OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG

OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG is a German company registered in Bremen that developed and operates the Butendiek offshore wind farm, located in the North Sea west of the island of Sylt. The project began in 2000 as an "Offshore-Bürgerwindpark" (community offshore wind farm), an attempt to transfer the successful onshore community-wind model to the offshore sector by involving local citizens and supporting the regional value chain. More than 8,000 private investors, many from the region, engaged in the project by 2001. The company itself was entered in the Bremen commercial register on 19 July 2011 (HRA 25927). The wind farm comprises 80 turbines of 3.6 MW each, giving a total installed capacity of 288 MW. Offshore construction started in early 2014, with the first monopile pile-driving in April 2014, installation of the offshore substation in May 2014, and the start of wind farm cable laying in June 2014. The wind farm was commissioned in mid-2015 and is stated to supply renewable energy to 370,000 households. The project reached full power on 4 August 2015. OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG is headquartered at Stephanitorsbollwerk 3, 28217 Bremen, Germany. Its managing directors are Björn Nullmeyer and Matthias Boll, and its general partner is OWP Butendiek Verwaltungs GmbH (AG Bremen, HR B 27143). The company is privately held and is not listed on a stock exchange. Its website documents the project's history, technology (wind turbines, foundations, cables, substation, grid connection), environmental investigations and noise mitigation measures, and press releases.

The Butendiek project began in 2000 as an "Offshore-Bürgerwindpark" (community offshore wind farm). The focus of planning and realising a community wind farm was to involve local citizens and support the regional value chain, transferring a successful onshore wind farm idea to the offshore sector. More than 8,000 private investors, a large part coming from the region, engaged in the project until 2001. In July 2001 an application conference was held at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), where principal approval issues were clarified and the status of conducted and running investigations and resulting reports were discussed. On 18 December 2002 approval was granted, making Butendiek the second project in Germany to be approved. With the approval the project achieved the legal certainty to continue with planning. High numbers of porpoises and loons detected during environmental investigations resulted in nature conservation interests, which were taken into account in the imposed conditions of the approval so that the objects of protection would not be affected. In 2007 Airtricity/Scottish and Southern Energy acquired Butendiek. The company OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG was entered in the Bremen commercial register on 19 July 2011 (HRA 25927). Offshore construction of the wind farm started in early 2014. In March 2014 the offshore works began with the installation of the filter layer for the scour protection, a layer with a diameter of approximately 35 m consisting of gravel and sand to prevent the soil at the foundation from scouring. In April 2014 the first monopile was pile-driven: a tug transported the floating monopile to the turbine location, where it was connected to the lifting gear, upended and driven by a hydraulic hammer up to 50 m into the seabed. In May 2014 the offshore substation was installed in two parts: first the jacket foundation was placed on the ground anchored in the seabed with four piles, followed by the topside welded to the jacket; the heavy lift vessel Rambiz transported and installed both parts. In June 2014 wind farm cable laying started. In September and October 2014 further installation milestones followed, and in June 2015 the wind farm was commissioned. On 4 August 2015 the project reported full power at the Butendiek offshore wind farm. The wind farm comprises 80 turbines with each 3.6 MW, resulting in a total capacity of 288 MW. Being commissioned in mid-2015, it provides 370,000 households with renewable energy. The company is headquartered at Stephanitorsbollwerk 3, 28217 Bremen, Germany. Its managing directors are Björn Nullmeyer and Matthias Boll, and its general partner is OWP Butendiek Verwaltungs GmbH (AG Bremen, HR B 27143).

• 2015

  June 2015: commissioning of the wind farm.

• 2015

  4 August 2015: full power at Butendiek offshore wind farm.

• 2014

  Start of offshore construction in early 2014.

• 2014

  March 2014: installation of the filter layer for scour protection.

• 2014

  April 2014: pile driving of first monopile.

• 2014

  May 2014: installation of offshore substation.

• 2014

  June 2014: start of wind farm cable laying.

• 2011

  OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG entered in the commercial register (HRA 25927 AG Bremen) on 19 July 2011.

• 2007

  Airtricity/Scottish and Southern Energy acquire Butendiek.

• 2002

  Granting of approval on 18 December 2002; Butendiek is the second project in Germany being approved.

• 2001

  More than 8,000 private investors, a large part from the region, engaged in the project until 2001.

• 2001

  Application conference at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in July 2001.

• 2000

  Planning of Butendiek starts as an "Offshore-Bürgerwindpark" (community wind farm).

Developer and operator of a community-oriented offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.

• Butendiek offshore wind farm

  80 turbines of 3.6 MW each, total capacity 288 MW, commissioned mid-2015, supplying 370,000 households.

1. 1Offshore wind farm Butendiek - OWP-Butendiek.deowp-butendiek.de
2. 2History - OWP Butendiekowp-butendiek.de
3. 3About - OWP Butendiekowp-butendiek.de
4. 4OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG - Wikidatawikidata.org