German Navy makes room for vast 'energy nerve centre' offshore wind platforms
Building converter platforms in Europe seen as vital for security and to avoid bottlenecks later this decade
German defence minister Boris Pistorius has freed up an area currently used by the Navy on a shipyard near Rostock on the Baltic Sea coast for the future manufacturing of new generation offshore wind converter rigs that will increasingly be in demand in the latter half of the decade.
The Warnow shipyard area in Warnemünde will be able to produce 20,000-ton rigs with a capacity to convert 2GW of alternate current electricity from wind turbines into direct current power to be transmitted to land via high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines.
“With the agreement on the cooperative use of the naval arsenal in Rostock-Warnemünde, an important decision has been made so that converter platforms for the offshore wind industry can also be built in Germany in the future,” Stefan Kapferer, CEO of German transmission system operator (TSO) 50Hertz, said after Pistorius announced the dual use potential of the area.
“This is a good day for the maritime business location of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the energy transition in Europe.”
Along with 50Hertz, TSO’s Amprion and TenneT have made 2GW converter rigs the standard for all new offshore wind projects in Germany and the Netherlands, which both have greatly increased their offshore wind ambitions.
The large 2GW platforms are also envisaged to function as multi-terminal hubs to interconnect the power grids of countries surrounding the North and Baltic Seas.
Energy security a priority
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis in Europe, the awareness has increased that large energy infrastructures such as converter stations are also key for Europe’s energy security and resilience, making their production in Europe preferable, many in the industry say.
“Without securing the production of this key industrial component, the offshore energy transition will not succeed,” said Karina Würtz, managing director of Germany’s offshore wind foundation.
“At the same time, the converter stations are highly electrically sensitive, meaning that the domestic and European construction is relevant to security policy in every respect.”
The foundation hopes that Germany’s federal and state governments will soon also provide financing for the expansion of port infrastructure.
The North Sea harbour of Bremerhaven is also in line to build the massive converter platforms, German economics and climate minister Robert Habeck said last month at the Husum Wind exposition, adding that smaller German ports could at least supply components.
“If we do it well, we could build a converter production line from the Bremerhaven and Rostock Warnemünde sites in a network of German shipyards,” Habeck said.
The minister also stressed that the converter market “is completely oversubscribed,” meaning “there is a lack of converters.”
While digital technology and data knowledge in wind turbines are already susceptible to manipulation, that is even more so the case with converter stations, he said.
“These are nerve centres of the energy system. And for security policy reasons, we are still very interested in these converters being produced in Europe, and ideally in Germany.”
Security concerns – particularly regarding China – also have been at the forefront of energy policy in the neighbouring Netherlands.
50Hertz said it plans 2GW converter rigs for the Ostwind 4 grid link in the German Baltic Sea near the island of Rügen, as well as for two North Sea projects, the LanWin3 und LanWin6 grid links.
HVDC lines can transport power over large distances with relatively little energy losses and are increasingly important as offshore wind farms move further away from the coast.