Siemens to supply 80 turbines for German offshore windfarm

SYLT ISLAND, GERMANY - By 2012, 80 Siemens wind turbines of 3.6 megawatts (MW) each are planned to be installed at the 288-MW Butendiek offshore windfarm, located 34 kilometers off the west coast of the German island of Sylt.

The announcement was made by the project company Butendiek Offshore Windpark GmbH & Compnay KG and Siemens.

The Butendiek windfarm will be constructed in the North Sea at a depth of 20 meters. Originally, Butendiek was founded by German citizens, who in 2008 brought the wind project forward together in a joint venture with Airtricity, the renewable energy development division of Scottish and Southern Energy plc. The environmental impact studies for the project were carried out and approved in 2002 and were followed by the construction permits. Construction kickoff is planned for the end of 2010.

The German government has set a target of 25,000 MW of offshore wind power for the year 2030 and offers favorable framework conditions for the installation and operation of offshore windfarms.

For example, RWE Innogy, a subsidiary of German power giant RWE AG is planning to install between 150 and 180 wind turbines at depths of 26 to 34 meters for the Innogy Nordsee 1 windfarm in Germany, which will be built 40 kilometers to the north of the East Frisian island of Juist. Once completed in 2015, the windfarm will have a capacity of 1,000 MW and will provide electricity to about 780,000 households.