ENERCON Ma gazine

WINDBLATT for wind energ y

Issue 04 | 2007
www.enercon.de

E-126 PROTOTYPE
World’s most powerful wind
turbine installed near Emden
Page 6

PRACTICE
138 metres tower: High
performance turbines
towering above treetops
Page 8

TECHNOLOGY
3 x E-33 Wind Diesel
System: Wind reduces fuel
consumption on Falklands
Page 10

SUPPLIER
SKF at Schweinfurt/Bavaria:
Bearings for millions of
rotations
Page 14

INTERNATIONAL
Miyako Island/Japan:
Rebuilding of a wind farm
destroyed by a typhoon
Page 15
ENERCON ADDRESSES
INTERNATIONAL SALES OFFICES Page 3 Editorial
ENERCON GmbH, International Dept.
Otto-Lilienthal-Str. 25 · 28199 Bremen · GERMANY
Phone +49 421 2441 520 · Fax +49 421 2441539
e-mail: [email protected]
ENERCON News
AUSTRIA Page 4 Short news from the ENERCON World
ENERCON Austria Ges.mbH · Hauptstrasse 19
2120 Wolkersdorf · AUSTRIA · Phone +43 2245 82828
Fax +43 2245 82838 · e-mail: [email protected]

BENELUX
Title Story
ENERCON Benelux BV · Paxtonstraat 1 a
8013 RP Zwolle · THE NETHERLANDS
Page 6 E-126 Prototype: World’s most
Phone +31 38 4228 282 · Fax +31 38 4228 010
e-mail: [email protected]
powerful wind turbine installed near
BRAZIL Emden
Wobben Windpower Ltda.
Av. Fernando Stecca nº 100 · Distrito Industrial CEP
18087450 Sorocaba · São Paulo · BRAZIL
Phone +55 15 2101 1700 · Fax +55 15 2101 1701
e-mail: [email protected]
Practice
CANADA Page 8 138 metres tower: High performance
Michael Weidemann · ENERCON GmbH turbines towering above treetops
International Sales Department
Oesterweg 9 · 59469 Ense · GERMANY
Phone +49 2938 9720 17 · Fax +49 2938 9720 49
e-mail: [email protected]
Technology
DENMARK
ENERCON Denmark Page 10 3 x E-33 Wind Diesel System: Wind
Bredkær Parkvej 62 · 8250 Egaa · DENMARK
Phone +45 87 430 388 · Fax +45 87 430 344 reduces fuel consumption on
e-mail: [email protected]

FRANCE
Falklands
ENERCON GmbH bureau français
1, rue des Longues Raies · ZAC des Longues Raies
F-60610 La Croix Saint Ouen · FRANCE
Phone +33 3 44 83 67 20 · Fax + 33 3 44 83 67 29 International
GREECE Page 12 New wind farms in Italy: First towers
ENERCON Hellas S.A.
20, Pentelis Avenue · 15235 Vrilissia, Athens · GREECE made in Bari
Phone +30 210 6838 490 · Fax +30 210 6838 489
e-mail: [email protected]

INDIA
ENERCON India Ltd.
Supplier
Kolsite House, Plot No. 31 · Shah Industrial Estate
Veera Desai Road, Andheri (West) Page 14 SKF at Schweinfurt/Bavaria: Bearings
Mumbai 400 053 · INDIA
Phone +91 22 569 248 48 · Fax +91 22 267 300 85 for millions of rotations
e-mail: [email protected]

ITALY

ENERCON Italia International

Via Luciano Manara, 5
00044 Frascati (Roma) · ITALY
Phone + 39 06 94 01 69 1 · Fax + 39 06 94 01 69 299
Page 15 Miyako Island/Japan: Rebuilding of a
e-mail: [email protected] wind farm destroyed by a typhoon
NEW ZEALAND
ENERCON GmbH
Andrea von Lindeiner · PO Box 340206
Birkenhead · Auckland 0746 · NEW ZEALAND Page 16 Åland: ENERCON wind turbines
Phone +64 (0)9 4199 231 · GER +49 4941 976 959-147
e-mail: [email protected] onshore offshore
PORTUGAL
ENERCON Portugal
c/o Gellweiler S.A. · Rua Vitor Cordon, 37-4° Dt°
1200-481 Lisboa · PORTUGAL
Events and Addresses
Phone +351 21 340 71 65 · Fax +351 21 340 71 69
e-mail: [email protected] Page 2 ENERCON Addresses
SPAIN Page 5 Info-Service
ENERCON Spain S.A.
València Parc Tecnològic, Av. Juan de la Cierva, 27
46980 Paterna (València) · SPAIN
Phone +34 961 366 461 · Fax +34 961 366 469
IMPRINT
e-mail: [email protected] Publisher: ENERCON GmbH · Dreekamp 5 · 26605 Aurich · Germany
SWEDEN Phone +49 4941 927-0 · Fax +49 4941 927-109 · www.enercon.de/en/_home.htm
ENERCON Energy Converter AB
Stenåldersgatan 19 Editorial office: Volker Uphoff, Ruth Brand
21376 Malmö · SWEDEN Printed by: Steinbacher Druck GmbH, Osnabrück, Germany
Phone +46 40 143 580 · Fax +46 40 222 420
e-mail: [email protected] Copyright: All photos, illustrations, texts, images, graphic representations, insofar as this is not expressly stated to the
TURKEY contrary, are the property of ENERCON GmbH and may not be reproduced, changed, transmitted or used otherwise without
ENERCON Servis Ltd. Sti. the prior written consent of ENERCON GmbH.
Bagdat Cad. No 187 A Blok daire 5
Selamicesme Kadikoy Frequency: The WINDBLATT appears every three months and is regularly included in the
Istanbul · TURKEY
Phone +90 216 3854 715 · Fax +90 216 3606 492 New Energy, magazine for renewable energies, of the Federal Association for Wind Energy, Germany.
e-mail: [email protected]
Subscribe: Phone +49 4941 976-283 or www.enercon.de/en/_home.htm; stamp duty 2,- € per issue.
Cover photo: Installation of E-126 at Rysumer Nacken, Emden.
 EDITORIAL WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 3

Dear Readers,
This summer the German government finally adopted a comprehensive package of climate
protection measures. The key measure in the electricity sector is a review of the Renewable
Energy Act (EEG). The Federal government's field report on the Renewable Energy Act submit-
ted on 5 July provided a good basis for discussions. The report suggested taking the degres-
sion rate for wind energy down from 2 to an annual one percent. Although this is a step in the
right direction, it is still not enough to bear the increase in costs for raw materials such as
copper, steel, electroplates, nickel and chemical products such as paints and resins needed for
wind turbine production. Since the last Renewable Energy Act amendment in 2004, steel
prices on the international commodities market have risen by 50 percent and in the same pe-
riod the price of copper has tripled. At least a portion of these costs has to be passed on to our
customers. The wind industry is in desperate need of a temporary suspension of the degres-
sion to prevent the development of wind energy in Germany from being paralysed.

