The offshore wind turbine REpower 5M (rotor diameter: 126 m) after its successful erection in the Scottish North Sea Source: REpower

 HAMBURG/NIGG, GERMANY -- For the first time, a five-megawatt wind turbine by REpower Systems AG (Prime Standard, WKN 617703) has been set up for the first time on the open sea. The first of a total of two turbines for the "Beatrice" demonstrator wind farm has just been set up on a lattice-like jacket structure, piled to the seabed at a depth of 44 metres in the Scottish North Sea, in the Moray Firth.

Never before have wind turbines been set up in water this deep. Furthermore, it is currently the biggest turbine offshore. Prior to the installation, a floating crane barge carried the turbine with more than 900 tonnes on its hooks, 25 kilometres on the open sea from the port of Nigg. It is there that the two 5M wind turbines are shortly to be linked to the grid connection of the "Beatrice Alpha" oil rig and then commissioned.

The countdown has been running since July: the 5M nacelles, which were built in Bremerhaven, have been transported by cargo ship to the Scottish port of Nigg. One after the other, each of the 59 metre-high towers, nacelles and rotors for the turbines were assembled there. Parallel to this, the jacket structures were anchored with piles to the seabed. After the completion of the first 5M, it was necessary to wait for favourable weather conditions to minimise risks with the first installation in the North Sea.

"We are very proud that the offshore premiere has been successful", enthused REpower’s CEO Professor Fritz Vahrenholt. "The Beatrice Demonstrator Project for our customer Talisman Energy, to which we are the sole supplier of the turbines, is a giant step for the development of the 5M and offshore wind power. Much praise must go to our offshore team, who have done everything in their power to ensure that the first installation went smoothly."

The successful offshore installation is the current high point of REpower’s development, which began several years ago. On the basis of favourable conditions for wind power use at sea – wide space, high wind speeds and less turbulence than on land – REpower had commenced the development of a very powerful 5 megawatt turbine. The 5M prototype has been running since the end of 2004 in Brunsbüttel/Schleswig-Holstein