The first of a total of 50 wind turbines has been installed at the 476MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, off Germany.
Baltic Eagle, which is a joint venture between Iberdrola and Masdar, will work in partnership with Vestas to install the remaining wind turbines.
These will be transported to the offshore construction site in the coming months and then installed using the jack-up vessel Blue Tern owned by Fred Olsen Windcarrier.
The Baltic Eagle will feature Vestas V174-9.5MW wind turbines, each with an output of 9.5MW.
The wind turbines have a rotor diameter of 174 meters and a hub height of 107 metres.
The optimised rotor blades are each 85 metres long and have been designed to be aerodynamically efficient and to minimise loads.
The finished turbines reach a total height of 194 metres.
Blue Tern is particularly suitable for the challenging terrain in the Baltic Sea thanks to its long legs.
With its 800-ton main crane and a variable deck load capacity of 8750 tons, it transports the towers, nacelles and rotor blades to the offshore construction site and erects them on the transition pieces.
Fred Olsen Windcarrier gained experience in the Baltic Sea during the construction of the Iberdrola offshore wind farm Wikinger.
Baltic Eagle is on track to become operational by the end of 2024.
“With the installation of its first wind turbine, Baltic Eagle is taking shape off the German Baltic coast.
“This marks the start of the final phase in the construction of the offshore wind farm, which is expected to become fully operational later this year,” said Felipe Montero, CEO of Iberdrola Deutschland.
He added: “My special thanks go to the Baltic Eagle team for their tireless efforts and outstanding performance.
“Thanks to the support of Vestas and our partner Masdar, we are confident that we will successfully complete what so far has been an outstanding construction campaign.
“With the commissioning of Baltic Eagle, the second offshore wind farm in our Baltic Hub, Iberdrola Deutschland continues its growth path, making a significant contribution to Germany’s Energy Transition.”
Husain Al Meer, Director, Global Offshore Wind at Masdar, added: “We are delighted that, together with Iberdrola and Vestas, we have taken this significant step toward making the landmark Baltic Eagle wind farm a reality.
“We look forward to seeing the project come to life over the coming months, delivering tangible benefits to the local community and setting a precedent for sustainable energy solutions.”
Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe, said: “It’s a special moment to see the first wind turbine at Baltic Eagle installed, reflecting how everyone involved supports Germany’s clean and secure energy and offshore wind targets in the Baltic Sea.
“Vestas is proud to be part of this project and our thanks go to our partner Iberdrola for their trust in our technology and the strong and productive collaboration since the beginning of this project.”
The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm is an important part of Iberdrola’s “Baltic Hub” in the German Baltic Sea.
It is located north-east of the island of Rugen off the coast of Pomerania and is planned and operated from the port of Mukran in Sassnitz.