Commissioning of the Trianel wind farm Borkum

01 September 2015. Aachen/Borkum, Germany. On 1 September, together with Trianel and the 33 municipal utilities involved, Johannes Remmel, Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, put the Trianel wind farm Borkum into operation. “Over 50 percent of the municipal utilities involved in realising the Trianel wind farm Borkum come from North Rhine-Westphalia – and in so doing, are demonstrating that they are taking responsibility for climate protection and have invested in the energy provision of the future. As a pioneering municipal achievement, the wind farm is an example of how climate protection and the energy transition can be successfully made reality, in cooperation and beyond the state boundaries of NRW,” Mr Remmel said. “NRW is also benefiting the most among all federal states, with 23 percent of the sector turnover, usually through investments in offshore expansion.”

Speaking to the 150 guests invited to the commissioning event, Sven Becker, spokesman for the management board at Trianel GmbH, stressed that: “The energy transition is also demanding municipal commitment beyond one’s own federal state boundaries. Regardless of their size and which federal state they come from, all 33 municipal utilities involved have shown an innovative spirit, and together with Trianel have laid a further milestone when it comes to municipal energy provision. Without the courage of the shareholders to together choose to sail into uncharted waters and invest in such a young industry, this pioneering project could not have been realised.”

Construction began on the wind farm with 40 wind turbines, which is located about 45 kilometres off the coast of Borkum, with the construction of the foundation structures and the erection of the tripods in September 2011. In July 2013, the final mounting phase began of the 40 AREVA Wind M5000-116 wind turbines. Within a space of just eleven months, all wind turbines were erected, with a total capacity of 200 MW. However, construction plans were delayed after the grid connection was moved several times by the transmission system operator. “Even during critical phases, the partners from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland stood by each other and made the North Sea project possible,” said Klaus Horstick, managing director of Trianel Windkraftwerk Borkum GmbH & Co. KG

On the basis of the anticipated 4,000 or so full-capacity hours, the Trianel wind farm Borkum will produce over 800 gigawatt hours of electricity, which will be sufficient to provide around 200,000 households with environmentally friendly power.  A further 40 turbines are planned for the second expansion stage, with a total capacity of 200 MW. Mr Horstick said: “We are well prepared for the second phase with a further 200 MW, and are able to profit from the experience we have gained over the last seven years.” Trianel expects the construction decision in 2016. 

Contact:

Dr. Nadja Thomas, Press spokeswoman
Phone +49 241 41 3 20 466 | Mobile +49 160 96 37 04 56 | E-mail n.thomas@trianel.com

About Trianel 

Trianel GmbH was established in 1999 with the aim of pooling the interests of municipal utilities and regional energy suppliers and boosting their independence and competitiveness on the energy market.

The concept of pooling interests in a network has found followers among over 100 shareholders and partners in the public utilities sector. All together, the Trianel shareholders supply energy to more than six million people in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, making Trianel the leading municipal utilities network both in Germany and in Europe. Trianel’s activities focus on the support of municipal utilities in their supply responsibilities. Interests are pooled and synergies exploited in the fields of energy trade and procurement. Over the years, new business areas have joined the original sectors. Trianel is also active in power generation, gas storage and the development of new business models for municipal utilities.