German wind power moves further out to sea

A pioneering German wind power plant’s new high-tech equipment, to capture higher winds further offshore and for longer periods, is exciting the industry.

The Alpha Ventus wind park started this month and operates 45 km off the German-Dutch coast. Existing European wind parks operate only 20 km offshore at the most.
“Alpha Ventus is navigating uncharted waters for us to see what problems could be encountered in the offshore wind industry globally,” said Thorsten Herdan, executive director of VDMA Power Systems, which represents German equipment makers.

“If we can successfully produce equipment to operate under such harsh conditions this far out in the North Sea, we would definitely lead the world in terms of material and operations.”

Alpha Ventus was forced by German environmental laws to build in deeper waters further out to protect tidelands.

The 250 million euros ($357.7 million) test field, also known as Borkum West, lies near the German-Dutch border with steel foundations 30 meters deep.

Reuters