First power from Borkum West 2

GERMANY: The 200MW Borkum West II project, developed by Trianel, has exported its first power to the German grid.

by David Weston 3 February 2015

Turbine installation at Borkum West II was completed in August

The project has been connected via the DolWin Alpha substation by networks specialist Tennet and is now producing power.

Borkum West II is using 40 Areva M5000 turbines 45 kilometers off the German coast in the North Sea.

The turbines will be progressively brought online with full commissioning expected in spring 2015.

Installation of the turbines and cabling was , but Trianel said the "multiple displacement" of the transmission system meant a delay in the connection.

The developer was founded by municipal and regional utilities from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, making Borkum West II the first offshore project to be developed in this way. It is also the first full-scale commercial site to feature Areva's 5MW turbine.

A second 200MW phase of the project is expected online in 2020.