A second topic being considered is the introduction of a technology bonus: This would be ex-
tremely wise as it would reward wind turbine owners who choose sophisticated systems for
their wind farms. Such an arrangement would not only guarantee Germany a long term secu-
rity of energy supply, but would also be a further incentive to promote more efficient and fle-
xible renewable power supply systems. An appropriate bonus would support efforts made by
innovative companies, who – like ENERCON – actively contribute to further technological de-
velopments in the wind energy sector. One of the more recent examples is the new FACTS (Fle-
xible AC Transmission System) feature of ENERCON wind farm power electronics: This feature
provides for immediate reactive power supply without the intervention of additional sources
(capacitors, inductors), as well as the capacity to ride through grid failures. ENERCON wind
farms are thus able to contribute to power supply security even in weak grid sectors.

Another growing factor contributing to the expansion of wind energy is the development of fo-
rest areas. Many of the best wind sites in the southern part of Germany are often situated in
forest areas along the ridges of low mountain ranges. An advantage of these sites is that they
are off the beaten track – often so far away from the nearest housing construction that only
hikers notice the wind turbines. At the same time, wind energy is opening up more financial
opportunities for forest owners: In January this year, vast forest areas in Germany were deva-
stated by hurricane Kyrill. Revenue from wind energy could provide the necessary funds to de-
vise new concepts for restoring and managing forested landscapes.

Yours sincerely

Aloys Wobben
Managing Director ENERCON GmbH
 4 WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 NEWS

First ENERCON production facility This site will also house the administration for average wind speeds range between 10 to
inaugurated in Viana do Castelo ENEOP 3 and the Service department. 11 m/s at hub height. Designed for IEC Wind
Class I, the E-70 turbines will be installed on
On the day of the inauguration, Prime Minister 64 metre steel towers and the forecasted yield
Sócrates, Minister Pinho, and the mayor of Vi- of the two farms put together is expected to
Picture: Paulo Duarte/Jornal de Negócios

ana do Castelo, Defensor Moura, together with surpass 250,000 MWh p.a.
ENERCON Managing Director Aloys Wobben
and Mechanic Anlagenbau GmbH Managing Because the Strait of Gibraltar is a crucial stop
Director Klaus Peters, first visited the Lanhe- over for migrating birds, comprehensive re-
ses site to see the progress of construction ports on how changes in the farm could affect
there and to lay a cornerstone. In the plant ne- bird life had to be carried out before permissi-
Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates (centre)
ar the harbour of Viana do Castelo, 250 guests on was granted. Several independent surveys,
with ENERCON managing directors Aloys Wobben
(l.) and Klaus Peters. including local and national politicians, sup- however, convinced the regional nature con-
plier representatives, and members of the servation agency that the new farms with fe-
consortium attended the official inauguration wer but taller and more powerful turbines
“This is an important day for our country; a of the rotor blade production facility and wit- would have far less impact on bird migration
decisive moment”, said Portuguese Prime Mi- nessed the laying of the cornerstone for tower than their predecessors. Newer wind turbines
nister José Sócrates at the inauguration on production. On a walk through the rotor blade rotate at a considerably slower speed and are
November 16th of the ENERCON rotor blade facility, Aloys Wobben explained the manufac- much quieter than the old models. Bird life
production plant, the first of five ENERCON turing process to the Prime Minister. should scarcely be affected.
manufacturing facilities in Viana do Castelo, a
port city in Northern Portugal. “From today on, There are currently 108 staff employed in ro- “We’ll be building in three stages starting in
Portugal has an industrial core with the capa- tor blade manufacturing. This figure is expec- spring 2008”, reports ENERCON project ma-
city to produce and export state-of-the-art ted to rise to 450 by the end of March 2008. nager, Christian Oberbeck. “First of all Pesur I
wind energy technology”, said Sócrates. will be installed in two stages and then the
EEE wind farm will be completed.” Construc-
Minister for the Economy Manuel Pinho em- Andalusia: ENECON repowering older tion is scheduled to be finished by summer
phasised the harmonious and trustful relati- wind farms near Tarifa 2009. Contractor is the Sociedad Eólica de An-
onship between the Government, local autho- dalucía in Tarifa, a subsidiary of Endesa.
rities, ENERCON, and the other consortium
members Energias de Portugal (EDP) as well This is the first ever repowering project in
as the companies Generg, Finerge and Térmi- Spain. Potential for repowering in Andalusia,
ca Potuguesa. Without it, the first development Galicia and on the Canary Islands is consider-
Picture: Scanu Martin, Sevilla

stage of this industrial complex could not ha- able as there is still large number of older
ve been realised so quickly. “Our country can wind turbines dating back to the 250-kW ge-
be proud of this project”, said Pinho. neration. Spanish power feed laws now stipu-
late that wind farms erected before 2001need
In 2006, ENERCON won the bid in a Portugue- View on Pesur I (Tarifa) and Strait of Gibraltar to be updated. For every MWh of electricity
se Government tender for the installation of produced from repowered wind turbines, ow-
1200 MW of wind energy primarily in the north Work to tear down 250 of the 100-150 kW ca- ners will receive an extra premium of 7 euros.
of the country. As a precondition for winning tegory turbines in the Planta Eólica del Sur
the contract, the company had to set up in- (Pesur I) and Energía Eólica del Estrecho (EEE)
country manufacturing facilities. wind farms near Tarifa is in progress since the Costa Rica: First ENERCON wind farm
end of November. These outdated, 15-year old in Central America
The Portuguese subsidiary ENEOP 3 AWP 56-100, MADE AE-20 and 23 Ecotecnica Between 2008 and 2009 ENERCON will be in-
(“ENERCON Eolicas de Portugal”) comprises 20/150 turbines are being replaced by 37 mo- stalling a total of 55 WECs in Costa Rica. The-
two sites: Near the harbour of Viana, a re powerful E-70 plants during the next two se E-44/900 kW wind turbines will be the first
100,000 sqm area houses tower and rotor years. Rated power will thus rise from the cur- ENERCON wind energy converters installed in
blade production. 17 km away in Lanhesis, the rent 30.6 MW to a total of 74 MW. Central America. An agreement with the pro-
ENEOP 3 mechatronics building is being erec- ject planers was signed in August. Included in
ted that will accommodate generator and Sites near the Strait of Gibraltar in Andalusia the group are the farm developers, juwi GmbH
E-module production and nacelle assembly. are some of the windiest in Europe. Here, (Mainz, Germany), Saret in Costa Rica – one of
 NEWS WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 5

