First Turbine Generates Power for 960 MW Offshore Wind Farm in Germany

The first wind turbine on the EnBW He Dreiht offshore wind farm generated the first kilowatt-hour of electricity and fed it into the grid. Further turbines will gradually follow suit over the coming weeks. EnBW has so far built 27 out of a total of 64 wind turbines, which are all set to be commissioned by summer 2026.

A single rotation of the rotor on the 15 MW wind turbine is enough to supply the equivalent of four households with electricity for a day. At a hub height of 142 m, the rotor with a diameter of 236 m sweeps through an area of 43,742 sq m per revolution – equivalent to the area of six football fields.

EnBW completed the internal wind farm cabling that connects all of the EnBW He Dreiht wind turbines in August. The wind farm’s internal cabling was also connected to the converter platform, which is managed by the transmission system operator TenneT. This is where the generated electricity will be concentrated, converted from alternating current into direct current and brought ashore using two high-voltage DC cables.

The wind farm is being built about 85 km northwest of Borkum and 110 km west of Heligoland without state funding and is capable of generating enough electricity to meet the needs of around 1.1 million households.

A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9 % of the shares in He Dreiht. Around EUR2.4 billion (US$2.77 billion) is being invested in it.