800 visitors were at the recent "Open house" at Lillgrund offshore wind farmFrom 2012-2016, Vattenfall will invest another EUR 4.2 billion to improve and expand the wind power portfolio in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK.
Vattenfall generates wind power from roughly 900 turbines. The largest onshore installations are Stor-Rotliden (Sweden), Edinbane (UK) and Nrrrekcr Enge (Denmark). When it comes to offshore wind power, Vattenfall is the world’s second largest player. The largest offshore farms are Thanet (UK), Horns Rev (Denmark), and Lillgrund (Sweden).
2012 has been a successful year for Vattenfall’s wind power so far with many projects in different phases of development. Besides that, permission has been granted to construct new wind farms in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands.
During the last year Vattenfall generated 3,8 TWh wind power, the same as the annual consumption of 1 million households*.
*Calculated on an average household consumption of 5.000 kWh/year
Work continues on various projects to expand Vattenfall’s wind power capability.
Ormonde (UK): This offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea was built last year. It consists of 30 wind turbines with a total capacity of 150 MW, equivalent to the total annual electricity needs of more than 100,000 UK households. This wind farm will be officially inaugurated in autumn 2012.
Zuidlob (the Netherlands): This onshore wind farm is currently being built and will consist of 36 turbines, each about 3 MW, which can provide approximately 75,000 households with electricity. Zuidlob is planned to go into commission in 2013.
DanTysk (Germany): Another offshore wind farm 69 km west of the island Sylt that is under construction. The wind farm will have 80 turbines, a capacity of 288 MW, which is enough to supply approximately 400,000 homes with electricity. The project is a joint venture between Vattenfall and Stadtwerke Munchen.
Global Wind Day – highlights from Vattenfall’s different markets
In Denmark, a new wind farm is planned at Tamholt near Frederikshavn, Jutland. Residents of Tamholt have been invited for a bus trip to another nearby wind farm on 16 June. This will give them the opportunity to see wind turbines in operation. Global Wind Day will be marked by a boat trip to Lillgrund offshore wind farm. The trip is for students focused on wind power, together with the Danish Wind Industry Association.
In the Netherlands, the Art on Windmills project generated a lot of interest during spring. Many artists applied for the opportunity to have their art displayed large scale on turbine towers. The Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farm, a joint venture of Nuon and Shell, celebrated its 5th anniversary in May. On 6 June permits were granted for Beaufort, a yet to be planned 340 MW wind farm in the Netherlands.
In Germany, a new project website for the DanTysk offshore wind farm will be launched on 15 June. The DanTysk site is currently under development with cable work underway and the transformer already arrived. Vattenfall’s wind power in Germany has already produced good results in 2012. For example the generation from the Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm has exceeded expectations and consent has been given for the construction of a new onshore wind farm called Forst Briesing.
During June, local procurement will start for work on the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm in the UK. This wind farm will be the largest onshore wind farm in Wales (and England) and will be built using local and UK companies as much as possible. On 16 June, delivery is expected to get underway of turbines to the Swinford wind farm. This wind farm in England will be the first Vattenfall wind farm built with turbine towers made in the UK, securing 200 UK construction and engineering jobs.
In Sweden, celebrations for Global Wind Day started early with an "open house" at Lillgrund offshore wind farm on 9 June. Local residents, families, seniors and anyone interested got to see the wind farm up close from chartered boats and to learn more about wind power. Stor-Rotliden, Vattenfall’s largest onshore wind farm, went into full operation in 2011. During 2012 we will see its full capacity, delivering enough electricity for 50,000 households.
Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that occurs annually on 15 June. It is a day for discovering wind, its power and the possibilities it holds to change our world.
The European Wind Energy Association – EWEA – and the Global Wind Energy Council – GWEC – coordinate the Global Wind Day through a network of partners. The day started as a European one in 2007 and went global in 2009.
