Baltic 1, Germany

On May 2, 2011, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania‘s Minister President Erwin Sellering had the pleasure to open the first commercial offshore wind farm in Germany. The Baltic 1 is located in the Baltic Sea, 16 km north of the Darß/Zingst peninsula. It consists of 21 offshore wind turbines and generates power for about 50,000 households.

The Baltic 1 offshore wind farm has come to represent a trendsetting development of sustainable and resource-saving energy production. The successful implementation of the sophisticated offshore project and the new offshore technologies associated with the wind farm serve as impressive evidence of the technical and logistical skills of the companies involved.

Baltic 1 is also evidence of the pioneering role of Germany when it comes to improved use of natural resources for the generation of renewable energy. After the highly appreciated inauguration of the Baltic 1, more than a dozen offshore wind farms were planned with a total output of 3,500 MW – which corresponds to four large-scale, commercial power plants.

The contract for the turnkey cable system project included the design, engineering and manufacturing of the submarine cable, as well as installation and offshore jointing.

The high-voltage submarine cable has steel armouring and three integrated fibre optics. Each metre of cable, which we produced in our state-of-the-art f2c factory in Cologne, weighs around 115 kg. Despite its heavy weight and its large diameter of 24 cm, we divided and delivered the total length of the submarine cable in a mere five sections.

The infield medium voltage submarine cables with integrated fibre optics for the connection of the turbines were manufactured in individual lengths of approximately 1,000 metres. The sections weighed up to 30 tons and were delivered on drums. Through this operation we were able to show that our modern logistics concept can ensure safe and punctual delivery at all times.

We managed to perform the installations and the assembly on the substation platform at 20 metres above water level, despite extreme wind and weather conditions. The offshore joints for the connection of the cable were installed by NKT jointers directly onsite on the decks of the installation vessels. While facing this challenge, our people demonstrated great versatility and the highest level of commitment. Many offshore projects have benefitted from the experience gained with Baltic 1.