EnBW Baltic 2, one of Germany’s largest offshore wind farms, will be serviced from August 2020 from the Danish port of Klintholm on the island of Møn.
The company’s service team, comprising around 25 people, previously travelled from Rostock, Germany, to a hotel vessel close to the wind farm.
A hotel and a service building are now being constructed in Klintholm – the employees will be ferried to the wind farm in the mornings and evenings during their two-week duty roster.
“The proximity to our wind farms offers us unique opportunities here,” said Kent Hougaard from EnBW Offshore Services Danmark (EOS).
The 288MW farm features 80 Siemens SWT-3.6-120 wind turbines and has been supplying some 340,000 households with renewable electricity since 2015.
Located in German territorial waters with depths ranging from 23 to 44 metres, the wind farm is about 40 km east of Møns Klint, close to the meeting point of the Danish, Swedish and German maritime borders.
According to EOS, Klintholm in Denmark is better situated for servicing the turbines than any German port.
EnBW, its operator, will consequently be relocating a large part of its operating team from Rostock to Møn.
“We expect noticeable savings and synergies as the journey from Klintholm harbour only takes just over an hour,” explained Hougaard.
Baltic 2 continues to be controlled, however, by remote data link from the control room in Barhöft, Mecklenburg.
For most offshore wind farms, service teams are flown in by helicopter either on a daily basis or for two-week stays on a hotel vessel.
“However, accommodation on land is far more cost-effective,” said Hougaard.
The hotel to accommodate the service team is scheduled to open in August, while the service building in the port area is scheduled for completion in July.
Both buildings are rented out under contract for at least ten years.