Central America’s largest construction firms, with ENERCON, giving it an overall rating of 1.6 Energethica

INFO-SERVICE
as well as Econergy. on a scale from 1 (“very satisfied”) to 6 (“dis- (Genoa/Italy)
satisfied”). The openness of communication 06.03.-08.03.2008
Owner/operators of this project will be Proy- with ENERCON staff and the exchange of infor- 3rd Exhibition on renewable and
ecto Eólico Guanacaste S.A. whose main sha- mation on a partnership relationship basis re- sustainable energy
reholder is the renewable independent power ceived particularly good ratings (1.6 and 1.5,
www.energethica.it
producer, Econergy International PLC (Boulder, respectively).
Colorado). With a rated power of just under
50 MW and average winds speeds of approx. ENERCON is viewed as a reliable partner: EWEC
12 m/s at hub height, yield is expected to ENERCON’s reliability and follow-through re- (Brussels/Belgium)
reach 240 GWh p.a. Compared to a coal power ceived a 1.6 rating. E-mail and telephone avai- 31.03. – 03.04.2008
plant “La Gloria” will be able to cut annual CO2 lability were perceived as very satisfactory or European wind energy conference
emissions by 240,000 tons. satisfactory (1.5 and 1.9). Survey participants & exhibition
praised ENERCON’s friendliness (1.5), hospita- www.ewec2008.info
The turbines are sited in the Northwest of lity during visits (1.4), reliability (1.7), availabi-
Costa Rica near the city of Liberia at an altitu- lity of dedicated points of contact (1.6) and
de of 600 to 700 metres. ENERCON and the professional competence of staff (1.5).
owners also concluded an 11 year EPK agree-
Energy
at Hanover Fair 2008
ment. Costa Rica will have its own special 1% 14 % (Hanover/Germany)
maintenance and service company. “We’re 79 % 6%
21.04. – 25.04.2008
certain that there will soon be more wind Technology tradeshow for the
farms to take care of”, says ENERCON’s sales energy mix of the future
director Stefan Lütkemeyer. www.hannovermesse.de

Both equally You / your company By ENERCON n/a

ENERCON a competent and

reliable partner for suppliers Contact initiation. Emder Energietage 2008
ENERCON plans to continue its growth over (Emden/Germany)
the coming years. Successful partnerships Most suppliers have a very active relationship 16.05. – 18.05.2008
with suppliers are a crucial prerequisite for with ENERCON: 35 % of survey participants re-
Exposition on renewable energy,
energy saving technology and
achieving this goal. “The satisfaction of both ported that they were in contact with
climate protection
business partners is the foundation of any ENERCON almost every day. Another 40 %
www.emder-energietage.de
successful business relationship”, says communicated at least once a week. In this
ENERCON Managing Director Hans-Dieter area as well, many answers underlined the
Kettwig. That is why it was so important for partnership relationship on an equal footing.
ENERCON to find out how its suppliers were 79 % of participants said that contact was in- New Zealand Wind Energy
viewing the business relationship. itiated by both sides equally. Conference 2008 (NZWEC2008)
(Te Papa/New Zealand)
An online survey conducted earlier this year But the survey also revealed some weak points 08.04. – 09.04.2008
showed that both domestic and foreign sup- and areas where ENERCON needs to consider Conference on “future vision” for
pliers were very satisfied with the relationship its supplier relationships. These issues have the industry: Emissions trading
been analysed and discussed within ENERCON
scheme & the NZ energy strategy
www.windenergy.org.nz
0% 1% and the results are taken into account for the
6% 35 % continued development of supplier business
18 %
relationships. “We achieved an excellent feed-
back rate”, says ENERCON’s Maike Günther National Wind Energy Conference
who was in charge of conducting the survey. (Kalmar/Sweden)
“Many suppliers called to tell us they thought it 23.04. – 24.04.2008
40 % was great that we asked suppliers their opini- Conference on future of wind
almost everyday
once per month
once per week
once per quarter
on for a change, not just customers.” The feed- energy
almost never n/a
back rate was 80 %, and Günther analysed www.kalmar.regionforbund.se
Contact frequency. more than 400 completed questionnaires.
6 WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 TITLE STORY

Prototype of E-126

World’s most powerful wind

turbine installed near Emden
Operation of ENERCON’s first E-126/6 MW took off in November this than its predecessor. One of the decisive
year. Currently the world’s most powerful wind turbine, the E-126 is a advantages is that the rotor blade is made
sophisticated version of the E112/6 MW. A larger swept area, the new up of two components, a shorter steel sec-
tion and a longer GRP section, which can be
ENERCON blade design and a higher tower are intended to greatly
transported separately. While transportation
enhance performance. To facilitate truck transport to inland sites, the for the E-112 involved organising complica-
enormous blades are now divided into two sections. And the E-126 ted road blocks, long stretches with police
produces more electricity than the consumption of 5000 households. escorts and special preparation of routes, in
particular enlarging curves by laying out
In November, ENERCON launched operati- turbine to date. To enhance performance, steel plates, sawing off branches, delivery
ons of its very first E-126/6 MW wind turbi- the rotor diameter has been increased to of an E-126 is similar to the E-82 series.
ne on the Rysumer Nacken in Emden, Lower 127 m – 13 m larger than the rotor diame- “Despite their size, we can still transport all
Saxony. This new addition to ENERCON’s ter of the E-112. Not only has the rotor dia- E-126 components on trucks measuring a
product range is a sophisticated version of meter been increased, but the hub height maximum of 4.40 m in width”, reports René
the E-112 (also with 6 MW rated power sin- has also been taken up another eleven me- Wolf from ENERCON Logistics Dept., in
ce 2005) – the world’s most powerful wind tres to reach a towering 135 m. In addition charge of the transports to the Emden site.
to these modifications, the
E-126 now features the new 20 years after the GROWIAN (“GRoße WInd-
ENERCON rotor blade profile kraft ANlage” – big wind turbine) had to be
with the extended trailing disassembled following a series of technical
edge designed to boost out- problems, the E-126 is the first large wind
put now also in the multi- turbine to again use metallic material for a
megawatt category. “We’ve significant part of its rotor blade design. The
significantly increased the GROWIAN had a metallic support structure
performance of our largest covered by GRP in order to give the aerody-
turbine”, says Rolf Rohden, namic shape. However, in the 1980s the
Head of the New Technolo- step to a 3 MW wind turbine was too early
gies department at Wobben and inevitably the project failed. Nowaday
Research & Development in much more knowledge and experience as
Aurich. Compared to the E- well as sophisticated design tools are avai-
112, yield is expected to ri- lable to support the R&D engineers and to
se at least another 35 %. On allow for unconventional designs.
the Rysumer Nacken, the E-
126 should produce approx. Another première is the fact that ENERCON
20 million kWh p.a. – installed a wind turbine of these dimensions
enough to supply 5000 four on a precast concrete tower. The E-112 was
person households with either mounted on in-situ concrete towers
clean energy. or steel towers. The E-126 tower in Emden
is an overwhelming 131 m high and con-
Despite the huge dimen- sists of 35 concrete sections manufactured
sions of the new wind turbi- by WEC Turmbau Emden GmbH situated on
Mounting steel segment of third rotor blade. ne, it is easier to transport the South Quai in Emden. Due to the 14.5 m
 TITLE STORY WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 7

