The study, documenting an area of 34km2, comprised a full geological survey of the seabed at the planned €1.5bn 400MW offshore wind farm, to be located off the German Baltic Sea coast. Stratigraphic samples of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks were also drilled out and seismic surveys were conducted using sound waves to determine the structure of the terrain.
Iberdrola will use the findings of the study to define the dimensions and design of turbine foundations, the company says, and will determine the wind farm installation method – including specifications for cabling and electrical substation.
Completed at a total cost of €20mn, the study is a key stage in the bid to gain planning permits from German maritime regulator Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency. Iberdrola said the Wikinger project is progressing quickly, with construction scheduled to begin late 2015 and full commissioning due early in 2017.
Turbines for the project will be supplied by AREVA Wind through its Bremerhaven production centre. Meantime, Iberdrola has launched a tender process for supply and installation of foundations, inter-array cable and substation components.
Iberdrola’s offshore wind project pipeline in Germany stands at over 2GW. By the end of 2013, over €70mn will be invested in the development of Wikinger alone, and by 2019 the company could invest over €3bn in offshore wind projects in the German Baltic Sea, to install 1GW.
Solar PV project in South Africa
Meanwhile, Iberdrola has signed a $150mn contract in Johannesburg to construct a 96MW photovoltaic (PV) plant in South Africa.
The project, which will be completed together with the South African construction company Group Five, includes the engineering, equipment supply, civil engineering work, assembly, start-up of the facility and maintenance over the next 15 years.
The solar PV plant, which will be named Jasper PV, is part of a project led by the American company Solar Reserve. It will be located near the city of Postmasburg, in the Northern Cape province, and will have over 325,000 polycrystalline modules spread across some 180 hectares.
Edited by Josie Le Blond
[Updated 14:50, 14/05/2013]