Siemens has completed installation of the BorWin2 offshore HVDC converter platform in the North Sea west of the island of Borkum.

Siemens said that the platform has 800MW transmission capacity and this marks Siemens’ achievement of the second key milestone in the German grid connection projects.

The project is part of the German offshore contract with TenneT.

Earlier, Siemens installed its first converter platform for the HelWin1 connection off Heligoland in the North Sea in August 2013.

At the new platform, the alternating current (AC) produced by the wind turbines is transformed into low-loss direct current for transmission to the mainland by using Siemens technology.

The BorWin2 onshore converter station, also supplied by Siemens, is located in Diele.

Thie onshore converter station will receive electric power from wind farms and convert it back into the AC required to feed into the power grid.

Siemens Power Transmission Division CEO Karlheinz Springer said, “Once more we have mastered the challenging offshore installation part. We are now in the final stretch to achieve commissioning in the first half of 2015, as promised. When the two platforms yet installed by us go on line, they will be able to supply more than 1.3 million households.”

TenneT has awarded the contract for the BorWin2 offshore grid connection with a consortium comprising Siemens and the Italy-based Prysmian in 2012.

In total, Siemens is setting up five North Sea grid link-ups for Tennet: HelWin1, HelWin2, BorWin2, BorWin3 and SylWin1.

Siemens along with Petrofac has secured the order for the BorWin3 grid connection in the North Sea.

It is scheduled to be operational in 2019.

Once commissioned, the grid connections set up by Siemens will have a total transmission capacity of more than 3.8GW.

Siemens is using HVDC Plus converter technology and is essentially a voltage-sourced converter of the modular multi-level converter type (VSC MMC).

BorWin2 is designed for decades of operation in the rugged North Sea. The platform is installed 20m above sea level in order to protect it against giant waves, the platform.

IKEA has announced its largest global renewable energy investment to date, purchasing a 98 megawatt wind farm in Illinois, USThe wind farm is expected to generate up to 380GWh of renewable energy each year – the equivalent amount of electricity to meet the needs of 34,000 average American households.
IKEA’s chief sustainability officer Steve Howard said: “The US has amazing wind and sun resources that will never run out. We are delighted to make this investment – it is great for jobs, great for energy security, and great for our business. Importantly, it’s great for the future of our climate”.

The announcement is the most recent in a series of renewable energy investments, seeing the company now committing to own 206 wind turbines worldwide.
IKEA has also installed 550,000 solar panels on its buildings in nine countries. In the US, these investments include solar installations completed on 90% of IKEA locations across 20 states, with a total of 165,000 solar panels providing 38MW installed capacity.

According to the company,  it produced 1,425GWh of energy from renewable sources, including wind and solar, in 2013 – the equivalent to 37% of the company’s total energy needs.

As part of its sustainability strategy, the company has allocated $2bn to invest in wind and solar until 2015 to get closer to its goal of producing 100% as much renewable energy as the total energy it consumes by 2020.

IKEA also reports that since 2010, the company has saved nearly $55m through energy efficiency efforts in its stores and warehouses.

In February, IKEA’s forest management certificate was suspended for its operations in Karelia, Russia, after the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) revealed concerns with poor forestry practices. However, the suspension was lifted in March following a successful appeal by the company.

14th April 2014 – Dublin – Today, Minister Pat Rabbitte TD officially opened ENERCON`s new European sales office in Santry, Dublin. ENERCON is Europe’s leading supplier for wind energy turbines onshore with the highest vertical integration in the wind industry. Minister Rabbitte was joined for the occasion by the ENERCON’s Head of Sales, Northern Europe, Robin Borgert.

ENERCON’s Dublin team will have sole responsibility for sales, project management, electrical engineering, logistics coordination and site assessment in Ireland. ENERCON will have 22 people employed at their new office, with future growth expected. This investment is supported by Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.

ENERCON is active in Ireland since 1998, with more than 640 MW and 350 turbines have been installed in Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is every 4th turbine installed on the island. ENERCON operates five service stations across the country, with 130 people currently working in the field of installation and servicing of wind turbines.  ENERCON operates factories in eight countries and has more than 17,000 employees worldwide.

Attending ENERCON’s official opening Minister Rabbitte stated “I very much welcome the opening of ENERCON’s new European Sales Office in Dublin today. This is tangible evidence of the economic and jobs benefits that can realised as Ireland transitions towards sustainable and secure indigenous energy generation.”

“We believe in a decentralized service concept and providing all key services and contacts locally. And the office in Dublin allows us this close and direct contact to our local customers and business partners – in a great location with a highly motivated and qualified team. This is due to the very good market development for wind energy, making ENERCON the largest organisation of all wind turbine suppliers in Ireland.” Robin Borgert, ENERCON Head of Sales Northern Europe. 

Barry O’Leary. CEO, IDA Ireland stated “Ireland is taking a lead in promoting the sustainable energy sector, maximizing our wind energy potential in the rapidly developing Clean Tech sector. ENERCON is one of the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers; with over 30 years’ experience setting technological milestones in the renewable energy industry. ENERCON is at the forefront of maximizing Ireland’s wind energy sector and IDA Ireland looks forward to working with the company as they continue to grow their operations in Ireland.”

WindMW has completed the construction of the 288MW Meerwind Süd Ost offshore wind farm located in the German North Sea, with the installation of its 80th and final offshore turbine.

The company began construction of the project in 2012 and was completed on schedule within 18 months. It also completed the installation of Meerwind’s 3,500t offshore converter substation.

WindMW CEO Jens Assheuer said: “I would like to thank the project’s investors, staff, suppliers and other stakeholders for their significant commitment and support. The completion of the project on schedule and at the highest quality standards is a result of the contributions of all parties involved.”

Located 23km north of Helgoland, the 288 MW project will produce enough electricity to power around 360,000 households and will help Germany eliminate approximately one million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

A total of € 1.2bn was invested in the construction of the Meerwind Sud Ost offshore wind farm project.

Meerwind was the first German offshore wind project to be fully financed by private investors, was the largest German offshore wind farm to achieve a full financial closing, and was the first to close under Germany’s KfW financing programme.

WindMW is a joint-venture of Blackstone Energy Partners, Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity business, and Windland Energieerzeugungs.

Blackstone senior managing director Sean Klimczak said: “We are very pleased to have reached this important project milestone, bringing Germany one step closer to meeting its green energy targets. Together with our partners, we would like to thank our suppliers and their hard-working teams for their efforts to make our project vision a reality.”