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Preparing the construction of a 1 GW offshore wind farm in

Germany - Innogy Nordsee 1


Johannes Rosen, RWE Innogy GmbH
Karolinger Strae 94, 45141 Essen, Germany
www.rweinnogy.com
T +49(0)201-12-14303
F +49(0)201-12-14244
johannes.rosen@rwe.com

Abstract
Ranking among the largest wind power operators in the UK, RWE Innogy has in late 2008 made
its entry into the German offshore wind market by acquiring Innogy Nordsee 1 (IN1). Formerly
called North Sea Wind Power 3, this project is one of the largest projects in the German
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with a capacity of nearly 1 GW. When finished in 2015, IN1 will
be able to supply over 750,000 households with power.
The wind farm is located 40 km north of the North Sea island Juist in water depths between
26 m and 34 m. The total project area covers about 146 km.
Environmental impact and ship collision risk assessments have been carried out for the
optimised wind farm layout, which consists of 162 REpower 6M machines and is divided into
three clusters with one electrical substation each.
Approval by the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) is currently being
sought and expected towards the end of 2009. Currently, extensive geophysical soil
investigations are being performed. With these and previous investigations of the
hydrographical conditions concluded, it is anticipated that the design base will be finished in
October 2009. In parallel negotiations with potential contractors for main components are
progressing. Construction of the project is envisaged in three phases, with the last phase being
commissioned in 2014.
Project aims and schedule
With 972 MW of capacity from renewable energy sources the project will be able to contribute
substantially to RWE Innogys medium-term 4.5 GW renewable capacity objective, requiring an
estimated total investment of about 2.8 bn.
Although not consented by BSH yet, consent is very likely due to the location of the project in a
prioritised offshore wind area, as designated in the spatial planning procedure
(Raumordnungsverfahren) for the German EEZ.
During the spring of this year, preliminary soil investigations have been ongoing. The
information derived has been used for an integrated layout optimisation, taking the
interdependent parameters of soil conditions, array efficiencies, water depths, inter-array cable
lengths as well as pipeline and cable routes into account, in order to derive an economically
optimised park layout.
Beginning in autumn 2009, the second, main soil investigation campaign has started. Stretching
well into 2010 this campaign is intended to verify the suitability of the identified turbine locations.
The detailed design will be worked out during 2010 and construction is envisaged in three
consecutive phases. Beginning in 2011 the foundations for the substation and turbines of the
first phase are expected to be installed. The commissioning of the substation for this phase as
well as of the turbines will follow in 2012. With some overlap, the first foundations for the second
phase will be constructed in parallel during 2012. The last turbines are envisaged to be
commissioned during 2014. Two metmasts will also be realised in the project area. In Figure 1
the envisaged time schedule for the project s shown. It clearly depicts the partly overlapping
phases of planning and construction of the three wind farm clusters.

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Figure 1: Project schedule


Next to the development of the project site itself, plannings for a suitable base harbour and a
taylor-made logistics concept (including a proprietary jack-up barge) for installation and O&M
are currently ongoing.
In parallel, decisions about foundation types, substations, cables and logistics will need to be
made. Negotiations with potential contractors for main components are already progressing. For
turbine supply, a framework agreement has already been signed in early 2009 with REpower
Systems AG, Hamburg for the supply of around 250 turbines of their 5M/6M series, which will
be available for the IN1 project.
Site investigations and results
The wind and wave climate at the project site is rather typical for the German Bight, with the
predominant wind direction from the Southwest at annual average wind speeds of about 10 m/s
at 100 m hub height. The tidal range is about 2.7 m.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 give an impression of the distribution of wind speeds and the annual
enery yield from the different wind directions.

Figure 2: Weibull distribution

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Figure 3: Energy rose

Although FINO 1 about 10 nautical miles to the West of the project area has provided a good
basis for project development purposes, two metmasts are to be integrated in order to
determine meteorological and sea-state data of the site, also during operation. This includes the
monitoring of wind direction and velocity at different heights up to at least hub height, as well as
wave heights, wave periods and tide.
Two metmasts are to be integrated in order to determine meteorological and sea-state data of
the site, also during operation. This includes the monitoring of wind direction and velocity at
different heights up to at least hub height, as well as wave heights, wave periods and tide.
As a further part of the development activities, a geophysical / geotechnical soil investigation is
performed according to the standard soil investigation concept of the BSH. A preliminary
investigation campaign, including a.o. also surveys with a magnetometer and a side-scan sonar
has been completed to collect the necessary data for the first BSH approval.
Currently the main soil investigation is already ongoing with two jack-up barges to verify the
suitability of the planned locations of the turbines, substations and met masts. Based on the
findings of an initial seismic survey the positioning sequence of locations in the preliminary as
well as in the main soil investigation campaign is defined in an intelligent and flexible manner
according to the steadily growing amount of geophysical information available. The aim is to
gradually refine the knowledge about soil conditions to arrive at a geologically sophisticated
sub-soil model while, at the same time limiting investigation efforts.
Besides the seismic survey mentioned above, Cone Penetration Tests (CPTs) and borings with
a core diameter of 100 mm are conducted with subsequent laboratory tests on the cores. The
resulting geological report is the basis for the foundation study to be conducted as part of the
basic design process. So far, 45 locations have been investigated already (samples + CPT), up
to a depth of 60 m below the sea floor, by MS Investigator, Annegret, Vagant. Out of these 45
locations, six are supplementary locations in the vicinity of the wind farm area. The main soil
investigation campaign will be ongoing throughout the workable season in the fall of 2009,
covering about 60 locations by the end of the year. The campaign will be resumed in the spring
of 2010 to investigate the remaining locations.
Results of the investigations so far show more or less homogenous soil characteristics for more
than two thirds of the wind farm area. Mainly, medium dense to dense sands and clays with
varying densities and thicknesses are encountered, offering sufficient stability for either gravity
based or piled foundations. While smaller, local inhomogenities consisting of silt and peat exist,
the most important inhomogenity in the area is a former glacial valley, which has been filled with
younger, finer, and thus less stable sediments. A section of this zone running through the
project area in East-West direction, as derived from the investigation results, is shown in
Figure 4.

