Ceremony Marks the Start of Construction of the Arkona Offshore Windfarm
After years of preparation, construction of the Arkona offshore windfarm has begun. In honour of this occasion, the developers, E.ON and Statoil, invited guests to a ceremony in the wind park’s service building at Mukran Port in Sassnitz.
Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Operating Officer of E.ON Climate & Renewables, points out the innovative nature of the offshore windfarm. “For the Arkona windfarm, we have used a new concept to protect against corrosion for the very first time. This concept is thermal spray aluminium, and it means that much less metal will be released into the sea during operation. As a result, E.ON is not only making an additional contribution to environmental protection, but also cutting the cost of offshore technology through innovation, making renewable energies even more cost-effective.”
With a radio message, Project Director Holger Matthiesen subsequently instructed that a monopile foundation be installed, thus symbolising the start of offshore construction. The guests were able to watch the at-sea installation live by video transmission. The Arkona project is located 35km northeast of the island of Rügen. The windfarm will have an output of 385MW and, from 2019, will be able to supply up to 400,000 households with renewable energy. Sixty 6MW wind turbines from Siemens will be installed at the site. Arkona is a joint venture between E.ON and the Norwegian energy company Statoil.