Iberdrola inaugurates 350 MW offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea

Iberdrola has announced that it has inaugurated the Wikinger offshore wind farm, a 350 MW facility located off the north-east coast of the German island of Rügen. It is the first offshore wind farm to be designed and operated 100% by a Spanish company, with a total investment of over EUR1.4 billion (US$1.60 billion). 

With 350 MW connected to the German grid, Wikinger supplies efficient renewable energy to 350,000 homes (representing some 20% of the energy demand of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). This energy displaces the emission of nearly 600,000 tons of CO₂ per year.

To build the project, 280 piles were installed. Measuring 40 metres in length by 2.5 metres in diameter, and a unit weight of 150 tonnes, they were all built by Spanish company Windar. A total of 70 foundations were laid on them, each weighing 620 tonnes, manufactured by Bladt Industries in Lindo (Denmark) and Navantia, at its shipyard in Fene (Spain).

The 5 MW Siemens Gamesa AD 5-135 turbines were manufactured in the company's plants in Bremerhaven and Stade (Germany). They have the highest power rating and largest dimensions of all the wind turbines Iberdrola has installed to date. With a total height of 165 metres, they are made up of a 75-metre high tower, a 222-tonne nacelle and a 135-metre diameter rotor, with each blade measuring 67 metres long.

Finally, one of Wikinger's key pieces of infrastructure is the Andalucía offshore substation, which will be used jointly by Iberdrola and 50Hertz, an electricity system operator in Germany. Weighing around 8,500 tonnes, the energy heart of the wind farm was also built by Navantia in Puerto Real in southern Spain.

The project marks Iberdrola's entry into the German electricity market, where it has just been awarded the construction of two other offshore wind farms: Baltic Eagle (476 MW) and Wikinger Süd (10 MW). Together with Wikinger, these three wind farms will comprise the largest offshore wind complex in the Baltic Sea, with a total installed capacity of 836 MW and a combined investment of EUR2.5 billion (US$2.85 billion).