ENERCON Magazine
for wind energy
Issue 03 | 2009
www.enercon.de
ENERCON –
25 Years!
Success through technology
leadership
Page 6
Technology
Hydropower station in
Raguhn, Germany: ENERCON
technology proves its worth
in hydropower
Page 10
International
WECs for Scottish islands:
Three promising projects on
the Orkneys
Page 14
Job ProfileS
PCT Installation Technician:
Precision teamwork on
precast concrete towers
Page 16
Supplier
Hulvershorn foundry in
Bocholt, Germany: Consistent
quality over hundreds of
castings
Page 18
International sales offices
ENERCON ADDRESSES
ENERCON GmbH, Sales Dept.
ENERCON Sales (headquarters)
Dreekamp 5 · 26605 Aurich · Phone +49 4941 927-0
Fax +49 4941 927 669 Page 3 Editorial
ENERCON Sales Bremen
Otto-Lilienthal-Str. 25 · 28199 Bremen
GERMANY · Phone +49 421 2441 510 · Fax +49 421 ENERCON News
2441539 · e-mail: sales.international@enercon.de
Page 4 News from the ENERCON world
ARGENTINA
ENERCON Soporte Area Argentina
Blanco Encalada 1204-4/B
C1428DCJ Ciudad de Buenos Aires · ARGENTINIA
Title Story
Phone + 54 11 47 886 114 · Fax + 54 11 47 886 114 Page 6 ENERCON – 25 years! Success through
e-mail: windpower@ciudad.com.ar
technology leadership
AUSTRIA
ENERCON Austria Ges.mbH · Hauptstrasse 19
2120 Wolkersdorf · AUSTRIA · Phone +43 2245 82828
Fax +43 2245 82838 · e-mail: enercon@vienna.at Page 8 Congratulations on ENERCON’s 25th
BALTIC STATES/EAST ASIA anniversary: Founder of a new era
ENERCON Denmark · Bredkær Parkvej 62
8250 Egaa · DENMARK
Phone +45 87 430 388 · Fax +45 87 430 344
e-mail: joern.kristensen@enercon.de
Technology
Page 10 ENERCON hydropower station in
Belgium
ENERCON Services Belgium BVBA· Sales Belgium Raguhn, Germany: ENERCON technology
Bernhard Fink · Stationsstraat 97
B-2440 Geel · Belgium proves its worth in hydropower
Phone +32 14 591 611· Fax +32 14 591 612
e-mail: bernhard.fink@enercon.de
Spain Imprint
ENERCON GmbH, Sucursal en España
Ronda de Auguste y Louis Lumière 23
Publisher: ENERCON GmbH · Dreekamp 5 · 26605 Aurich · Germany
Edificio 21 A · Parque Tecnológico Phone +49 4941 927-0 · Fax +49 4941 927-109 · www.enercon.de/en/_home.htm
46980 Paterna (Valencia) · SPAIN
Phone +34 961 824 558 · Fax +34 961 828 143 Editorial office: Volker Uphoff, Ruth Brand, Teelke Bojarski
e-mail: enercon.spain@enercon.de
Printed by: Steinbacher Druck GmbH, Osnabrück, Germany
Sweden Copyright: All photos, illustrations, texts, images, graphic representations, insofar as this is not expressly stated to the
ENERCON Energy Converter AB
Stenåldersgatan 19 · 21376 Malmö · SWEDEN contrary, are the property of ENERCON GmbH and may not be reproduced, changed, transmitted or used otherwise without
Phone +46 40 143 580 · Fax +46 40 222 420
the prior written consent of ENERCON GmbH.
e-mail: scandinavia@enercon.de
Frequency: The WINDBLATT appears every three months and is regularly included in the “new energy”, magazine for renewa-
Turkey
ENERCON GmbH · Sales Turkey ble energies, of the German Windenergy Association.
Holger Bohlen · Dreekamp 5 · 26605 Aurich · GERMANY
Subscribe: Phone +49 4941 927-667 or www.enercon.de/en/_home.htm.
Phone +49 4941 927-0 · Fax +49 4941 927-109
e-mail: holger.bohlen@enercon.de Cover photo: E-126 at wind farm in Aurich-Georgsfeld, Germany.
