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Cable drilling under islands: energy transition in Norderney and Baltrum!
East Frisian islands Norderney and Baltrum are starting drilling for power cables to efficiently transport wind energy.
Cable drilling under islands: energy transition in Norderney and Baltrum!
In the coming months, the East Frisian islands of Norderney and Baltrum will be drilled with power cables to connect wind farms in the North Sea. These measures are part of a comprehensive project to integrate renewable energies into the German power grid. According to the South German newspaper Tennet is currently starting the first drillings on Baltrum in order to create the BalWin3 and LanWin 1 and 4 grid connection systems.
In total, several drilling projects are planned, including horizontal drilling on Norderney, which will be carried out by Amprion. Cables for the BalWin1 and BalWin2 systems are laid there, with the necessary drilling taking place primarily in summer and under strict time constraints. We work in shifts around the clock to meet demanding deadlines.
Project details and time frame
Drilling on Baltrum will be carried out in the east of the island, with construction sites on the north beach and in the mudflats. The horizontal drilling is expected to reach a length of up to 1,800 meters and is scheduled for completion in 2024. The work on Norderney is divided into two phases: drilling will be carried out six times from the center of the island to the southern mudflats, while further drilling to the northern beach is planned for 2026. In total, three cables are laid per system on Norderney instead of the usual two.
The BalWin1 and BalWin2 cable systems are scheduled to be commissioned in 2030 and 2031. Up to 2,000 megawatts of wind power can be transported via these lines, which corresponds to the electricity needs of four million people.
Energy supply and environmental protection
In addition to the project work, TenneT has concluded framework agreements for offshore grid connections in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. These agreements bind bidding groups to TenneT in the long term and are intended to accelerate the planning and construction processes. The seven systems, which also include BalWin3 and LanWin4, have a total capacity of around 13 gigawatts and are crucial for promoting green wind power from the North Sea, as the operator says on its website tennet.eu reported.
The use of environmentally friendly technologies is a high priority in these projects. The horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method used for the drilling minimizes ground impact and protects the flora and fauna in the Wadden Sea National Park. In addition, safe materials that are approved for well construction are used during drilling. Sound barriers up to ten meters high will be erected to reduce noise pollution during construction work.
The expansion of offshore infrastructure is a central component of the energy transition in Germany. TenneT has ambitious goals; At least 30 gigawatts are to be provided from offshore wind power by 2030, 40 gigawatts by 2035 and a total of 70 gigawatts by 2045.