The 385 MW offshore wind farm, located some 35 km northeast of the German Baltic Rügen Island, has been officially commissioned during an event held at the Mukran Port.
The wind farm is a joint investment of the German E.ON and the Norwegian Equinor. At the expense of €1.2b, a total of 60 six MW Siemens turbines was put in place and connected to the grid.
According to the investors, Arkona will provide as many as 400k households with electricity as well as save up to 1.2mt of CO2/year when compared to conventionally-generated power.
"Today we are sending out a strong signal: we are making progress with the energy revolution. Offshore wind power is a crucial element here. This is a path with a future," Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, commented.
Johannes Teyssen, CEO, E.ON, also said, "The task now is to expand renewable energies vigorously and at the same time make them cheaper. Green energy must be delivered to people and businesses much more efficiently than before. This is a Herculean task that requires all the strength of large companies. E.ON will focus on better integration and utilization of renewables for our customers and society."
"Technological advancements and cost reductions has given offshore wind a momentum in Europe, and I am glad to see Equinor and a number of other Norwegian companies entering this market in cooperation with companies like E.ON," Kjell-Børge Freiberg, Norway's Energy Minister, added.
Jon Erik Reinhardsen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Equinor, underlined, "Arkona is Equinor's fourth wind farm coming online since 2012 and is a key contribution to developing Equinor into a broad energy company. We would also like to thank E.ON for its excellent work on the development and operations of Arkona."
"50Hertz was able to connect the Arkona offshore wind farm to the grid on time and at a lower cost to the grid customer than originally calculated. We are just as proud of this as we are of the very cooperative European cooperation in this major project with our two partners E.ON and Equinor. The joint offshore platform is clear proof of this and has also set a new standard for the implementation of such projects. Today is a really good day for the energy revolution in Germany and Europe and for the development of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea," Chris Peeters, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, 50Hertz, summed up.
Photo: Equinor