Editorial WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 3
Dear Readers,
Last September, Germany was able to celebrate another milestone on the way towards a rege-
nerative energy supply system: There are now 25,000 MW of wind power installed generating
clean electricity. This corresponds to the consumption of 13 million private households. The
wind energy sector thus demonstrated once more what it is capable of achieving. The new
Federal Government, which will be constituted soon, will be instrumental in deciding whether
we continue to make such great strides towards a fully regenerative energy system: In order
for us to keep growing, we remain dependent on framework conditions that allow us to find our
place in a market dominated by a small number of large electricity providers. If however our
lifeblood the German Renewable Energy Sources Act, were to be modified in crucial aspects,
we might quickly face hard-to-overcome obstacles.
To protect us from being squeezed out of the market by the operators of large conventional
power plants, the new government must prevent the power grids from being blocked by an
inflexible base load from coal-fired and nuclear power plants. A new study by the Fraunhofer
Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) has shown that as early as
2020, there will be little room left for conventional power plants. The need for large-scale
conventional power plants with continuous electricity production will drop by about 50 % com-
pared to 2007. Which means there is no reason to keep nuclear power plants running and
build new coal power plants, because in 2020, half of the electricity will already be provided by
renewable energy sources and pumped storage power stations.
This electricity comes from many regenerative power stations. Building them creates more
and more new jobs – not least at ENERCON. In October, we inaugurated another new factory:
In the harbour of Magdeburg, a state-of-the-art facility for the production of precast concrete
towers (PCT) went into operation. The planned production capacity will be 200 PCT per year.
These towers with hub heights up to 138 m make the production of clean energy profitable at
inland sites, too.
The Climate Summit soon to be held in Copenhagen will show just how serious the governments
of the world are in their fight against the most urgent problem of our time. So far, renewable
energies play almost no role in their concepts for fighting climate change. When negotiating the
follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, it will be crucial that the international community
agrees to base the worldwide energy supply of the future on renewable energies. Because there
is no other way to secure a long-term climate-friendly energy supply for all of humankind!
Yours sincerely
Aloys Wobben
Managing Director ENERCON GmbH
4 WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 News
Hölscher. The Rothensee site is located be rifa, Spain. Construction work had started in
Picture: Federal State Capital Magdeburg/B.Kapelle
tween the motorway and the inland harbour, May 2008. “The construction phase took 13
allowing for a fast and efficient transport of months in total. The commissioning of the last
the segments to the construction sites. Early five turbines in Pesur is currently in full swing,”
next year, a railway line will be completed in says project manager Christian Oberbeck. He
Rothensee. Materials such as sand and gravel expects the commissioning of all wind turbi-
that are needed for concrete production will nes including the EEE units to be completed
then be delivered directly to the factory. In in the last month of this year after an existing
addition to the concrete plant, a state-of-the- transmission substation has been extended.
Inauguration ceremony with ENERCON Managing art assembly facility for prestressing tendons
Director Aloys Wobben (2nd from left) and Reiner has been set up. It contains a 135-metre-long The project was initiated by Sociedad Eólica de
Haseloff, Minister for the Economy of the State of
Saxony-Anhalt (2nd from right). steel cable assembly unit, meaning that all Andalucía, S.A. Their goal – the replacement of
prestressing tendons can now be manufac- 246 old wind energy converters in the power
tured in-house. Attached to the facility is a range of 100 to 180 kW with 37 E-70 turbines
Inauguration of new precast concrete central laboratory where all materials used – will thus soon be accomplished. The total in-
tower factory in Magdeburg worldwide for the tensioning of the towers are stalled power of the wind farms increases from
On 2 October, tower manufacturer WEC Turm- tested. The company expects to create about 30.6 to 74 MW. The performance of the WECs
bau GmbH inaugurated its new production 100 additional jobs at the new site. already in operation in Pesur 1 is outstanding:
facility in Magdeburg-Rothensee in Eastern “Since September 2008, twelve of the 21
Germany. The new plant in Magdeburg‘s inland WEC Turmbau also built a new facility in WECs have been feeding between 460 and
harbour “Hansehafen” was officially launched Emden: Starting in October, prestressing ten- 630 thousand kWh per month into the grid.”
by Reiner Haseloff, Minister for the Economy dons for PCT will be assembled here. ENER- Their availability is at 98.2 percent.
