Iberdrola, through its Berlin-based subsidiary Iberdrola Renovables Offshore Deutschland, and Fährhafen Sassnitz GmbH have announced the signature of a lease agreement for the Port's Offshore Terminal South, which will be used for storage and pre-assembly activities of the Wikinger project installation. The contract was signed last Friday at a ceremony presided over by Mr. Erwin Sellering, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
After assessing nearby port facilities, the Offshore Terminal South (OTS) at the Port of Sassnitz (FHS) has been selected as the optimum alternative for warehousing, assembly, storing, and transportation of components and wind turbines to the site. An area of approximately 100,000 m2 has been secured for the foreseen installation period.
Key activities to be hosted in the port include load-in from transport vessels, storage and load-out to installation vessels of the main components of the wind farm, such as foundations, piles, jackets, wind turbines and cable.
Under the terms of the contract, offices for the project installation management, marine coordination and transfer of staff to the site will also be based at the terminal.
Wikinger wind farm project contemplates installation of up to 80 offshore wind turbines, founded on pre-piled jackets, in an area located approximately 30 km NE of Rügen Island, in the German Exclusive Economic Zone in the Baltic Sea.
With an investment of up to €1.5 billion, the project will generate €650 million in local and regional taxes through a 20 year period and will create around 100 direct and indirect local jobs. Once in operation, the wind farm will produce stable, safe and clean electricity equivalent to the consumption of more than 400,000 German households.
Development of the Wikinger offshore wind project is progressing quickly, with construction scheduled to begin in late 2015 and commissioning in early 2017, counting on the current feed-in-tariff system.
A full geological survey of the seabed in an area of some 34 square kilometres on the project site was successfully concluded in early May, representing a key result to achieve further consenting steps by the Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH).
The tender process for the procurement and installation of foundations, inter-array cable and key components of the offshore substation, totaling some €900 million, has already been launched.
Also, to secure the availability of the turbines, a preferred turbine supplier agreement was signed by IBERDROLA and the German Areva Wind in November 2012. The contract includes foundation and tower design optimization, project logistics, installation concept and project certification.
If everything goes according to plan, including grid connection being secured by 2016 or early 2017 and also keeping a satisfactory feed-in tariff, the first procurement contracts should be awarded in early 2014. In this respect, IBERDROLA welcomes investor reassurances expressed by senior German authorities about the need for long term stability of the regulatory framework. Nevertheless, grid connection availability, a stable tariff mechanism and a streamlined consenting process are essential to avoid unnecessary costs and risks and meet investors' expectations.
IBERDROLA's offshore wind project pipeline in Germany stands at over 2,000 MW out of which 1,000 MW could be installed in the German Baltic Sea by 2019. Towards the end of 2013 over €70 million will be invested in the development of Wikinger alone.