Picture: W. Fricke
Crane lying on ground on Rysumer Nacken: In upright position, it measures a towering 180 meters and can lift up to 1200 tonnes.

diameter at the tower’s base, the first eight would have been open to the wind and, for one on the Rysumer Nacken. Both turbines
segments are divided into three parts for instance, made inserting the bolts quite dif- are part of a research and development pro-
transport purposes. 22 of the segments are ficult. So the erection team opted to lift two ject in which ENERCON will be testing va-
half-divided, and the other five are in one pre-assembled blades in the horizontal posi- rious storage systems in combination with
piece. The top segment supporting the tion to mount them on the blade adapters. the multi-megawatt wind turbines. More
nacelle is made of steel. The tower walls For the third blade, the steel section was lif- E-126 are planned to follow: One turbine is
are up to 45 cm thick, a new record for ted vertically first and mounted. After that to be erected at the DEWI-OCC test site in
ENERCON. And a total of 110 m³ of concre- the rotor was turned anti-clockwise and Cuxhaven this fall. In 2008, five other turbi-
te were used to build the tower. Since the then the GRP section hoisted horizontally in- nes are scheduled to be installed – in Ge-
ground along the silty banks of the Ems Ri- to position. “We’ve had good experience orgsfeld near Aurich, in Hamburg Altenwer-
ver is quite soft, a total of 64 fifty-six-centi- with this technique. However, the rotor is der and in Estiennes in Belgium.
metre thick piles measuring an average of normally sup-
25 m had to be rammed into the ground to posed to be
support the foundation. Another 1500 m³ hoisted as one
concrete and 180 t of reinforcing steel we- unit”, says Jörg
re used in the foundation. Zimmermann,
the co-ordina-
The hood on the new nacelle is now made tor of the
of aluminium instead of the usual GRP. This ENERCON in-
significantly reduces fire loads. Aluminium stallation teams
also has better cooling properties and is in Aurich.
completely recyclable. Metal components
are easier to fit which simplifies assembly ENERCON will
and saves installation time. Since the Em- soon be instal-
den site is quite exposed to the wind, it was ling a second
too risky to hoist the rotor hub completely E-126 directly
assembled with blades. Too much surface next to the first Moving rotor into place in stator.
 8 WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 PRACTICE

138 metres tower

High performance turbines

towering above treetops
Germany’s low mountain ranges are full of excellent wind sites. Still, reholders are from the districts of Olpe and
most of these remain undeveloped. This is because the windy moun- Siegen. Twenty-seven shareholders alone
tain ranges are generally wooded and in many regions, forests are are from the community near the site: far-
mers, craftsmen, businessmen, forest ran-
off limits to wind project planers. But wooded areas are excellent
gers, forest owners, employees, housewi-
sites for developing wind energy. Conservationists, wind farm
ves. Not all partners live in the community,
owners, forest owners and forest offices are convinced of this – the though. Some live elsewhere but still have
example being Hilchenbach in the Rothaargebirge. To boost the roots in the region. For centuries, the forests
performance of the five E-82 turbines located there, ENERCON deve- in the Sieger- and Sauerland regions have
loped a 138 metre precast concrete tower – the tallest to date! been cultivated for timber. Most of these are
owned and farmed by local residents, ex-
The first five prototypes of the new 138 me- wind farm is located is 6.39 metres per se- plains Pulte. Shares in forest cooperatives
tre tower are currently being installed near cond. have been passed on for generations and
Hilchenbach in Siegerland on one of the still belong to the same families. Because of
western foothills of the Rothaargebirge. Avid support from region this, Pulte advertised amongst the members
Construction of the E-82/2 MW turbines Eighty-eight partners joined Pulte in foun- of these cooperatives and found interested
was initiated by Günther Pulte (farmer, plan- ding the wind farm association – Rothaar- parties living in Düsseldorf or Hamburg.
ner and owner of wind farms) and his part- wind GmbH & Co KG. Shares in the wind
ner Franz-Josef Ochs. The turbines are farm range from 3000 euros all the way up Forests are ideal locations for
scheduled to take up operation at the end of to 600,000 euros. “The majority of the com- wind farms
the year at approximately 600 metres abo- pany shares are in the five to ten thousand The Hilchenbach wind farm is the result of
ve sea level. The average wind speed in the euro range”, says Pulte. He is proud of the six years of intensive planning. Until the
middle of the forest where the community company’s makeup. Two thirds of the sha- year 2000, North Rhine Westphalia had a
wind power decree in place which ruled out
building wind farms in forest areas. Howe-
ver at that time, Pulte and several other re-
gional wind energy planners were able to
convince North Rhine Westphalia’s former
Minister of the Environment, Bärbel Höhn, of
the absurdity of these limitations. “Forests
at higher regions are often just monocultu-
re woods. What makes these so worth pro-
tecting? Sixty-five percent of the district of
Siegen is made up of wooded areas. As far
as ecology and landscape are concerned,
undeveloped spaces are more important
than coniferous woodland. Open spaces are
Picture: Achim Asbrand

more vulnerable and have to be protected”,

Pulte argues. Convinced by this argument,
Ms Höhn amended the decree. Thus in
Günter Pulte (2nd from right) with the directors of two timber co-ops which lease the site. 2001, the way was paved for the wind tur-
 PRACTICE WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 9

decree and again declared wooded areas as

Picture: G. Pulte
out of bounds for wind developments. In re-
lation to the number of inhabitants, the sha-
re of wooded areas in NRW amounts to just
about as much as in Berlin argued Eckhard
Uhlenberg, Minister of the Environment. Fo-
rests are a vital commodity and preserving
large contiguous forest tracts, especially in
respect of nature and landscape conservati-
on, is essential. As a result, sites in NRW fo-
rests remain barred to wind energy. Accor-
ding to the NRW government, a project such
as Hilchenbach would have no chance of
being approved today.

