ° 35' 54"  E
country Germany
( Exclusive Economic Zone )
Waters North Sea
Data
Type Offshore wind farm
Primary energy Wind energy
power 60 MW (electric)
operator German Offshore Testfeld- und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co. KG (DOTI)
Project start 1999
Start of operations April 27, 2010, trial operation of three wind turbines on August 12, 2009
founding Jacket , tripod
turbine 12 × 5 MW class:
Energy fed in 2010–2018 average per year
267 GWh
Energy fed in since commissioning 1784 (Oct 2017) GWh
Website www.alpha-ventus.de
was standing March 2016
f2

alpha ventus (initially called offshore wind farm Borkum West or test field Borkum West ) is an offshore wind farm with twelve wind turbines off the Lower Saxony North Sea coast in the German Bight .

Operation and importance

The park is the first offshore wind park in the German Exclusive Economic Zone to go into operation. The pilot project has an investment volume of 250 million euros (around 4100 euros / kW) and is funded by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) with 30 million euros. The EU Commission approved this grant in 2010. An investment sum of 190 million euros was originally planned.

According to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Section 31, Paragraph 3), offshore plants receive a higher initial tariff of 19 ct / kWh instead of 9.2 ct than onshore wind turbines , which means that the average feed-in tariff over the entire operating period is significantly higher than for onshore plants. The mean wind speed at hub height is around 10 m / s, the originally forecast annual energy yield was around 220  GWh . After three years, the average annual production was around 253.3 GWh; approx. 10% more than originally expected. In the first five years of operation, an average of 4120 full load hours were achieved.

In 2011, 267 GWh were produced, which corresponds to a capacity factor of over 50% or 4450 full load hours. In 2012, alpha ventus produced around 268 GWh, corresponding to 4460 full load hours, which means that the wind farm was around 15% above the forecast yield, as in 2011. In 2013, only 224.6 GWh were gained through four months of weak wind and shutdowns due to maintenance work on individual systems. By exchanging individual components, the yield in 2014 was only 235.6 GWh, which resulted in an average annual yield of 248.73 GWh since 2011. In 2015, 242.18 GWh of electricity were produced.

The wind farm is operated by Deutsche Offshore Testfeld- und Infrastruktur 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

Location of the wind farm in the North Sea with the submarine cable to the mainland
Division of the wind farm area with the twelve wind turbines, location of the transformer platform and FINO 1
Wind farms in the German Bight

The wind farm is located 43 to 45 kilometers north-northwest of the island of Borkum in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea , i.e. outside the 12 nautical mile limit . The water depths here are around 27-30 meters , depending on the tide .

The corner coordinates are:

The research platform FINO 1 is right next door , approx. 400 meters west of the park . The distance between the four rows of three is about 800 m (exactly: 798 m, 761 m, 816 m). This distance also exists within the rows.

history

The alpha ventus offshore wind farm in July 2009

The project was planned as a test facility for the offshore use of wind energy . In 1999, Prokon Nord Energiesysteme GmbH from Leer applied for the construction of a wind farm north of Borkum. Approval was granted on November 9, 2001 by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) responsible in the EEZ , with April 1, 2004 being the deadline for the latest start of construction. In September 2005 the project was handed over to the “Offshore Foundation” initiated by the Federal Environment Ministry. In the following years, the project was driven by the Deutsche Offshore-Testfeld- und Infrastruktur-GmbH & Co. KG (DOTI).

The laying of the submarine cable began in 2007 and the supply contract for the wind turbines was signed in June . In July 2008, the construction of the "alpha ventus" platform with the transformer station began . The erection of the first six wind turbines had to be postponed several times due to bad weather conditions, so that they were only erected in summer 2009. For the second construction site, the existing restricted area was extended to the north as a safety zone on March 27, 2009.

The first wind turbine was installed on July 15, 2009. After the erection of the first five wind turbines, the first turbines "AV 8", "AV 9" and "AV 12" were in so-called setting mode on August 12, 2009. On November 16, 2009, all twelve wind turbines were installed. By the end of 2009, the last six started operating. The wind farm was officially put into operation on April 27, 2010.

technology

Wind turbines

The three southern wind turbines "AV 10" (rear) to "AV 12" with the transformer platform "alpha ventus"
The three REpower 5M wind turbines in the north

Twelve systems of the 5 MW class from two different manufacturers are used:

  • The southern six are of the Multibrid M5000 type from Areva Wind GmbH . They have a hub height of around 90 m (above water) and a rotor diameter of 116 m. These systems are designed for a service life of twenty years. Their iron tower branches under water to a three-legged tripod ( Tripod ) of nearly 25 meters edge length, on stilts founded is. This substructure should have a lifespan of sixty years.
    The cut-in wind speed is around 3.5 m / s (wind force 3), nominal power is reached from around 12.5 m / s (wind force 6), and from a wind speed of around 25 m / s (wind force 10) the systems are switched off and taken from the network. The mass of the nacelle including the rotor is around 309 t, the built-in steel mass (tripod base, tower, nacelle) is around 1000 tons. Due to excessive heating of the plain bearings as a result of a material defect, the nacelles had to be replaced on all Multibrid systems in 2010.
  • The northern six wind turbines of the type REpower 5M company REpower Systems with rotors of 126 meters diameter 92  m height were on jacket foundations installed. These were attached to a smaller area with four piles. The height of the jacket foundation is around 57 meters, the jacket mass is around 320 tonnes, composed of standard drilling field pipes, and the jacket base is around 17 × 17 meters.
Transformer platform "alpha ventus"

After initial problems, the operator announced in a press release on June 30, 2011 that the twelve installed wind turbines were operational for almost 98% of the days.

