First Power

Sandbank offshore wind farm exported its first power to the German electricity network in early September 2016. The project, a 288 MW joint venture between Vattenfall and Stadtwerke München located about 90 kilometres west of the island of Sylt in the German North Sea, began energising turbines as they entered commissioning. By this point, 21 of the planned 72 Siemens SWT‑4.0‑130 turbines had been successfully erected. During the commissioning phase, the modified service operations vessel Acergy Viking, equipped with a walk‑to‑work gangway system, was used to transfer technicians directly onto the turbines around the clock, helping the project accelerate its schedule by an estimated three months. The first power milestone demonstrated that the wind farm’s electrical systems and grid connection via the offshore substation and the SylWin1 HVDC link were functioning, and marked the transition from pure construction into phased operational testing ahead of full commercial operation.