Horns Reef
Encyclopedia
Horns Rev is a shallow area (glacial and sea deposits of sand) in the eastern North Sea
, about 15 km / 10 miles off the westernmost point of Denmark
, Blåvands Huk
. It contains the first large scale offshore wind farm in the world, Horns Rev 1 (160 MW from 2002), and is 4 times larger than the previous largest offshore wind farm in the world, the Middelgrunden
at 40MW.
At Horns Rev the Danish Energy company Elsam (now DONG Energy
) built the first offshore wind farm
in the North Sea. A total of 80 Vestas
V80-2.0 MW units, capable of producing 160 MW, were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA
in 2002 with the last turbine coming into operation on 11 December 2002. Since 2005, the wind farm is owned and operated by Vattenfall
.
Turbines are laid out as an oblique rectangle of 5 km x 3.8 km (8 horizontal and 10 vertical rows). The distance between turbines is 560 m in both directions.
The main method of transport to the first wind park is a specially adapted Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter. Hoisting the workers to and from a small platform on each turbine allows access to the park regardless of sea conditions which would otherwise prevent sailing in the area for a large part of the year.
offshore wind farms will double in size in the coming years.
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, about 15 km / 10 miles off the westernmost point of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Blåvands Huk
Blåvandshuk
Blåvandshuk is a headland on the North Sea coast of Jutland northwest of Esbjerg, and is the westernmost point of metropolitan Denmark.Before January 1, 2007, Blåvandshuk was also the name of a municipality that contained the headland. The municipality covered an area of 223 km², and had a...
. It contains the first large scale offshore wind farm in the world, Horns Rev 1 (160 MW from 2002), and is 4 times larger than the previous largest offshore wind farm in the world, the Middelgrunden
Middelgrunden
Middelgrunden is an offshore wind farm in the Øresund 3.5 kmoutside Copenhagen, Denmark. When it was built in 2000, it was the world's largest offshore farm, with 20 turbines and a capacity of 40 MW...
at 40MW.
At Horns Rev the Danish Energy company Elsam (now DONG Energy
DONG Energy
-History:The Danish state company Dansk Naturgas A/S was founded in 1972 to manage resources in the Danish sector of the North Sea. After some years, the company was renamed to Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S . At the beginning of 2000s, DONG started to extend itself into the electricity market by...
) built the first offshore wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
in the North Sea. A total of 80 Vestas
Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
V80-2.0 MW units, capable of producing 160 MW, were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA
A2SEA
A2SEA is an offshore wind farm installation and services company based in Fredericia, Denmark. The company is specialized on transport, installation, and servicing of offshore wind farms. In addition to Denmark, the company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany.-History:A2SEA was...
in 2002 with the last turbine coming into operation on 11 December 2002. Since 2005, the wind farm is owned and operated by Vattenfall
Vattenfall
Vattenfall is a Swedish power company. The name Vattenfall is Swedish for waterfall, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board...
.
Turbines are laid out as an oblique rectangle of 5 km x 3.8 km (8 horizontal and 10 vertical rows). The distance between turbines is 560 m in both directions.
The main method of transport to the first wind park is a specially adapted Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter. Hoisting the workers to and from a small platform on each turbine allows access to the park regardless of sea conditions which would otherwise prevent sailing in the area for a large part of the year.
Recent report
Findings recently released from an eight-year study about offshore wind farms in Denmark show that the projects "operate in harmony with the surrounding environment". The 2006 report confirms that both the Horns Rev and NystedNysted Wind Farm
The Nysted Wind Farm is a Danish offshore wind farm close to the Rødsand sand bank near Lolland. Gravity base foundations are used rather than piles due to ice conditions.-Rødsand I:...
offshore wind farms will double in size in the coming years.
See also
- Wind power in DenmarkWind power in DenmarkWind power provided 18.9% of electricity production and 24.1% of generation capacity in Denmark in 2008, Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today almost half of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas and...
- List of offshore wind farms in Denmark
- List of offshore wind farms
- List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea
External links
- Horns Rev Newsletter
- Horns Rev 2
- Géopolitique Energétique Horns Rev 2 en Français
- http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/01/wind.power.denmark/index.html Video and text of Horns Rev 2 and Poseidon, 0:30-1:25. CNN Earth's Frontiers, March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
- LORC - Horns Rev 1 Datasheet