Transformer platform

The platform with the substation was in September 2008 at the southeast corner of the project area as a lake-facing connection for three-phase - submarine built compound ( "Windnet") to the country.

The steel structure was manufactured by the Bremerhaven company WeserWind GmbH Offshore Construction Georgsmarienhütte in Wilhelmshaven . The electrical equipment was taken over by Areva.

Empty conduit for submarine cables on the north beach of Norderney

Submarine cables

The cables were manufactured by the North German submarine cable works in the largest stranding machine in the world (as of 2009). The connection cables from three wind turbines each are combined and routed as 30 kV cables to the substation on the offshore platform “alpha ventus”. Here the voltage is converted to 110 kV and passed through a submarine cable over the island of Norderney to the mainland in Hilgenriedersiel , from there with underground cable to the Hagermarsch substation . The cable was laid in three parts (from the mainland to Norderney, through the island and from there to the wind farm) and is 60 km long. The two sections in the water were laid by Oceanteam Power & Umbilical GmbH . The cable that connects Alpha Ventus to the mainland's power grid runs in the area of ​​the island of Norderney in an empty conduit system in which, in addition to the power cable for Alpha Ventus , cables to connect other wind farms off the coast (e.g. HVDC BorWin1 for BARD Offshore 1 ) were withdrawn.

In the foreground: arrival of the underground cable at the Hagermarsch substation and feed of the wind farm into the public grid. On the right the exciter, on the left the series part of the phase shifting transformer .

Accompanying research

Parallel to the construction, the BMU supports a number of research projects in the RAVE initiative ( R eSearch at A lpha VE are summarized NTUs). This is intended to provide a broad base of experience and knowledge for the construction and operation of further offshore wind farms. The BSH coordinates the accompanying ecological research and is responsible for the measurement service in the test field.

The TU Clausthal 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, referring example to this wind farm.

In October 2013, the BSH presented the first results from five years of accompanying ecological research: according to this, fish species such as mackerel, lyrefish and sea bull have settled. The feared desertification of the fauna and the mass death of birds did not occur; in fact, the movement of the rotor blades and the lights on the systems would scare away birds, which would significantly reduce the risk of collision. The biodiversity in the vicinity of the wind farm has also increased. Environmental groups criticized in a joint statement that this claim lacks scientific basis and appears politically motivated.

criticism

From a height of almost 60  m , the wind farm can also be seen from the Norderney lighthouse on the horizon

Various ecological and technical concerns have been expressed against the construction of the offshore wind turbine .

Porpoises

Criticism of Alpha ventus was directed, among other things, against the pollution and disturbance of the protected harbor porpoises during the construction of the facility. For each of the twelve systems, an average of more than 15,000 ramming hits into the seabed were necessary. According to researchers and environmental associations, the resulting noise endangered marine mammals, sometimes exceeding 200  decibels . After a day of continuous exposure to sound, the whales' hearing is damaged even at a distance of many kilometers. Flight censuses also showed that harbor porpoises avoided the area for a radius of more than 20 kilometers while the wind turbines were being built. The NABU complained that, contrary to the planning, no bubble curtain (also known as a "bubble curtain") had been used for sound insulation.

In response to a question in the Bundestag, the federal government replied that a bubble veil was used, but that it had not proven to be sufficiently effective. The sound pressure values ​​measured by the BSH would be below the approved limit values ​​even without a bubble curtain.

On the occasion of the implementation of a noise protection concept by the federal government to protect the North Sea harbor porpoise in the future construction of offshore plants, environmental associations criticized the fact that the noise limit of 160 decibels had not been met in any previous project  .

Sea and mudflats

Further criticism was directed against the laying of sea and mudflat cables through marine Natura 2000 areas.

Machine breakdown in April 2018

On April 6, 2018, an Adwen AD 5-116 wind turbine (formerly Multibrid and Areva) was damaged. First it was reported that plastic parts of the nacelle cladding fell into the North Sea. Systems of the same type in the wind farm were shut down. The other Adwen facilities in the North Sea may not be entered until the cause has been clarified. It was only at the end of April 2018 that it turned out that not only the cladding, but part of the entire nacelle of the plant with the identifier AV07 had broken off.

