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Projects |
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Submarine Cable |
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"Offshore wind farms in the North- and Baltic Sea are the key for a further expansion of
energy production by wind power", stated the Federal Minister of environment Jürgen Trittin in
April 2002 - the answer to this problem seems quite simple. Trittin referred
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to a study of the Federal Ministry for the Environment which concluded that 3.000 megawatt capacity in the offshore area could be installed until the year 2010. Then, these wind power plants shall produce nearly ten billion kilowatthours of energy per year.
However, until the offshore wind technology goes into series production on a large scale many open questions in the engineering field need to be resolved. Further, conflicting interests between offshore wind energy utilisation and nature conservation- or maritime navigation issues as well as concerns of the navy or fishery need to be discussed and dispelled. Especially the grid connection to shore troubles the plant operators and gives rise to discussions in the public.
How comes the power to shore?
In a wind farm all turbines are joined by power cables in an array. In order to save expenses, the cables do not necessarily have to be buried in the sea bottom. This is different for the sea cable to shore. For this one cable trenches have to be ploughed or rinsed.
The problem lies exactly in this issue: The distance from farm to land leads to a rise in cost and effort for additional sea cable and also the costs for the cable-laying works increase enormously with each meter. Furthermore, the cable route issue gives rise to controversies in almost every offshore project. As soon as the cable is planned to cross nature protection areas, shipping lanes, fishing grounds or protected areas for birds or marine mammals, the protests of representatives of pressure groups will not wait for long.
The choice of the cable route as a challenge
The alignment of the power cable on the margins of shipping lanes is strictly rejected by public authorities because of safety reasons. Therefore, presently the only feasible and economical viable alternative is laying the grid connection via the Wadden Sea. On the other hand the ecological uniqueness and the importance of this ecosystem as well as the high national and international protection status of the Wadden Sea are standing close together.
The conflict of interests between the environmental associations, users and plant operators and also the ecological objections of the national parks can be finally much reduced only by dint of an adequate planning of the cable route.
Documents
Assessment of submarine cable routes for power connection to the shore (German only)
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