Windenergie: Offshore

Wind power on the high seas

TotalEnergies is one of the leading offshore wind experts. With its expertise, the company successfully develops, builds and operates offshore wind farms worldwide.

 

Offshore power: indispensable for a clean energy supply.

Wind power is one of the most important energy sources for green electricity in Germany and plays a key role in the energy transition. In 2023, wind power accounted for 32 per cent of the German electricity mix. Offshore wind accounted for 5.4 per cent of this. The German government has set clear targets for the expansion of offshore wind power: From around 8.5 gigawatts (GW) at present to 30 GW in 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW in 2045. For this to succeed, wind energy capacities must be massively expanded.

In order to accelerate the construction of offshore wind farms, the German government has passed the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG). It provides for significantly shorter planning and approval procedures and centralises the necessary environmental assessments, for example. The WindSeeG also includes a so-called "dynamic bidding procedure" for offshore wind areas. In this procedure, the bidder with the highest willingness to invest is awarded the contract. In 2023, we took part in such a procedure and were awarded two concessions by the responsible Federal Network Agency.   

Our offshore wind farms: Sustainable energy for industry and consumers

As a multi-energy company, we are expanding our supply of renewable electricity worldwide. We want to increase our electricity generation from renewable energy sources to over 100 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030. With our solar and wind projects around the world, TotalEnergies is well on the way to reaching the interim stage of 35 GW of installed capacity by 2025.  We see growth potential in the German electricity market in particular. Sustainably generated electricity plays an important role in the defossilisation of our energy supply. Heat generation, mobility, the production of green hydrogen and battery production cannot be realised without sufficient green electricity. Experts are therefore forecasting an increase in electricity demand from the current 517 TWh to around 658 TWh in 2030, an increase of around 30 per cent.

With the planned offshore wind farms in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, we are helping to meet this demand and ensure security of supply. By 2030, we will install a total of 3 gigawatts (GW) of new wind capacity off the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. We will market the electricity directly on the electricity market or via power purchase agreements (PPAs). PPAs are purchase agreements with terms of 10 or 20 years and a fixed electricity price. Customers are usually industrial companies with high energy requirements. Due to their long-term nature, PPAs not only provide planning and cost certainty. They also help customers to switch their energy supply to environmentally friendly electricity, improve their CO2 footprint and achieve climate targets. 

 

North Sea: N-12.1

• The concession with the abbreviation N-12.1 is located around 170 kilometres from the North Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein.
• We will install wind turbines there at a water depth of around 42 metres.
• These will be able to achieve a peak output of 2 GW when they are commissioned.
• The wind farm will be built on an area of almost 200 square kilometres - the equivalent of 28,000 football pitches!

 

Baltic Sea: O-2.2

• Our Baltic Sea concession O-2.2 with an area of around 100 square kilometres is located between Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Germany.
• We will install wind turbines on the seabed at an average depth of 44 metres by 2030.
• These will then be able to generate 3500 GWh per year in operation.

Overview of the two licences

 

We can do high-tech: Our offshore expertise.

The construction of offshore wind farms is complex and the technical challenges are manifold. Wind conditions, the nature of the seabed, the marine environment and water depths must be analysed in detail before construction begins. In addition, the seawater places special demands on the corrosion protection of the materials used - after all, the concessions are valid for at least 25 years.

At TotalEnergies, we have the necessary expertise to realise projects in such a harsh environment. We have over 60 years of expertise in offshore projects. During this time, we have developed, built and operated over 30 floating platforms and more than 200 drilling rigs. We also benefit from this experience when expanding our offshore wind portfolio. We have been gradually expanding our capacities since 2021.

Together with our partners, we are currently planning and developing wind farms worldwide in

• the USA,
• United Kingdom,
• Denmark,
• South Korea,
• Taiwan.

Most of them are firmly anchored to the seabed; some are designed as so-called "floating" turbines. These floating wind farms are anchored to the seabed with ropes and have a decisive advantage over permanently installed turbines: floating wind farms can also be built in places where conventional anchoring to the seabed is not feasible due to the depth of the water.

We currently operate "Seagreen", the largest wind farm in Scotland. Seagreen is also the wind farm with the greatest water depth in the world. Some of the foundations for the 150 turbines were sunk into the seabed at depths of up to 60 metres. 

Our responsibility: Protecting ecosystems through systematic monitoring

The construction, operation and maintenance of wind farms have an impact on the marine environment. We are committed to minimising the impact on marine flora and fauna during the construction and operation of our offshore wind turbines. At the start of a project, our experts map the areas of our planned wind turbines, record the animal and plant species there and define measures, for example for noise protection.   

We use drones and aeroplanes to monitor the turbines from the air and check bird populations. We use floating measuring stations on the surface of the water to collect data on harbour porpoise populations, for example. The measurement data flows into control stations on land and is continuously analysed so that we can react as quickly as possible to any adverse effects on the marine ecosystem. We invest around one billion euros a year worldwide in the research and development of our offshore technologies.

There are also national legal requirements. In Germany, for example, a strategic environmental assessment is required during the planning phase. It assesses projects in terms of their environmental impact before the project starts. In addition, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency can order nature conservation assessments. 

Studies show that wind farms can improve biodiversity around the turbines. For example, special foundations promote the colonisation of mussels or crabs. Rock piles around the foundations can act like artificial reefs. These attract fish species such as cod, which use the reef environment as a source of food and for spawning. 

Grid connection: How wind power gets ashore.

 

One of the biggest challenges in offshore wind energy is connecting the wind farms to the electricity grid. This is the responsibility of the respective transmission system operator (TSO). TotalEnergies liaises closely with the respective TSO to connect the wind turbines to the so-called converter platform. The converter platforms, which weigh several tens of thousands of tonnes, are located in the immediate vicinity of the wind turbines on the high seas. The electricity produced by the wind turbines reaches the converter platform via the internal cabling installed by us. There, the electricity voltage is adjusted by the respective TSO so that the electricity can be transported to the grid connection points on land via submarine cables. In the North Sea, grid connection systems are operated for both direct and alternating current, whereas in the Baltic Sea they are used exclusively for alternating current. 

TBD: Wind of Change: A breath of fresh air for your career.

Would you like to help us shape the energy transition in Germany? And work on one of the most ambitious offshore wind projects of the next few years? Then apply now and become part of our new Hamburger Offshore-Wind-Teams.

 

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