Trianel opens 200MW Borkum offshore wind farm

German utility group Trianel is holding today the ribbon cutting ceremony for its 200 MW offshore wind farm Borkum.

Construction of the wind farm, which is located about 45 kilometres off the coast of the North Sea island of Borkum, started in September 2011. The 40 AREVA Wind M5000-116 turbines were commissioned last month and the power plant is already operating at full capacity.

The project is Europe's first entirely municipal offshore wind farm, with more than half of the investing utilities coming from the North Rhine-Westphalia province in Germany.

Besides Trianel, investors in the offshore wind farm with a total of EUR 1 billion (USD 1.128 bn) are 33 municipal utilities and regional providers from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.

Johannes Remmel, Minister for Climate Protection and Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia, who attended the inauguration noted that the province will receive 23% of the wind farm's revenue.

Based on its expected 4,000 full load hours, the Trianel wind farm Borkum will generate over 800 GWh of electricity per year, enough to supply over 200,000 households.

Trianel is considering another 200 MW expansion at the Borkum site but the final investment decision will be taken in 2016.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.128)

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