Figure 4: Interpretation of soil investigation results former glacial valley


Next to the soil investiation, an environmental survey was made, taking a closer look at
sedimentation and benthos. Sediment samples have been gained by using trawls and video

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surveys for epifauna (surface organisms), a Van Veen grab and a standard box corer for
infauna (organisms living within the seafloor sediment). Moreover, other marine species were
identified and inividuals counted for fish (40 species), resting birds (98 species), migratory birds
(147 species) and marine mammals (harbour purpoises, seals, dolphins and whale species).
Moreover, a risk analysis for ship traffic was conducted. This is of special significance, as the
wind farm area lies between the two major ship traffic lanes in the German Bight. Despite this
fact, the calculated risk for a ship collision proved to be within an acceptable range.
Wind farm layout optimisation
In order to determine the economically most efficient wind farm layout among those that are
technically feasible, the key influencing parameters like soil conditions, array efficiencies,
turbulence intensities, water depths, required inter-array cable lengths as well as pipeline and
cable routes were taken into account. The optimisation considering the above parameters has
led to an organic, and only partly regular layout. As an example, turbines are not only kept at
have been moved out of the area of the glacial valley in order to avoid more costly foundation
solutions. In this context it can be considered as a helpful coincidence that the glacial ditch is
located in a zone of the turbine array which shows relatively high wake losses anyway, and not
in an area with higher possible energy yields.

Internal harnessing:

33 kV-AC sea cable


In total 185 km cable length
>0,6 m cable laying depth

Figure 5: Wind farm layout planning


Figure 5 shows the planned layout and electrical interconnections of the wind farm. As it can be
seen, the wind farm will be divided into three clusters with 54, 48, and 60 turbines, respectively,
and with one transformer platform in each cluster. While this helps to keep the size and rating of
the substations in a manageable range, the reliability of the system is improved at the same
time.
Construction and logistics concept
Next to the development of the wind farm itself, establishing a sophisticated logistics concept is
a major part of the planning process. This includes transport and installation activities in the
construction phase as well as in the operation & maintenance phase of the commissioned wind
farm. First of all, a base harbour is currently being identified and secured, in order to have

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harbour installations planned and in place in time. This includes storage areas for i.a. rotors &
foundations, specially prepared heavy load kay sides, etc. (cf. example in Figure 6).
Harbour facilities will also need to accommodate Innogys purpose-built jack-up barge
(Figure 7), which will be loaded at the port and then sail to the construction site in the North
Sea. This self-elevating platform will be self-propelled and DP2-stabilised. Equipped with a
crane capable of lifting all components of foundation as well as turbine hardware, it will be the
key installation tool for the project.

Figure 6: Planning of base harbour

Figure 7: RWEI jack-up barge

Further, Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV, cf. Figure 8) with higher transit speeds will be used for
crew transfer operations and transportation of equipment to WTGs and the jack-up barge during
the construction and, where necessary or advantageous, also during the O&M phase. Transport
of maintenance personnel to the WTGs during operation will be accomplished using smaller
crew boats (e.g. WindCat, cf. Figure 9). In the case of severe weather and wave conditions or in
emergency cases, helicopter-hoisting is an alternative to bring or pick up staff on top of the
nacelles (Figure 10).

Figure 8: OSV

Figure 9: Crew transfer boat

Figure 10: Helicopter hoisting

Outlook
Offshore wind projects in Germany are just about to start and in many aspects more challenging
than those previously realised in shallow waters and closer to the coast, as e.g. in Denmark or
the UK. Nevertheless, the engagement in Innogy Nordsee 1 is based on the belief that offshore
projects in Germany can be realised and also made economically viable by employing
integrated, highly reliable concepts that take into account the whole lifecycle of a wind farm from
the planning stages throughout construction, commissioning and operation.
In parallel to the completion of the design base within late fall 2009 and the following basic
design phase, negotiations with potential contractors about main components will continue.
One of the most important decisions to be taken next will be that on the preferred foundation
type (steel jackets, concrete gravity base, other).
Once completely finished, IN1 will be able to supply over 750,000 households with renewable
power, while at the same time allowing a CO2 reduction of approximately 3.1 Mt per year.

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