Trianel has confirmed that completion of the 200MW Borkum West 2.2 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea has been delayed.
Installation of the remaining half of an offshore wind farm, initially due to wrap up this year, will now occur during 2020, adversely impacting feed-in tariff (FiT) payments, the company said.
The hold-up was first reported by subscriber-only reNEWS last month.
Project partners EWE and Trianel estimate the installation of the remaining 16 Senvion 6.3MW 152 turbines and commissioning of the Borkum West 2.2 project will occur during the first half of next year.
BW2.2 commercial director Klaus Horstick said, “We assume that 10 to 15 wind turbines will be operational after the turn of the year, with negative consequences for the project.”
According to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), the FiT for offshore installations that will go into operation after 1 January 2020 will be reduced by €0.01 per kilowatt hour.
“All in all, this means possible damage for us and the participating municipal companies in the mid double-digit millions,” Horstick added.
According to the developer, the insolvency of Senvion, which was responsible for the delivery as well as the installation and commissioning of the project’s turbines, delayed the construction schedule.
“Due to the increasing bad weather during the autumn and winter months, we have not been able to make up for the massive shifts in the construction schedule,” said BW2.2 technical manager Irina Lucke.
Installation had been planned to start in the second quarter of this year, but was delayed because of Senvion’s financial woes.
Germany has drafted legislation that provides a ‘hardship clause’ for onshore wind turbines that cannot be installed in time due to the Senvion bankruptcy.
Horstick said: “In terms of equal treatment, we are pushing for a hardship regulation for offshore projects as well. A hardship clause that postpones the next degression step from 1 January to 1 July 2020 as a result of the Senvion bankruptcy would absorb the burden on municipal shareholders.”
Around 20 municipal utilities, regional energy suppliers and municipal companies are involved in BW2.2. In addition to EWE, which holds a 37.5% stake, a joint venture of the City of Zurich Electricity Company and Fontavis holds a 24.51% interest in the project, while Stadtwerke-Kooperation Trianel together with 17 municipal entities hold 37.99%.
The total investment in the offshore wind farm is €800m.