Nordex has been awarded a contract to install the Suckow wind farm.
Located in the shire of Ludwigslust-Parchim in the German state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, the wind farm will comprise thirteen N100/2500 wind turbines with a combined output of 32.5 MW.
The project has been planned by Loscon Engineering GmbH. The operator and final customer is SüdWestStrom Windpark Suckow GmbH (SüdWestStrom), a cooperative based in Tübingen owned by various German municipal utilities.
The wind farm has a total of six private investors, a private cooperative and ten municipal utilities including Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH, which initially bought the project before transferring it to the participating municipal utilities and the private investors.
Nordex will be installing the first few turbines by the end of 2012, with the entire wind farm scheduled for completion in spring 2013. With a rotor sweep of 7,854 square metres, the N100/2500 turbines will generate high yields at the site even in low to moderate wind speeds. As a result, they will be able to produce 64 million kilowatt/hours of clean energy per year, sufficient to supply 16,000 homes. Compared with a lignite-fueled power station, the wind farm will be able to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 64,000 tons. It will be connected to the grid via a transformer station, which is already under construction.
Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH is aiming to provide municipal utilities with an opportunity for investing in efficient power stations by means of projects such as the Suckow wind farm. “We explored many different options. However, we ultimately found the most attractive project for our municipal utilities in Suckow,” says Bettina Morlok, managing director of SüdWestStrom.
Suckow is SüdWestStrom’s first onshore wind farm. By investing in the project swiftly and on favourable terms, the participating municipal utilities are making a contribution to furthering Germany’s new energy policy. Says Morlok: “Mid-size utilities in particular can invest small amounts in large projects via our cooperative model without having to shoulder the development risks. The commitment shown by the municipal utilities and citizens to the Suckow project shows that the municipal utilities will be playing an increasingly important role in the adoption of new methods of producing electricity in Germany.”
The Suckow region will also be benefiting from the wind farm. The owners of the land, who include private individuals as well as the municipality itself, will be receiving an attractive rent from SüdWestStrom based on an area model. Under this model, all land owners in the eligible region will receive remuneration even if no wind turbines are built directly on their particular land. The income generated will allow the municipality to finance important investments in the future.
Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH
Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH is a cooperative operated by German municipal utilities. Established in 1999, it has set itself the goal of strengthening municipal utilities’ competitive position, harnessing synergistic effects and thus utilising joint opportunities. Today 56 municipal utilities are shareholders of Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH. Around 65 employees are based at its head office in Tübingen. Separate entities are established for investments in wind farm projects, which Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH oversees and for which it assumes the risk until a certain phase is reached. This also forms the basis on which SüdWestStrom Windpark Suckow GmbH & Co. KG has been established.
As one of the technological leaders in multi-megawatt wind power systems, Nordex is benefiting from the trend in favour of large-scale turbines. The range comprises one of the world’s largest series-produced wind power systems (N90/2500, N100/2500, N117/2400). To date, over 1,700 turbines of this type have been installed around the world. This experience with multi-megawatt turbines gives Nordex a decisive lead over most of its competitors. Nordex has installed a total of around 4,700 turbines with an aggregate capacity of more than 7,100 MW all around the world. With exports accounting for more than 90 percent of its business, Nordex SE plays a key role in international high-growth regions. The Company has offices and subsidiaries in 19 countries around the world with a total global headcount of over 2,600 employees.