Wind power decree conflicts with

communal planning authority
Pulte was fortunate that he had already ob-
Hilchenbach: Tower construction with a 600 ton crawler crane. tained the building permit for Hilchenbach
before the change of government. However,
bine “Ewiger Fuhrmann” in Kreuztal-Littfeld Instead of the originally planned E-70 ma- he regrets the fact that the immense poten-
which set the example for planning the Hil- chines with 113 metre towers, the E-82 tur- tial for wind energy in the wooded areas
chenbach wind farm. bines on 138 metre towers are now expec- around his home town, Kirchundem, re-
ted to compensate for the lower amount of mains untapped.
“The decisive factor for successful planning wind.
was that I not only approached the authori- “The wind power decree encroaches on the
ties but also got the local political represen- Sloped site a challenge communities’ planning authority”, he feels.
tatives and residents to jump on the band- The terrain at the Hilchenbach site is rather He hopes that one of the communities will
wagon”, reports Pulte. The wind farm in steep. “To transport the tower and other eventually dare to challenge the decree
Hilchenbach even gained the support of the bulky components to the site, we have to against wind power in forested areas. Pulte:
local FDP. With the FDP votes, Hilchenbach’s tackle several steep slopes, some up which “I’ve discussed this with expert attorneys
community council decided to chip in on the have an incline of up to 20 %”, reports And- and former employees from the Office of
community wind farm. Pulte: “Despite limi- reas Giesler, ENERCON project manager. the Environment. Experts argue that the
ted funds, the council still wanted to at least “Not only are the slopes a challenge, but decree encroaches on communal planning
show token support.” outside of the levelled crane platforms and authority and that if it came to litigation, the
installation areas, there are no proper stor- case on the side of the decree would be ra-
Impetus for 138 metre tower age areas.” Installation at Hilchenbach was ther shaky.”
Before the project took off there was a mi- quite a task for the teams to master. “It ta-
nor downside. For a while, there were dis- kes between four and five days just to shift Pulte does not feel that installing a commu-
cussions about routing the extension of the the 600 tonne crawler crane (total height nity wind farm on the territory of a timber
A4 motorway across the ridges of the 150 metres) within the grounds. Another co-op could harm untouched nature but rat-
"Lümke” and “Drei Buchen” mountains, particularity is that the rotor will not be hoi- her sees it as a continuation of preserving
exactly where the wind turbines where sup- sted as one unit, but each blade will have to the ancient traditions of sustainable forestry
posed to be installed. Furthermore, the be mounted individually.” operations. “Together, the inhabitants work
neighbouring community on the other side the land as a means of subsistence.” He al-
of the ridge was starting to have its doubts. ENERCON has been able to demonstrate so points out that in order to compensate
So, the site for the turbines had to be mo- that although installing wind energy in fore- for the ecological effects, extensive measu-
ved further down the slope, slightly below sted regions is a challenge, it is not only fea- res are being taken to create buffer zones,
the crest. Since, taking the planned hub sible but also profitable and environmentally amongst other things by creating five hec-
height into consideration, the mean speed friendly. When the new North Rhine-West- tares of mixed birch forest. And a third of
was lower here than on the crest, Pulte put phalia (NRW) state government came into the cleared areas are also being restored
forward the idea of building a taller tower. power in 2005, they promptly amended the and replanted.
10 WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 TECHNOLOGY

3 x E-33 Wind Diesel System

Wind reduces fuel

consumption on Falklands
On the Falkland Islands, a wind diesel system has been installed that
secures the power supply for the Eastern island. The wind energy is
generated by three E-33 wind turbines that have been in operation
since October. They are located in Sand Bay, 10 km west of the island
capital of Stanley; diesel generators located there supply the remai-
ning power. A control system, installed by ENERCON, integrates wind
power and diesel equipment and thus minimises fuel consumption.
The current system configuration allows the generators to save on
average 20 % of fuel, compared to previous consumption.
“In the past, we have worked on individual controlled from a central operating unit in
research and development systems, for in- the Stanley power plant”, explains Saurav
stance in Utsira, Norway. But this is the first Baidya, developer of the power manage-
time ENERCON has implemented central ment system software. It continuously cal-
components of its wind diesel technology in culates the optimal balance between the Two out of three E-33 in Sand Bay.
a commercial project”, says Rolf Rohden, diesel generators and the wind energy con-
head of New Technologies at Wobben Re- verters (WEC). “Our target parameters are The new wind farm is located in Sand Bay,
search & Development (WRD) in Aurich, secure grid operation and minimum fuel an uninhabited area at the mountain foot-
Germany. consumption”, explains Baidya. hills. “With an average wind speed of
10.7 m/s, Sand Bay is an ideal location for
ENERCON combined three E-33/330 kW Wind – an infinite energy source a wind farm”, says Glenn Ross, Power Sta-
wind turbines with the existing diesel gene- on the Falkands tion Manager in the Falklands Public Works
rators to create a power supply system for Staff in the Stanley power plant switch on Department. The Department started taking
the island. A fibre optic cable was installed the diesel generators or disconnect them wind measurements as early as the 1970s.
between the wind park site and the power from the grid, according to the stipulated Their goal was to identify sites with particu-
plant in Stanley to enable the transfer of parameters. “The control unit provides staff larly strong winds. The Island Government
wind park data within the SCADA monito- with full control over all components in the wanted to reduce their dependency on oil
ring system. “All system components are wind diesel system”, Baidya emphasises. imports. “Most energy alternatives are pos-

Glenn Ross (left) and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, talking to the ENERCON team. Generator room in Stanley.
 TECHNOLOGY WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 11

Glenn Ross (r.), explai- 1.1 MW. To meet the demand, the genera-
ning the ENERCON
power management
tors output 15 million kWh of power annual-
system in Stanley to ly and consume 4 million litres of diesel in
Councillor Richard the process.
Cockwell, Director of
Public Works Manfred
Keenleyside, and Savings amount to 20 % of fuel
Councillor MikeGlenn Ross expects the new wind diesel sy-
Summers (from left).
stem in its current configuration to save
The screens on the
20 % of fuel. To achieve this, the three E-33
right display the sys-
tem’s control panel
turbines need to yield an annual output of
(see below).
three million kWh,
a goal that has al-
Stanley Power Station
Falkland Islands
ready proven itself
to be realistic. Says
sible, but above all it is very windy here. We Ross: “We gradual-
always knew that that was the case”, ex- ly increased the
plains Ross. Pact 353 kW Wind 12.8 m/s
power set-point on
Pact 597 kW Qact 12.8 kVAR
Pset 600 kW Pavl 5000 kW
Pset 360 kW Pavl 458

