In the presence of the Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Erwin Sellering, and numerous guests from the worlds of business and politics, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG has officially put its second offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea into operation.
Following a construction period of around two years, EnBW Baltic 2 with its 80 wind turbines will now generate electricity for around 340,000 households per year.
EnBW Baltic 2 is located 32 kilometres to the north of the island of Rügen. Its 80 wind turbines with a total output of 288 megawatts have been installed over an area of 27 square kilometres. The offshore wind farm will generate 1.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year and cover the aggregate requirements of 340,000 households while saving 900,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The 80 Siemens SWT-3.6-120 wind turbines rise 138 metres above the surface of the water. Depending on the depth of the water, they have been erected on different foundations: Monopiles have been used for water depths of up to 35 metres, while three-legged jackets have been utilised at depths of over 35 metres.
The substation forms the heart of EnBW Baltic 2. The electricity from the individual wind turbines flows into the substation where it is transformed to a higher voltage and transported to the mainland to be fed into the integrated German electricity network. The yellow substation is 15 metres high, 25 metres long and weighs a total of 4,500 tonnes including the foundations. More than 83 kilometres of undersea cables connect the individual wind turbines to the substation.
Image: EnBW