OREANDA-NEWS. The official ground-breaking ceremony for the Konigshovener Hohe wind farm is taking place. At a reclaimed site of the Garzweiler opencast mine, RWE and the city of Bedburg are together erecting a wind farm with a planned total capacity of 67 megawatts (MW). The city participates with a share of 49% in the wind farm developed by RWE. The German manufacturer Senvion supplies and installs wind power systems, each with a capacity of 3.2 MW. The twelve wind power systems of the first construction phase are due to be commissioned as early as the end of 2014. The investment volume for this totals some € 70 million.

Johannes Remmel, Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, said: “The development of wind energy is key to making the energy transition “made in NRW” a success. The plans for wind farms such as here in Bedburg are an important milestone in the energy and climate policy of the state. Moreover, the erection on an opencast mining site is a prime example of the upcoming structural change which is currently unfolding.”

Gunnar Koerdt, Mayor of the City of Bedburg, explained: “RWE is a competent partner in the cooperation in this pioneering project for the city of Bedburg. While the previous cooperation in the preparation and planning phase was rather abstract, the results of our collaboration are now becoming visible for everybody as the first phase of construction is starting today. I am very happy about it and would like to take this opportunity to thank our partner RWE for the cooperation which has always been focused and based on trust.”

Dr. Hans Bunting, managing director of RWE Innogy: “Partnership models have an important role to play in our onshore activities. Today's start of construction is the result of many years of planning and close, trusting cooperation between the city of Bedburg, RWE and the partners in the region. For this I would like to express my sincere thanks.”

The wind farm is being erected on a reclaimed site of some 345 hectares of the Garzweiler opencast mine. This is shown as a wind concentration zone in the zoning plan of the city of Bedburg. The approved 21 wind power systems with a total capacity of 67 megawatts have been planned by RWE together with the regional cooperation partner BMR. The wind power systems of the 3.2M type with a hub height of 143 metres and a rotor diameter of 114 metres are the most powerful onshore wind power systems of Senvion.

Kai Frobose, Managing Director of Senvion Deutschland GmbH, commented: „This plant will have a total height of 200 metres. With every additional metre in height above a hub height of 100 metres we can achieve an additional energy yield of up to 1 % per metre; this is what the systems of this type have demonstrated successfully in operation so far. This height is also ideally tailored to the wind site of Konigshovener Hohe.”

Construction phases at a glance:

First preparatory construction activities, such as construction of roads and crane sites, have already been started. Early in May, Senvion began the excavation and subsoil improvement measures to achieve stability for the future foundations. They are due to be installed in the second quarter of 2014, along with laying the cables. The installation of the wind power systems is due to start as early as July. As with the Titz wind farm, commissioned by RWE in 2012, the wind farm will be connected to the grid through the main substation at Jackerath in the Garzweiler opencast mine. The first twelve wind power systems are due to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The realisation of the second construction phase with the nine remaining systems depends on the amendments to the renewable energy act expected for this year and their potential impact on the project's economic viability.