Iberdrola awards fabrication of Baltic Eagle foundations to EEW SPC and Windar
Wednesday 14 July 2021
German company EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH (EEW SPC) will be responsible for manufacturing 50 monopiles while Spanish company Windar will be tasked with delivering the same number of transition pieces linking the foundations to the wind turbine towers
Iberdrola plans to have 1.1 GW of installed capacity in the German Baltic Sea by the end of 2026, a key market for the company
Iberdrola has finalised the procurement process for Baltic Eagle with the award of the project's last key contract, the manufacturing of offshore foundations, to EEW SPC and Windar.
German company EEW SPC will deliver 50 monopiles while Spanish company Windar will fabricate the same number of transition pieces, which links the turbine towers to the foundations. Both companies have extensive experience in the offshore wind sector, having supplied components and equipment to numerous projects across Europe.
The monopiles will be fabricated at EEW's mega-factory in Rostock, located by the Baltic Sea. Grouped into deep and shallow clusters, the monopiles are between 9m and 8.75m in diameter and their range in length varies from 75 to 90 meters, depending on the water depth for each wind turbine position. The heaviest monopile is 1,402 tonnes and EEW SPC will be processing about 64,600 tonnes of steel for this order, starting in January 2022 and running through to January 2023. Load out will begin in April 2023 and the installation campaign is scheduled to last approximately six weeks.
The main construction activities for the transition pieces will be carried out in Windar´s shipyard located in Avilés. This manufacturing process will involve some 30 Windar suppliers in the North of Spain, including steel production, components, equipment, testing and auxiliary machinery companies. The contract will create 800 jobs and 1.3 million man-hours. Fabrication works will begin in October 2021 and will run through to December 2022, with load out planned for the beginning of 2023.
Iris Stempfle, Country Manager for Iberdrola in Germany, said: “The manufacturing phase of Baltic Eagle will involve multinational companies with facilities in five European countries, including Germany, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. We are very pleased that Iberdrola's investments are making an important contribution to Europe's green recovery. In addition to a remarkable job creation during construction, we plan to increase staff at our O&M base in the port of Sassnitz-Mukran, in the island of Rügen, to serve Iberdrola's Baltic Sea Hub while fostering the share of local added value.”
With a production capacity of 476 MW, the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm will supply renewable energy to 475,000 households, while saving nearly one million tons of CO2 emissions each year. It is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2024.