of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Aloys Wob- CON PCTs consist of up to 36 segments that
ben, Managing Director of ENERCON GmbH. are joined at the construction site. The ne- Tarifa is the first large-scale repowering pro-
cessary strength and flexibility of the towers ject in Spain. “More wind farm overhauls are
The new facility was built over the course of is provided amongst others by prestressing under consideration,” explains Oberbeck.
only 15 months. Engineering firm Baumert & tendons which are inserted into tubes that run However, no more projects will enter the con-
Peschos planned the building and managed from the base through the outer wall to the struction phase in Spain as long as the new
the construction phase. GM Stahlbau GmbH top segment and finally are tensioned. These feed-in tariff has not been legislated. “We are
supplied the structural steel components, and tendons can now be processed in Emden from expecting the government to make their deci-
H&G Hochbau GmbH built the foundations. The where they can be shipped directly to over- sion later this year, so the race for sites should
concrete batching equipment came from Lieb- seas construction sites together with the con- start next year.”
herr. Traba GmbH & Co KG made the windows crete segments.
that ensure a maximum of natural daylight in-
side the factory. By January, a new three-storey office building ENERCON‘s longest railway transport
will be attached to the tensioning facility. It will went to British Columbia
The new building is 350 m long and 71 m also have room for a training centre. “Here
wide and offers enough production floor space we can offer optimised training programmes
to increase the efficiency of precast concrete e.g. for the staff of the concrete factories that
tower (PCT)manufacturing for ENERCON. “The we plan to set up outside of Germany,” adds
arrangement of the stations in the spacious Hölscher. The first class will presumably be
factory building – from the ironworking unit made up of staff from the factory in Matane,
via the concrete casting stage to the finishing Canada, that is scheduled for 2010. The new
area – is designed to ensure fluent processes,” facilities increase the production capacities of
explained Norbert Hölscher, Managing Director WEC Turmbau (Emden and Magdeburg) to up
of WEC Turmbau. Compared to the factory at to 400 PCTs per year.
the previous site in Magdeburg Alt-Salbke, the May 2009: First train with ENERCON rotor blades
output capacity has increased from 15 to 25 leaving Thunder Bay westwards.
INFO-SERVICE
closely together than usual. ENERCON‘s site (Oslo/Norway)
assessment team were thoroughly involved North European Renewable Energy
in the project from the start and optimised Convention
Norwegian Exhibition & Conference
the site setup in cooperation with the custo-
Centre (Lillestrøm near Oslo)
mer. Due to the location on a mountain ridge
7-8 October 2009
with a single road through the wind farm, the
www.nerec.no
ENERCON installation teams are hoisting the
rotor blades individually. Thanks to the outstan-
ding and thorough preparation on the part of BWEA31 2009
Single rotor blade installation on Bear Mountain. the customer, this project will be one of the fas- (Liverpool/England)
test installations ever carried out by ENERCON. 31st Annual Conference & Exhibition
Bear Mountain wind farm in Western Canada, on Renewable Energy
they did so by using sea and rail transport al- ACC Liverpool
20-22 October 2009
most all the way to the construction site. Only 25,000th MW of wind energy in Germany
www.bwea.com/31
for the last 25 km from the station in Dawson on the grid – an E-82 in Bavaria!
Creek (BC) to the site, trucks were used to car- In late September, German Minister for the
ry the rotor blades and accessories containers. Environment Sigmar Gabriel pressed a button Agritechnica 2009
that marked a milestone en route to the ener- (Hanover/Germany)
All in all, the components travelled 10,000 gy revolution: The start-up of an E-82 turbine International German Agricultural
kilometres. The starting point for the three in the Ochsenfurt-Erlach wind farm near Würz- Society Exhibition for Agricultural
shipments was in Aurich, Germany. A freight burg (Bavaria) means there are now 25,000 Machinery
train of regional railway operator EGOO hauled MW of wind power providing Germans with Exhibition Grounds Hanover
the rotor blades and containers to Emden, clean energy. By now, wind energy in Germany 10-14 November 2009
where they were loaded onto seagoing ves- can provide 13 million homes with clean elec- www.agritechnica.com
sels. The ships then sailed to the other side tricity. More than 9,400 MW of installed wind
of the Atlantic Ocean, up the Saint Lawrence power come from ENERCON.
