Spading on Norderney: offshore wind power for 4 million people!

Spading on Norderney: offshore wind power for 4 million people!

Norderney, Deutschland - On July 4, 2025, the starting signal for a promising project on the picturesque island of Norderney was given: the construction work for the new network connection of offshore wind farms started. The infrastructure developer Amprion announced that the work includes the cable routes for the projects "Balwin1" and "Balwin2", which are supposed to connect the island to the wind farms in the North Sea. These initiatives bundle the forces of renewable energies and help to cover the electricity requirements of around four million people. In addition, a transmission performance of up to 2,000 megawatts is aimed at, which will contribute significantly to the energy supply, such as [Tagesschau] (https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/niedersachsen/sparensacht-auf-norderey-fuer-fuer-offshore-beginnen ,offshore-112.html).

To enable the new construction of the cable routes, the island of Norderney is understated. This is done for nature conservation and coastal protection reasons between mid-July and the end of September. The construction site area was set up early to minimize material transport during the tourist high season. High -ranking guests were invited to the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony, including the Lower Saxony Environment Minister Christian Meyer and Norderney Mayor Frank Ulrichs.

other offshore projects at the start

But Norderney is not just the scene for working on "Balwin1" and "Balwin2". The construction work for the offshore network connection systems Dolwin4 and Borwin4 also started here. These two projects, which are to go into operation by 2028 and 2029, combine wind farms in the North Sea with the transmission network on land. You will thus replace the capacity of the nuclear power plant Emsland in 2022 and provide a service that is comparable to the needs of a city like Hamburg. As [amprion] (https://offshore.amprion.net/presse-dresse-detail page_44096.html), Lower Saxony becomes an important center for climate-friendly energy.

A total of AMPRION provides five offshore network connection systems that will be developed in the coming years. The expansion takes place as part of a continuous spatial planning plan that defines the areas for wind energy in the exclusive economic zone (AWZ). Forecasts indicate that over 10 gigawatts installed performance will be in operation by 2025, with a target of 70 gigawatts by 2030.

The future of wind energy in Germany

Offshore wind energy has undergone significant change in Germany in recent years. While the first wind farm, "Alpha Ventus", started with a nominal output of 5 megawatts, systems with 15 megawatts and more will be manufactured from 2025 - and that with rotor blades that reach the length of a soccer field. This new technology allows to generate the energy in less than 30 minutes, which a modern single-family house consumes for a year, such as Federal Environmental Office explains.

The challenges in the use of offshore wind energy are not only in technology. Room conflicts with shipping, fishing and other uses must also be taken into account. Nevertheless, in 2045 it is expected that offshore wind energy will contribute a fifth of the total electricity generation in Germany.