50Hertz built the submarine and onshore cable connection to the Lubmin substation and worked with the wind farm operator Parkwind to construct the offshore platform.
Parkwind’s 257 MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm features 27 Vestas V174-9.5 MW wind turbines. The first unit was installed in November 2022, while the last three wind turbines were installed at the site in the German Baltic Sea a year later.
The offshore wind farm produced its first power and started feeding it into the grid in January 2023.
In the coming years, 50Hertz will be adding further offshore grid connections in this sea area, the TSO said.
Next year, another offshore wind farm, Baltic Eagle, is set to enter operation via the 50Hertz Ostwind 2 grid connection system, to which the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm is also connected.
The Baltic Eagle offshore substation was installed in the summer, and the Spanish company Iberdrola is currently building a total of 50 towers for the wind turbines, which will have a combined capacity of around 475 MW.
“Today’s official commissioning of the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm, on schedule, is the result of professional and effective cooperation between the wind farm operator and grid operator and is a fine example of European teamwork,” said Stefan Kapferer, Chief Executive Officer of 50Hertz.
“Further offshore grid connection projects are currently being planned or are in the approval process at 50Hertz. In this context, cross-border projects such as Bornholm Energy Island will become increasingly important in the future. Germany needs green electricity to ensure security of supply, and other Baltic Sea countries have generation surpluses that they can market.”
Since late 2019, the two offshore wind farms, Wikinger (Iberdrola) and Arkona (RWE) have been supplying electricity in the sea area off the coast of Rügen via the 50Hertz Ostwind 1 grid connection system, with a capacity of 735 MW.
Next year, 50Hertz will begin preparatory work on the route for the Ostwind 3 project, which will largely run parallel to Ostwind 1 and 2 and will connect the planned Windanker wind farm – another Iberdrola project.
The required submarine and land cable system will not end at the Lubmin substation, but a new nearby substation, said the TSO.