3rd European Renewable Energy
River past Montreal, through the Great Lakes Policy Conference
all the way to Thunder Bay in the very west In his speech, Gabriel called the development (Brussels/Belgium)
of Lake Superior. Here, the WEC components of the renewable energies industry in Germa- EREC renewable policy conference
were loaded onto freight cars of the Canadian ny a success story. It created industrial jobs at Flagey Convention Centre
National North American Railway that carried a time when most other sectors suffered job 16-17 November 2009
them the rest of the way – 2,600 kilometres losses. Moreover, this landmark event proved www.erec.org
to Dawson Creek. The trains were 840 metres that there was no reason to hold on to nuclear
long and travelled for up to ten days. Between power. Those who prolonged the service life of
Business Plus 2009
each pair of loaded freight wagons, an empty nuclear power plants were slowing down the
(Emden/Germany)
wagon was interspersed to compensate for growth of renewable energies, not least jeo-
The Northwest Job Fair
the overhang of the rotor blades. pardising thousands of jobs, said the Minister. Nordseehalle Emden
25-26 November 2009
By now, installation work on the wind farm on Joachim Keuerleber, ENERCON‘s Sales Direc- www.nordwestmesse.de
the Bear Mountain ridge top is in full swing. tor for Southern Germany, spoke of the long
“The wind farm is scheduled for completion road ahead in particular in Bavaria. The State
in October,” says project manager Nils Win- is currently governed by a conservative-liberal New Zealand Wind Energy
gert. The project is founded on a partnership coalition whose goal it is to achieve a 30 % Conference 2010
between utility AltaGas, Calgary (Alberta), electricity share from renewable sources by (Palmerston North/New Zealand)
Exhibition and conference on New
and the Peace Energy Cooperative, a local the year 2020. “In order for this to happen,
Zealand‘s wind industry
renewable energies initiative with about 400 a very substantial portion of Bavaria‘s power
29-31 March 2010
members. The Bear Mountain ridge is located supply must come from wind energy, because windenergy.org.nz
on the edge of the Peace River Plateau be this sector has by far the largest potential for
tween the prairie and the early foothills of the exploitation and economic viability,” Keuerle-
Rocky Mountains. Since the wind here blows ber said. So far, wind energy converters only
very predominantly from one direction – west/ supply 0.7 % of the electricity in the State.
6 WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 Title Story
ENERCON – 25 years!
Success through
technology leadership
In July, ENERCON celebrated its 25th anniversary. During this time, “The Flüger furniture store in Norddeich
the company has evolved from a small founder-owned company with and the municipal utilities in Norderney
innovative ideas for a “niche” product to the German market leader in and in Norden were our first customers in
wind energy, all the while remaining true to its motto “Energy for the the region. In the first year of production,
we made five turbines; in the second year,
world”. Until today, ENERCON has installed more than 15,000 wind
twenty,” remembers Klaus Peters, who has
energy converters worldwide with a total power of 18.5 GW, roughly
been with ENERCON from day one and is
corresponding to the power of 18 nuclear power plants. The company’s now Overall Production Manager. Company
drive for innovation has been a major success factor. founder Wobben was the only person back
then who was convinced that one day, they
ENERCON came into being when company In 1984, Aloys Wobben and a small team would build 1000 machines per year.
founder Aloys Wobben had an idea: In the manufactured the frequency converters
wind energy converters of the time, rotor and needed for turbine yawing in a former car- Switching to direct drive
generator turned at a fixed speed because pet warehouse in Aurich in Northwest Ger- technology
they had to adapt their power feed to the many. As the WEC manufacturers of the day
50 Hz frequency of the power grid. The grid were unwilling to take up the idea of grid The zero series production allowed
determined the rotational speed. However, decoupling, Aloys Wobben decided to press ENERCON to gain valuable experience. The
wind turbines produce more energy, if they on with the development of his own WEC. biggest source of problems turned out to
can adjust their rotational speed to the wind One year later, the first E-15 turbine with be the gearbox with oil leaks and gear-
speed. Wobben’s idea was to use a conver- 55 kW of rated power was erected near the wheel breakages. As a result, the decision
ter to transform the variable frequency of the home of the company‘s founder. This ma- was taken to dispense with this component
generator and thus adapt it to the grid. This chine, with some modifications, is still in completely. After years of intensive deve-
makes it possible to decouple WEC and grid, operation today: Apart from the converters, lopment, the first gearless WEC was built in
and the WEC can adjust its rotational speed. it consisted entirely of supplied parts. 1992: An E-36 turbine, the precursor of the
ENERCON history: From the beginnings – first prototype; installation of two E-16 on the island of Norderney; an E-40 on the island of Fehmarn ...
