DONG Energy, the LEGO Group and William Demant, together celebrated the inauguration of the offshore wind farm BorkumRiffgrund 1 which can provide clean electricity for 320,000 households.
The joint announcement by top management from DONG Energy, market leader in planning, constructing and operating offshore wind farms, the LEGO Group (KIRKBI A/S), makers of the iconic LEGO® brick, and William Demant, specialists in personal hearing aid products, is made in the presence of His Royal Highness, Prince Joachim of Denmark, who officially opens the wind farm.
Thomas Thune Andersen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DONG Energy, welcomes the guests in Norden-Norddeich, located in the Northwest of Germany, from where the wind farm will be operated: "BorkumRiffgrund 1 is our first operational project in Germany and I'm very satisfied with the fact that we can now harvest the fruits of the investment we have put into this project. I'm also very pleased with the confidence that our joint venture partners have shown us by investing in this project.
“Our journey in Germany is far from over: We are currently building another two offshore wind projects and have a number of other projects in our pipeline that will allow us to demonstrate the skills and competences we have gained and will allow us to continue to show the trust we have in the German offshore wind market."
With a nominal power per turbine of 4.0 MW, the 78 wind turbines will produce enough environmentally friendly electricity to supply 320,000 German households each year. The planning of the offshore wind farm BorkumRiffgrund 1 began with the final investment decision in 2011. In August 2013, the construction of the wind farm started with the installation of the offshore substation, which is the heart of the wind farm.
The wind farm is located 37 km north of the German island Borkum and 54 km from the German coast. The 78 wind turbines have a total nominal power of 312 MW. Thus, BorkumRiffgrund 1 contributes considerably to the aim of the German government to install a total of 6.5 GW of offshore wind energy until the year 2020. Almost 3 GW have been installed in the German North and Baltic Sea so far.