Wikinger and Arkona All Hooked Up

The transmission system operator 50Hertz has connected the Wikinger and Arkona offshore wind farms in the German Baltic Sea to its transmission grid ahead of their official commissioning.

The wind farms were connected to the grid via the Ostwind 1 grid connection below the originally calculated budget, 50Hertz said.

After three years of construction and a total investment volume of approximately EUR 1.3 billion, renewable energy is now flowing to the Lubmin substation during trial operations.

“We congratulate E.ON and Equinor for the successful commissioning of their first wind farm in the German Baltic Sea and are proud of our cooperation as partners in the construction of the joint Arkona offshore substation,” said 50Hertz CEO Dr Frank Golletz.

“This offshore platform has set a new standard. We will also continue the good European relationship during the operation of the wind farm. We would especially like to thank the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) and the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, who always act as reliable supporters for the offshore projects and their connection. We are also counting on this well-established cooperation for future projects.”

Wind farms are connected by using 220 kilovolt three phase current technology, the first time this technology has been used in the German Baltic Sea. Until now, the connections of offshore wind farms in the German Baltic Sea consisted of 150 kilovolt three-phase cable systems. At the Lubmin substation, the current is transformed to 380 kilovolts and fed into the 50Hertz transmission system. The Ostwind 1 project's three cables each cover 90 kilometres at sea and three kilometres on land, ending at the 50Hertz substation of Lubmin.

The 350MW Wikinger is owned and operated by Iberdrola. The 385MW Arkona, a joint venture between E.ON and Equinor, is expected to be officially commissioned today in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.