Wind Farm
kW
Generator Station
each turbine. Du-
The first measurements in Sand Bay were ring the day, we
carried out in 2001. The site is ideal becau- now have typically
se it is very close to Stanley, whose 2200 Parameters around 22 % of our
inhabitants consume most of the power Alarms
Chat History
demand met by the
MCS Connection 943 kW
produced on East Falkland. At the same ti- Database Connect.
Consumer T r ends wind farm and at
About Date Time Group Type Message Integra
me, wind speeds in Sand Bay are 2 m/s ENERCON GmbH
Dreekamp 5
9/23/2007
9/23/2007
3:27:11 PM
3:27:11 PM
WEC 1
WEC 1
Event
Event
Stop Command By Operator
Stopped Control
Control Panel
night 18 %.”
26605 Aurich 9/23/2007 3:27:11 PM WEC 1 Event Offline
above the average wind speeds in Stanley. Germany
10/30/2007 7:27:59
9/23/2007
9/23/2007
3:27:09 PM
3:27:06 PM
WEC 1
WEC 2
Event
Event
Start Command By Operator
Stop Command By Operator
Exit

“In the past we have received several bids Ross is particularly

for the installation of wind farms using The successful integration of wind turbines proud of the fact that the Falklands financed
asynchronous wind turbines”, says Ross. with the existing diesel-powered system the project wholly independently. Over the
“On each occasion these were turned down was another crucial aspect of project imple- coming months, he is going to monitor the
as no net fuel saving appeared possible.” mentation. “ENERCON replaced the mecha- performance of the wind diesel system and
nical speed governors of the diesel genera- gather operating data. “In the long term, our
E-33 ideal for small island grids tors with electronic devices”, explains Ingo goal is to become 100 % renewable”, says
In early 2005, an ENERCON brochure resur- Kleen, responsible for hardware develop- Ross. In the short term, this will mean in-
faced in Ross’ office. “The depiction of the ment and commissioning of the system. Fa- stalling additional wind turbines. A possible
turbine control circuit indicated the possibi- ster reaction times improve grid quality, and strategy for the future could involve hydro-
lity of curtailing power output at any time.” fluctuations can be accommodated more gen production from wind energy.
Exactly what he had been looking for: “Only readily. The greatest power consumer is a
as much wind power would be fed into the quarry gravel mill; when the mill takes up According to Rolf Rohden, “ENERCON would
system as would effectively displace fuel.” operation, the grid needs to shoulder an ad- be very pleased to further support the Fal-
ditional demand of 300 kW and the load kland Islands in their effort to increase the
It has taken less than two and a half years fluctuation range increases to 80 kW. “Be- renewables share in their power supply sy-
for the E-33 turbines in Sand Bay to be up fore starting up the mill, the quarry mana- stem”. With the current configuration of the
and running. Only the smallest model of the ger used to call up the power plant so that wind diesel system in Stanley, the wind
current range of ENERCON turbines could they’d be prepared to compensate for the energy share on East Falkland could reach
be considered for installation on the Fal- fluctuation. The new control equipment ta- 40 %. Rohden: “To go beyond this, energy
klands: The island infrastructure does not kes care of this automatically”, says Kleen. storage needs to become a part of the solu-
allow for the transport of components for tion. Flywheel systems and other so-called
larger WEC. But in addition, the setup with The Stanley power station has eight diesel stand-alone equipment are a part of
several small wind turbines ensures a grea- generators with rated powers ranging from ENERCON’s portfolio of storage technology
ter system stability, as the failure of one tur- 300 kW to 1.5 MW. In winter, a maximum offerings.” The power management system
bine would not immediately cut off the en- grid capacity of 3.2 MW is required; in sum- installed in Stanley is already prepared for
tire wind power supply to the grid. mer, demand drops to a minimum of this next step.
12 WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 INTERNATIONAL

New ENERCON wind farms in Italy

First towers made in Bari

For the first time in Italy, pre-
cast concrete towers were used
to erect ENERCON turbines in
Alberona. IANUS, a concrete
firm located in Bari only two
hours drive from the site, was
commissioned by ENERCON to
supply the precast parts. In the
meantime, another wind farm
was installed in Liguria in com-
bination with an educational
tourist trail.

“Due to the huge number of projects we ha-

ve going on in Italy, we decided to work to-
gether with a local concrete tower produc-
tion firm", says Benedetto Gallina, Manager
of ENERCON Sales in Frascati, Italy – a
20,000-inhabitant city situated only a few Construction of two concrete towers at ENERCON wind farm at Alberona (Province of Apulia).
kilometres south east of Rome.
ned by railway companies. ENERCON awar- E-82/2 MW. At the end of August, half of the
IANUS, a Bari-based firm, successfully won ded IANUS a contract for over one hundred foundations were already completed and
ENERCON’s tender for this project. Gallina concrete towers. two towers under construction.
reported that IANUS is part of the SCAC
Group, one of Italy’s oldest and most expe- Factory near harbour The farm was developed by Fortore Energia,
rienced concrete component manufactu- One of ENERCON’s main criteria for choo- one of ENERCON’s largest longest standing
rers. Their main field of activity is in bridge sing IANUS was its proximity to the harbour Italian customers. Currently, Fortore
and tunnel construction usually commissio- in Bari (only six kilometres away). Bari is owns/operates 40 ENERCON wind turbines
ideally situated near and other projects are already in the works.
the majority of Gallina: “It was crucial for ENERCON to ma-
ENERCON’s schedu- ke this move on the Italian market. When
led wind farm pro- we supply concrete towers, we are also re-
jects in Italy. “The sponsible for the foundations, which means
harbour is also ideal that we will soon be able to offer turnkey
for exporting the to- wind farm projects.”
wers”, says Gallina.
Stella St. Martino: Three E-48
The first project in turbines and a nature trail
Italy to utilise con- The wind farm ENERCON completed this
crete towers is loca- year along the Ligurian coast is especially
ted near Alberona in appealing to tourists. As an added attrac-
Apulia. Here, tion to the three ENERCON E-48/800 kW
ENERCON is instal- machines in “Cinque Stelle”, the owners,
Foundation work for one of 13 E-82/2 MW turbines. ling a farm with 13 FERA SRL, have also laid out a nature trail
 INTERNATIONAL WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 13

