Iberdrola pushes ahead with Wikinger wind farm in the Baltic Sea
In mid-June the Spanish utility company Iberdrola made public its plans for the German offshore wind farm "Wikinger" (Viking). The company announced that it wants to invest € 1.6 billion into the Baltic Sea project, which is entering the decisive development phase.
For Wikinger, Iberdrola envisages 80 wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 400 MW. The farm will be built about 30 km off the island of Rügen and will cover an area of 34 km². Floating bases had initially been planned for the wind farm, located in water depths of 40 metres. Now however, Iberdrola says it wants to use jacket foundations.
The Financial Times Germany reported that because of its high debts, Iberdrola is looking around for a partner for Wikinger. "We are examining several financing options. It is very likely that we will undertake this project with a partner", the newspaper quotes Jonathan Cole from the Spanish energy company as saying. Instead of a financial investor the company could partner with another energy firm.
Iberdrola expects to have secured all the necessary permissions by early 2014. Start of construction is planned for 2015 and the electricity should be flowing by 2016. "At this crucial development stage, we worked constructively with the German authorities to ensure we have the right regulatory framework in place to enable essential grid connections to be delivered on time and to reduce the lead times for gaining planning permission and beginning construction", said Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of Iberdrola's Global Offshore Division.
The London and Glasgow offices will be mainly responsible for Iberdrola's first German offshore wind farm project. In total, the Spaniards are planning 11,000 MW of offshore wind capacity which, besides Germany and France, will mostly be located in the UK.