See also

literature

  • Hermann-Josef Wagner : The ecological balance of the offshore wind farm alpha ventus , energy and sustainability, Vol. 3, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-643-10927-9
  • Pioneering achievement on the high seas · alpha ventus: The first offshore wind farm in the German North Sea . In: Hansa , Heft 2/2010, S. 35/36, Schiffahrts-Verlag Hansa, Hamburg 2010, ISSN  0017-7504
  • Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES (Ed.): RAVE · Research at Alpha Ventus · A research initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment . Kassel 2010, 50 pages
  • Hermann-Josef Wagner, Christoph Baack, Timo Eickelkamp, ​​Alexa Epe, Jessica Lohmann, Stefanie Troy: Life cycle assessment of the offshore wind farm alpha ventus . In: Energy 36, (2011), pp. 2459-2464, doi: 10.1016 / j.energy.2011.01.036

Web links

Commons : Alpha ventus offshore wind farm  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ alpha-ventus.de
  2. ↑ EU releases tax money for Alpha Ventus - energate messenger +. Retrieved March 27, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Germany goes offshore, EWE, E.ON and Vattenfall build the first wind power plant for Alpha Ventus. (PDF; 37 kB) In: offshore-stiftung.de. July 15, 2009, p. 2 , accessed March 9, 2019 .
  4. ↑ The first German offshore wind farm cracked the billion mark . In: ingenieur.de , February 25, 2014, accessed on February 17, 2015
  5. ↑ a b Offshore wind farm 'alpha ventus' satisfied with operating year 2015. In: T-online, January 17, 2016. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on June 30, 2017 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.t-online.de  
  6. ↑ More electricity than expected: operators satisfied . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , June 29, 2011, accessed on June 29, 2011
  7. ↑ `` FACT-SHEET alpha ventus '' (PDF; 285 kB), accessed on March 9, 2019
  8. ↑ Alpha ventus offshore wind farm produces well above target in 2012 . IWR, accessed April 26, 2013
  9. ↑ Peter Kleinort: First terrawatt hour generated . In: Daily port report of February 28, 2014, p. 15, ISSN  2190-8753
  10. ↑ Peter Kleinort: "Alpha ventus": Almost 1000 GWh delivered . In: Daily port report of February 24, 2015, p. 4
  11. ↑ Frank Binder: "alpha ventus" satisfied with 2015 . In: Daily port report from January 19, 2016, p. 4
  12. ^ News for Navigators. (PDF; 64 kB) No. 13. (No longer available online.) Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, 2009, pp. 4.1–4.3 , archived from the original on May 21, 2012 ; Retrieved April 27, 2010 .
  13. ↑ Offshore wind power from the North Sea, alpha ventus feeds the first kilowatt hours into the German power grid . In: solar server. (Press release from Alpha ventus from August 12, 2009)
  14. ↑ First offshore wind farm is completed. In: Spiegel Online. November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009 .
  15. ↑ Alpha ventus offshore wind farm in the North Sea complete. (No longer available online.) November 23, 2009, archived from the original on January 30, 2016 ; accessed on January 30, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Alpha Ventus - now the North Sea current is flowing In: weser-kurier.de , accessed on April 27, 2010
  17. ↑ Wind turbines are running at full speed again . In: NWZ-Online , October 13, 2010, accessed June 29, 2011
  18. ↑ Alpha Ventus wind farm (Borkum West 1). EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH, accessed on January 30, 2016 .
  19. ↑ alpha ventus: offshore electricity yield higher than expected . Press release dated June 30, 2011, accessed August 19, 2011
  20. ↑ World record at the cable works. (PDF; 296 kB) (No longer available online.) In: Kreiszeitung Wesermarsch . March 13, 2009, archived from the original on March 5, 2014 ; Retrieved July 17, 2009 .
  21. ↑ Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES (Ed.): RAVE · Research at Alpha Ventus · A research initiative of the Federal Environment Ministry . Kassel 2010
  22. ↑ Information about the accompanying research project RAVE ( Memento from November 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  23. ↑ BSH presents results from accompanying ecological research in the alpha ventus wind farm. BSH press release of October 30, 2013, accessed on March 9, 2019
  24. ↑ a b Focus Online : Environmental associations: Further expansion of offshore wind energy must be environmentally friendly - noise protection concept finally in force , December 2, 2013
  25. ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt: Harbor porpoises damaged in the construction of an offshore wind farm , June 2, 2010
  26. ↑ a b NABU : Noise Threatens the Seas , March 23, 2010
  27. ↑ Press release from NABU and WDCS : Marine Mammals in Noise Stress , March 23, 2010
  28. ^ NABU: First German offshore wind farm in operation , August 12, 2009
  29. ↑ Effects of the construction of offshore wind farms on harbor porpoise populations - Federal Government's response to the minor question from MPs Undine Kurth (Quedlinburg) (...) and the Alliance 90 / THE GREENS parliamentary group - printed matter 17/2390 - . Bundestag printed paper 17/2642 of July 20, 2010.
  30. ^ NABU: Naturally compatible offshore grid connection , March 23, 2010
  31. ↑ Catherine Grim: Borkum: Parts of a wind turbine are recovered. NDR , April 9, 2018, accessed April 25, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Christina Gerlach: Massive damage in the wind farm - cause unclear. NDR, April 25, 2018, accessed April 25, 2018 .