Nordex has been awarded a contract to install the Suckow wind farm. Located in the shire of Ludwigslust-Parchim in the German state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, the wind farm will comprise thirteen N100/2500 turbines with a combined output of 32.5 MW. The project has been planned by Loscon Engineering GmbH. The operator and final customer is SüdWestStrom Windpark Suckow GmbH (SüdWestStrom), a cooperative based in Tübingen owned by various German municipal utilities. The wind farm has a total of six private investors, a private cooperative and ten municipal utilities including Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH, which initially bought the project before transferring it to the participating municipal utilities and the private investors.
Nordex will be installing the first few turbines by the end of 2012, with the entire wind farm scheduled for completion in spring 2013. With a rotor sweep of 7,854 square metres, the N100/2500 turbines will generate high yields at the site even in low to moderate wind speeds. As a result, they will be able to produce 64 million kilowatt/hours of clean energy per year, sufficient to supply 16,000 homes. Compared with a lignite-fueled power station, the wind farm will be able to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 64,000 tons. It will be connected to the grid via a transformer station, which is already under construction.
Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH is aiming to provide municipal utilities with an opportunity for investing in efficient power stations by means of projects such as the Suckow wind farm. “We explored many different options. However, we ultimately found the most attractive project for our municipal utilities in Suckow,” says Bettina Morlok, managing director of SüdWestStrom.
Suckow is SüdWestStrom’s first onshore wind farm. By investing in the project swiftly and on favourable terms, the participating municipal utilities are making a contribution to furthering Germany’s new energy policy. Says Morlok: “Mid-size utilities in particular can invest small amounts in large projects via our cooperative model without having to shoulder the development risks. The commitment shown by the municipal utilities and citizens to the Suckow project shows that the municipal utilities will be playing an increasingly important role in the adoption of new methods of producing electricity in Germany.”
The Suckow region will also be benefiting from the wind farm. The owners of the land, who include private individuals as well as the municipality itself, will be receiving an attractive rent from SüdWestStrom based on an area model. Under this model, all land owners in the eligible region will receive remuneration even if no wind turbines are built directly on their particular land. The income generated will allow the municipality to finance important investments in the future.