Amprion has held a ground breaking ceremony for its first offshore grid connections, marking the start of construction on DolWin4 and BorWin4.
On Norderney’s North Beach, Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Olaf Lies and island mayor Frank Ulrichs symbolically broke ground with employees of Amprion.
DolWin4 and BorWin4 are scheduled to go into operation in 2028 and 2029 and will connect North Sea wind farms with the onshore transmission grid.
Lies said: “The expansion of offshore wind energy is a central pillar of our energy transition. Lower Saxony plays a special role in this.
“We are becoming the gateway and hub for climate-friendly energy for all of Germany.
“Particularly in view of the current major energy policy challenges, we need not only expansion, but also grid connection.
“That’s why dates like today send out an encouraging signal. Because progress is also being made with grid connection.
“That’s why I’m particularly pleased to be able to congratulate Amprion on the first construction activities in the offshore sector.
“We need wind power in particular to ensure a free, clean and independent energy supply.”
Amprion will drill the first four of a total of 12 horizontal wells in the coastal sea between July and the end of September.
The drilling will be carried out using the so-called horizontal directional drilling method.
Amprion Offshore managing director Carsten Lehmkoster said: “For the first time, we are bundling the drilling for two projects within one construction window.
“This allows us to accelerate the projects while minimizing the intervention.”