Baltic Eagle Offshore Wind Farm

Baltic Eagle is an offshore wind farm being developed in the German waters of the Baltic Sea. The 476MW farm is being developed by Iberdrola and is the company’s second major offshore wind project in Germany after the Wikinger wind farm, which was commissioned in 2017.

Iberdrola won the Baltic Eagle project in April 2018 through an offshore tender conducted by the German Federal Networks Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).

The planning approval process for the project was completed in April 2022 when Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) approved the wind farm.

The project will involve an investment of more than €1.1bn and is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

Pre-site preparation work commenced in early 2022, with mobilisation to the site in the second and third quarters of 2022.

Once complete, Baltic Eagle will generate renewable electricity of 1.9TWh annually, enough to meet the energy requirements of 475,000 homes.

The project will also offset nearly one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Location and site details

The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm is located around 28km off the northeast coast of the German island of Rügen at a water depth of between 40m and 45m. The site includes an area of around 40km².

Project details

Baltic Eagle project will have 50 MVOW V174 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 9.53-MW. With a 174m rotor blade diameter, the turbines have a swept area of 23,778m².

As per the development plan, the wind turbine towers will be erected on mono-pile foundations that will be anchored to the seabed. The turbine towers will be linked to the foundations using transition pieces.

Iberdrola has completed a more than €10m geotechnical and geophysical study to determine the design of the foundations.

The mono-piles will have a diameter of between 9m and 8.75m and their length will vary from 75m to 90m, depending on the water depth for the wind turbine position.

The manufacturing process of the components will continue until January 2023, with the load out slated to begin in April 2023.

Iberdrola has also signed a lease agreement for a new operation and maintenance building at the port of Sassnitz (Fährhafen Sassnitz).

Power evacuation

An onsite-offshore substation will collect the electricity produced by the turbines and transform the voltage from 66kV to 220kV.

The electricity will be then transmitted to the onshore platform in Lubmin through 90km long high voltage subsea cables and subsequently, it will be fed into the power grid.

Contractors Involved

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has been contracted to supply the MVOW V174 wind turbines for the Baltic Eagle wind farm project, with deliveries and installation slated to be completed by 2024.

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier (FOWIC) has secured a contract directly from Vestas Wind Systems (Vestas) for the transportation and installation of 50 Vestas V174-9.5MW wind turbines in July 2021. The works will be executed by the jack-up installation vessel Blue Tern.

Iberdrola has contracted German company EEW Group Special Pipe Constructions (EEW SPC) for 50 monopiles, while Spanish firm Windar will fabricate the transition pieces that will link the turbine towers to the foundations.

The foundations will be transported and installed by offshore construction company Van Oord. The Dutch company will deploy the heavy lift installation vessel Svanen to deploy the monopiles.

Additionally, Van Oord will use its Nexus vessel and the Dig-It trencher to lay interconnection cables.

TKF secured a contract from Van Oord to supply about 79km 66kV inter-array cables for the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in August 2021.

Iberdrola signed an agreement with 50Hertz for the construction, installation and commissioning of the offshore substation.

The joint venture (JV) of Iemants-Fabricom will deliver the structural elements of the substation, while marine contractor Heerema will transport and install the substation on the Baltic Eagle site.

Additionally, Siemens Gas and Power has been contracted for all main electrical equipment for the low-voltage part of the offshore substation.

Vos Prodect was selected to deliver all sealed Cable Hang-Off Systems for the offshore wind farm in July 2022.

EDS HV Group, part of James Fisher Renewables, has been awarded a contract to deliver the high voltage safety management commissioning phase for the offshore wind farm in January 2022.

Fraunhofer IWES has been contracted to conduct boulder detection and geohazard survey of 50 wind turbine locations and the associated OSS within the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in January 2021.

Marine and energy consultant AqualisBraemar LOC has secured a contract to provide Marine Warranty Survey (MWS) services for the Baltic Eagle Offshore Wind Farm in August 2021.

Tekmar Energy has been awarded a contract by Van Oord to supply its Generation 10 Cable Protection System for the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in August 2021.

Mega Project in Baltic Sea

Besides Baltic Eagle, Iberdrola is developing another offshore installation called Wikinger Süd (10 MW) in Germany. The Baltic Eagle wind farm, along with Wikinger and Wikinger Süd, will form the largest offshore wind complex in the Baltic Sea.

The mega project entails a joint investment of €2.5bn. Collectively, the three wind farms will generate 836MW of energy.

Together, Baltic Eagle and Wikinger will produce 826MW, enough to meet 45% of the electricity consumption requirements of the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

Iberdrola also plans to develop another wind farm called Windanker in the region. The expansion will increase the capacity of the offshore wind complex to more than 1GW by the end of 2026.