EnBW He Dreiht: First wind turbine on Germany’s largest offshore wind farm to date produces electricity
Karlsruhe/Hamburg. The first wind turbine on the EnBW He Dreiht offshore wind farm generated the first kilowatt-hour of electricity yesterday evening and fed it into the grid. Further turbines will gradually follow suit over the coming weeks. EnBW has so far built 27 out of a total of 64 wind turbines, which are all set to be commissioned by summer 2026.
“The first kilowatt-hour produced by our He Dreiht offshore wind farm marks a significant milestone for EnBW. Boasting a total output of 960 megawatts, He Dreiht is currently Germany’s largest offshore wind farm and a stunning example of how we are shaping the future of sustainable energy. EnBW has been planning, building and operating offshore wind farms in Germany and Europe for over 15 years, playing a key role in helping to meet Germany’s climate change mitigation targets,” explains Peter Heydecker, EnBW Board Member for Sustainable Generation Infrastructure.
Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern and Central Europe, the wind turbine manufacturer, explains: “The 15 MW turbine is a world first in terms of technology, setting new standards in offshore wind power. Its efficiency and performance enable a significant increase in energy yield per turbine. Wind energy has the ability to lower power prices, strengthen energy security, and bolster economic prosperity and we are delighted to be using our groundbreaking technology for the first time in collaboration with our partner EnBW.”
A single rotation of the rotor on the 15 MW wind turbine is enough to supply the equivalent of four households with electricity for a day. At a hub height of 142 meters, the rotor with a diameter of 236 meters sweeps through an area of 43,742 square meters per revolution – equivalent to the area of six football fields. By way of comparison, the output of the turbines installed by EnBW in 2010 on the EnBW Baltic 1 wind farm is 2.3 megawatts (MW).
EnBW completed the internal wind farm cabling that connects all of the EnBW He Dreiht wind turbines in August. The wind farm’s internal cabling was also connected to the converter platform, which is managed by the transmission system operator TenneT. This is where the generated electricity will be concentrated, converted from alternating current into direct current and brought ashore using two high-voltage DC cables.
EnBW He Dreiht is capable of generating enough electricity to meet the needs of around 1.1 million households. The wind farm is being built about 85 kilometers northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Heligoland without state funding. The major project is being coordinated by EnBW’s offshore office in Hamburg.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9 percent of the shares in He Dreiht. Around 2.4 billion euros are being invested in it.
Further information is available at: www.enbw.com/offshore
About EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG
With a workforce of some 30,000 employees, EnBW is one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany and Europe. Providing energy to some 5.5 million customers, EnBW serves all stages of the value chain, from generation and trading to grid operation and the sale of electricity, heat energy and gas. In the company’s transformation from a traditional energy provider to a sustainable infrastructure group, the expansion of renewable energy sources and of the distribution and transportation grids for electricity and gas, including hydrogen, are cornerstones of EnBW’s growth strategy and the focus of its investment spending. EnBW plans to invest up to €50 billion by 2030, around 85 percent of which will be in Germany. By then, around 80 percent of EnBW’s generation portfolio is to consist of renewable energies. The phase-out of coal is targeted for completion by the end of 2028, provided the framework conditions allow it. These are key milestones on the way to the company’s carbon neutrality by 2035. Website: www.enbw.com