up to the turbines. Visitors can hike to the viour, and in-

farm from Stella St. Martino – 10 kilometres formation
north of Varazze along the Ligurian coast. A about flora,
tour takes about an hour. fauna and
mushrooms.
At “Cinque Stelle”, the hub height of the tur-
bines is 56 metres: The farm is expected to “Thanks to
generate an annual yield of 6100 MWh. the signposts,
“Cinque Stelle” means “Five stars” indica- a lot of people
ting that two more wind turbines will soon hike up to the
be added to the site. “FERA purchased the wind farm at
land for the wind farm and the community the week-
will receive a modest yearly share of the end”, explains
farm’s revenue”, Gallina reports. These pro- Gallina. The
visions entirely correlate with FERA’s philo- information is
sophy which strives to take into considera- provided in “Cinque Stelle”: An educational trail leading to the wind farm explains renewable
tion all aspects of the parties involved – Italian, Eng- energies.
administrations, landowners, environment, lish, German,
and the public – and create a good balance. and French. A special character was even Milan, Albisola (Liguria), Vada (Toscana) and
created for children: “Eolino” simply ex- Noto (Sicily), was founded by a group of ex-
Initial wind assessments began in 2003. plains how wind energy and other renewa- perienced and dedicated engineers whose
But, although the project description and re- ble energy systems work or what the Kyoto objective was to develop wind farms in Ita-
quest ´for permit were submitted in 2004, Protocol means. “Most visitors are Italian ly and promote the use of renewable ener-
the authorization process was unfortunate- tourists”, adds Gallina. School groups and gy. The company has already installed wind
ly put on ice at the end of 2004. Before local residents from towns and villages in farms in various regions around Italy, a so-
granting a permit the authorities argued the vicinity also enjoy the nature trail. lar power plant with 100 kW rated power in
that information concerning the possible af- Bergigi (Liguria) as well as a hydropower
fect the farm could have on migrant birds Dedicated engineers plant near Milan. Their aim is to install over
and bats was missing. So, in cooperation FERA SRL stands for Fabbrica Energie Rin- 100 MW rated power by the year 2010.
with the regional Ligurian administration novabili Alternative. The firm, with offices in
and the University of Genoa, FERA launched FERA has combined
an exemplary bird and bat monitoring pro- the wind farm con-
gramme in the region surrounding the pro- struction with a cam-
jected wind farm. The building permit was paign for social welfa-
eventually granted in 2006 and FERA was re: “Each turbine
able to take up construction. supports a child”, is
the motto. With each
Popular destination for tourists turbine installed, FERA
Since July, tourists can also make their way sponsors a child in the
up to the turbines on mountain bikes or hor- third world. The motive
seback. Twelve informative signs are posted states, “Gaining energy
along the educational trail, 10 of these are from the wind never
directly situated along the access road lea- leads to the type of
ding to the wind farm. Two of the signs are conflicts people go to
in the centre of Stella St. Martino. They pro- war for.” If, with every
vide information about wind energy and wind turbine installed,
renewables, how these influence the land- at least one child
scape, birds and bats, facts about sound would be offered better
emission, details concerning the “Cinque living conditions and a
Stelle” wind farm, information concerning good education, milli-
the Kyoto Protocol and global warming, gui- ons could soon overco-
delines for environment conscious beha- Tower segment production at IANUS, Bari. me hardship.
14 WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 SUPPLIER

SKF at Schweinfurt/Bavaria

Bearings for
millions of rotations
Wind energy is the second largest market for roller bearings made at
the SKF manufacture in Schweinfurt. Through extreme precision and
innovative processes, the enterprise founded in Gothenburg in 1907
by Sven Wingquist (inventor of the roller bearing), provides its steel
products with the necessary durability and flexibility. The rotor hubs
in ENERCON wind energy converters rotate around the axel pin on
roller bearings manufactured by SKF – year after year, with utmost
reliability. SKF administrative building in Schweinfurt.

Roller bearings consist of an inner and outer between the rings before the bearings are evolved into a one stop provider of sophisti-
ring, a number of rolling elements and a ca- riveted together. cated moving element technology with
ge in which they rotate. Good roller bearings 41,000 employees worldwide. In addition to
are characterised by their running precision, “At SKF, quality is top priority in all phases roller bearings, SKF also offers lubrication
the smooth operating sound, as well as per- of production”, says Walter Ragaller, spo- systems, seals, mechatronics, and technical
fectly calibrated outer, inner, and bore dia- kesman for the Schweinfurt-based SKF support service. Their principle customers,
meters. Each roller bearing has to be exact- plant. All precision machines used to turn, besides the energy sector, are heavy indu-
ly of the same size, and the air gap clearance grind and hone rings are equipped with the stry and machine and vehicle construction.
precisely adjusted to specifications. appropriate test measurement systems.
“Quality is achieved through systematic ENERCON has been an SKF customer ever
Before they are placed into the inner and tests carried out between each step as well since it was founded. “Roller bearings play a
outer rings, the roller bearings are first har- as other inspections. decisive roll in ENERCON’s gearless system.
dened in furnaces and then shaped with Quality and durability have to meet the
grinders. Next, a ribbon cage made of har- The Swedish firm, SKF, is represented in ENERCON standard. SKF has always ensu-
dened steel plating is put into position. And more than 130 countries. In 1929, Norma, red quality on a long term basis and for lar-
finally, the elements are evenly distributed the German plant, merged with other roller ge quantities”, says Oliver Smidt, Purchase
bearing manu- Manager at ENERCON Mechanic in Aurich.
facturers to form
the “Vereinigten The two firms have also cooperated in spe-
Kugellagerfabri- cial developments. For all turbines larger
ken” (United ball than the E-40, SKF optimised their bearings
bearing manu- according to ENERCON specifications. “To-
facturers). And in day we use the specially designed double
1953 the com- row tapered roller bearings to fit the axial
pany was rena- thrust into the rotor hub. This component
med SKF Kugel- just barely resembles the original SKF roller
lagerfabriken bearings”, reports Ragaller. Due to a huge
(SKF ball bearing demand from the wind energy industry, SKF
manufacturers). has launched a four year expansion pro-
Since then, the gramme for their roller bearing production.
multinational Investments have reached the multi-million
A new metal working lathe prepairs rings for the bearings. company has Euro mark.
 INTERNATIONAL WINDBLATT 04 | 2007 15

Miyako Island/Japan

Rebuilding of a wind farm

destroyed by a typhoon
In November, ENERCON finished rebuilding a wind farm
which was destroyed by typhoon Maemi on the Japanese
Island of Miyako in September 2003. The new farm con-
sists of four E-44 wind class I turbines, helping the regional
utility Okinawa Electrical Power Company to fulfil its goals
for renewable energy.

