Case Studies / Offshore Wind

Arkona Offshore Wind Farm

Introducing Arkona, a fully operational 378-megawatt offshore wind park located 35 kilometers northeast of Rügen, an island in the German Baltic Sea.

Project Overview

Investment Year: 2019
Ownership Stake: 25%
Technology: 60 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 PB HWRT Wind Turbine Generators
Industrial Partners: RWE and Equinor

Energy Infrastructure Partners became involved in the project after Arkona was fully commissioned in March 2019. With an appropriate operating and monitoring policy, the wind farm faces a remaining useful life of several decades.

Furthermore, investing alongside co-shareholders RWE and Equinor, two of the leading and most experienced European energy and power companies, contributes to Germany’s planned transition to a low-carbon, nuclear-free economy.

Arkona Film

Taking advantage of excellent wind resources and feed-in tariff mechanisms

Arkona is a fully operational 378-megawatt offshore wind park located 35 kilometers northeast of Rügen, an island in the German Baltic Sea. Covering almost 40km2, the wind park consists of 60 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 PB HWRT Wind Turbine Generators.

It benefits from strong and consistent wind resources that average over 9 meters per second at a hub height of 102 meters. Arkona is one of the last wind farms to benefit from fixed feed-in-tariffs under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2014), providing investors with a high degree of cash flow visibility.

Turbines upgraded for production stabilization and blade protection

The 60 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 PB HWRT Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) at Arkona have a total maximum capacity of 378 MW. Water depths at the site vary between 23 and 37m, and average wind speeds reach 9.7m/s at a 102m hub height.

Arkona’s upgraded turbines feature High Wind Ride Through systems, DinoTails, and Leading Edge Protection. These upgrades help stabilize energy output in high wind speed conditions, increase aerodynamic performance, and protect the blades from fatigue damage.

Saving up to 1.2 million tons of CO2 annually

Germany’s environmental targets extend well beyond European Union legislation and have resulted in a strong expansion of renewables, particularly wind power, in the country.

By 2030, Germany targets a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions and aims for all energy consumed to be at least 30% renewably sourced. Offshore wind parks play a growing role in the renewable energy industry because they benefit from more attractive economies of scale and steadier wind resources than onshore wind.

As one of the largest wind farms in the Baltic Sea, Arkona directly contributes to Germany’s ambitious energy transition.

Arkona has the capacity to supply up to 400,000 German households with renewable energy per year, saving up to 1.2 million tons of CO2 annually compared to traditional energy generation1.

In addition, Arkona received the German Renewables Award for Innovation of the Year in 2017 for its application of an additional anti-corrosion coating to reduce the release of aluminum and other substances to the seabed.

It complies fully with the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency’s (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie) requirements.

1Household consumption figures are based on Arkona’s 2019 production volume, according to the approximate energy consumption of a 3-person German household. CO2 reduction figures are based on a direct comparison between the CO2 emissions per kWh of traditional coal-based energy production and the emissions of wind energy conversion using offshore wind power plants.