"Beyond the horizon ... ist the best place for wind energy": Illustration and slogan of Sandbank 24
Oldenburg company Projekt GmbH has been developing the offshore wind farm project "Sandbank 24” since 2001. This included planning and development, gaining official permission for the construction of 96 wind turbines and, since 2005 as a shareholder in Sandbank Power GmbH & Co. KG, preparing everything for the start of construction. Furthermore, an application for planning permission for another 40 wind turbines for the "Sandbank Extension” was drawn up and submitted. Now the company has signed a contract with Vattenfall for the sale of both projects. Vattenfall is the owner of the "Dan Tysk” wind farm in the direct vicinity of "Sandbank 24” to the west of the island of Sylt in the "SylWin” cluster. Now, Sandbank Power GmbH & Co. KG and Vattenfall as the purchaser wrapped up the deal.
With its 96 wind turbines, "Sandbank 24” is currently the offshore wind farm with the largest approved pilot phase in Germany, and a further 40 turbines could be added to that when "Sandbank Extension” is approved. Purchaser Vattenfall expects the first stage to achieve a capacity of up to 576 megawatts (MW) on a site 90 km west of the island of Sylt – added to its "Dan Tysk” wind farm, scheduled for construction start in 2012.
The purchase by Vattenfall is also a recognition of the excellent development work of the Oldenburg Projekt GmbH, which in 2004 obtained the construction approval for "Sandbank 24” from the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), in 2007 was able to increase the number of wind turbines to a total of 96, and in 2009 achieved the first approval according to the BSH standard "design structure of wind energy turbines”.
That makes "Sandbank” a solid investment for Vattenfall, especially as the contracting parties already have a history together. They jointly worked on the offshore wind energy cluster "SylWin”, on aspects including operation & maintenance (O&M) and technical project development. At the beginning of 2011, the network operator TenneT placed an order for a converter station for 864 MW in the "SylWin” cluster – the largest joint grid connection commissioned so far.
Even after the sale, Projekt GmbH will be involved in a consultancy role in the "Sandbank 24" project. Managing Director Ubbo de Witt commented: "We"re delighted that we will be able to support Vattenfall, one of the largest offshore wind farm operators, with our know-how during the further development of the project." As part of its own offshore activities, the company is now preparing the offshore wind farm "Witte Bank" for official approval.