Okinawa is Japan’s island prefecture. It con- The target for wind energy is a
sists of a string of coral islands 3 hours flight capacity of 3 GW for all of Ja-
south west of Tokyo, with Yunaguni Island pan by 2010. OEPC is expec-
being the most western point located only ted to install 50 to 60 MW.
100 km from the coast of Taiwan. The is- Most of the capacity will be in-
lands are beautiful holiday resorts. But every stalled on the main island. Se-
summer Japan is hit by 15-25 typhoons of cond comes Miyako Island.
various strengths. Most of these pass over
or affect the islands in some way. Several of The main power supply on
the strongest typhoons in the world have hit Miyako Island comes from two
the islands within the past decade. oil fuelled power plants. “The-
re is one station with a total
For nearly ten years now, ENERCON wind capacity of 21.5 MW, consi- Karimata, Miyako Island: three out of four E-44 turbines.
turbines have been in operation on several sting of generators ranging
of the islands. The installed models range from 2.5 to 5.5 MW. A second station has and other features that help to stabilise we-
from the E-26/E-30/280 kW through the four 10 MW generators”, says Kristensen. ak island grids. Additionally, the power from
E-40/500 or 600 kW, to the E-66/1.8 MW. Thus, the total capacity on the island until the wind turbines can be regulated not to
“In November, we finished installing four November was 61.5 MW. After the installa- exceed electricity consumption.
E-44/900 kW on Miyako Island”, reports tion of the ENERCON turbines the installed
Jørn Kristensen, ENERCON Sales Manager wind energy rose to 4 MW corresponding to In Japan, there are 50 Islands with their
for East Asia. “These are the latest models 6.5 % of the total capacity. “Today, the re- own grid ranging from 100 kW to more than
of the medium size wind energy converters newable quota on Miyako is higher than in 60 MW of installed capacity. Only 16 of the-
for IEC Wind Class I, using the new and very most other parts of the country.” se islands make limited use of wind energy.
efficient ENERCON rotor blade design.” “If all the islands used ENERCON Wind Die-
After Maemi, a one-in-hundred-year typho- sel/Stand Alone systems or made maximum
Because of the typhoons, wind energy is a on, destroyed the entire island’s wind ener- utilisation of ENERCON grid control fea-
complicated issue on the islands. The Japa- gy converters four years ago, this new farm tures, there would be significant savings in
nese Renewable Portfolio Standard provi- now consists of ENERCON turbines only. fuel consumption”, states Kristensen. As
des renewable energy quotas. Thus, Okina- “The reason for this is that ENERCON’s experience in other parts of the world has
wa Electrical Power Company (OEPC) has technology is well-suited for island grids – shown, under Okinawa wind conditions at
an obligation to generate a certain amount due to its high class grid performance”, ex- least 20 % fuel could be saved by installing
of electricity from renewable resources. And plains Kristensen. By using ENERCON Grid wind turbines and appropriately integrating
for the island’s geography, without possibi- Data Acquisition and the SCADA system, a them into the grids. Kristensen: “Japan
lities to use hydro- and geothermal power, closed-loop control regulates phase could produce much more electricity than
wind energy is the most obvious source. angle/reactive power, active power, voltage today, without any CO2.”
WINDBLATT

Åland: ENERCON wind turbines

onshore offshore
Between Sweden and Finland

Picture: Henrik Lindqvist

lie the Åland islands, consisting
of over 6,500 skerries and is-
lands. Leovind AB chose four
perimeter islands to install six
E-70 turbines. In October, inau-
guration took place on a muse-
um ship anchored at the capital
Mariehamn. The “Båtskär” wind
farm is planted on rock islands,
the smallest being no larger
than the size of one and a half
football fields. Situated 6 km
away from the main island
“Fasta Åland”, material and
components had to be brought
over to the sites on pontoons. With an average wind speed of 9.4 m/s (at 65 m hub height), Båtskär is an ideal site for wind energy use.

Members of the operating association, Leo- One of the main conditions for the construc- “We remove the concrete and only leave
vind AB, named the wind farm “Båtskär” af- tion of the turbines was that no rock was al- behind the holes which are filled with soil.”
ter two of the four islands – Stora and Lilla lowed to be dynamited. So in order to obtain
Båtskär meaning “Big” and “Small prow”. an even surface, foundation builders had to Finland provides no power purchase price.
The name alone already suggests the chal- pour a layer of concrete up to 80 cm thick Investment grants of approx. 30 % are only
lenge the assembly teams had to meet: on the rock. Once levelled, a special founda- available for projects on the Finnish main-
How to get the building materials to the tion requiring much less concrete was built land. “The only support we get from there is
sharp craggy skerries with no jetties? on these surfaces. The procedure used less a negative energy tax of 6.9 €/MWh. That’s
than a third of the usual amount of concre- why our turbines are only cost-effective at
ENERCON first transported the E-70/2.3 MW te needed for a gravity foundation. To balan- semi-offshore sites such as Båtskär”, ex-
turbines to Mariehamn by ship. From there, ce out the foundation, 14 post-tensioned plains Lindqvist. Roughly 16 km of deep sea
direction was taken over by Åland’s Vinder- tendons were then installed and secured in cables had to be laid. According to Lindqvist,
negi Andelslag, an association holding 20 % the underlying rock. the increased yield will compensate for the
shares in “Båtskär” with approximately extra expenses for cable and sea transport.
1350 investors. Managing director Henrik ENERCON’s project in Valsneset, Norway
Lindqvist found an Åland shipping company served as a model for Båtskär. However, Åland’s grid has two connections to the
with extensive experience in transport here the foundation has been even further mainland: a 110 kV cable to Sweden and a
around the archipelago. They were able to optimised: “Amongst other things, we repla- 45 kV cable to Finland. Including Båtskär,
ferry all the material ranging from concrete ced the cast-in-place steel ring with a bolt there are now 22 WEC on the archipelago.
all the way to the rotor blades to the islands basket so we needed one third less concre- “We already meet a quarter of our energy
on pontoons. “Construction was only held te than in Norway”, says Dressler. The ad- demand with wind energy”, says Lindqvist.
up two or three times when the pontoons vantage of rock anchoring is that when the “With our next project, a 20-MW farm plan-
had to turn back due to rough seas”, reports turbine has reached the end of its lifespan, ned for the southwest tip of the main island,
ENERCON project manager, Sven Dressler. the terrain can easily be restored. Dressler: we’re going to lift up this share to 45 %.”