Title Story WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 7
E-40 that would soon be widely sold. At the period of cautious probing on both sides sail rotor propulsion system and optimised
same time, options were explored to reduce – SKET had had bad experiences in earlier hull and propeller shapes. The company has
the load on the rotor, resulting in the intro- takeovers – a synergetic relationship evol- also been active in the fields of hydropower
duction of adjustable rotor blades that can ved that combined the strengths of two dif- (see also the technology article on page 10)
rotate around their own axes to turn out of ferent company cultures: SKET came with and seawater desalination, and the sup-
the wind when necessary. great experience in large-scale industrial ply of wind-diesel systems that provide an
projects, ENERCON contributed its innovati- efficient and environmentally-friendly elec-
In parallel, manufacturing capacities were ve spirit and flexibility. Manufacturing capa- tricity supply in stand-alone systems.
expanded. The most successful approach city doubled within just one year, positioning
proved to be the in-house production of the company perfectly for the wind turbine Culture of innovation
those components for which a satisfactory boom that started after the turn on the mil-
supplier could not be found on the market. lennium, not least thanks to the amended ENERCON’s success is founded on a culture
When no annular generators of the required German Renewable Energy Sources Act. of innovation that permeates all parts of the
size existed in the early 1990s, ENERCON company from research & development to
began to develop their own generators. Be- Growing production capacities manufacturing, where engineers are con
cause the efficiency of the conventional rotor and technology advances stantly looking for ways to improve products
blades left to be desired, the company desig and processes and to implement ideas that
ned their own optimised rotor blade shapes Even during the years of growth in which a create solutions. The company also ma-
and set up a series production facility. lot of energy was directed towards expan- nages to strike the right balance between
ding production capacities, ENERCON never bringing in outside expertise and relying on
In the course of the 1990s, ENERCON fully lost sight of the advancement of their pro- home-grown skills for filling management
industrialised their wind energy converter duct design and technology. The develop positions. And since the knowledge requi-
production. Milestones included the begin of ment focus lied on the introduction of the red for creating cutting-edge WEC tech-
E-40 series manufacturing in Aurich (1993); new rotor blade design for all turbine types; nology needs to be passed on to the next
the first international production facilities the enhancement of power electronics; the ENERCON generation, the company training
in India (1995) and Brazil (1996); as well continued differentiation of the model ran- policy has been exemplary right from the
as the acquisition of machine engineering ge; and the widening of the range of appli- start. Currently, it is offering apprenticeship
company SKET (1998) based in Magdeburg cation of gearless turbine technology. opportunities in 20 different vocations.
in Eastern Germany, which constituted the
breakthrough to large-scale series produc- At the end of 2007, the most powerful At the end of the day, ENERCON also owes
tion. By now, development had progressed WEC to date made its appearance in the its growth capacities to the high custo-
to the E-66/1.8 MW. ENERCON product offering: The E-126 with mer satisfaction, which in turn is founded
6 MW of rated power. In addition, ENERCON on the high technical availability and the
With SKET, ENERCON acquired a formering developed their own fuel-efficient cargo ship proven reliability of ENERCON’s WEC tech-
GDR large-scale enterprise. After a brief for transporting WECs, with an innovative nology.
... the SKET factory in Magdeburg; an E-66; manufacturing of generators – to the E-126.
8 WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 Title Story
First ENERCON hydro-power station: Turbine chamber on the left, fish passage and flushing canal on the right.
speed of the runner and thus substantially ved since the German reuni-
lowers the risk of injuring fish. fication – the water is crystal
- The low number of runner blades minimi- clear again. The project must
ses the amount of impact and shear sur- fulfil many requirements with
faces. regard to fish and water pro-
tection: For example, water-
The hub of the E-turbine uses a fully sphe- courses in Europe must be
rical design in line with the minimum-gap passable for fish travelling
turbine concept. In addition to improving ef- to their spawning grounds.
ficiency by reducing flow losses in the gap, An open fish ladder facilita-
this also reduces the risk of injuring fish tes the fish‘s upstream and Raguhn hydropower plant: Technical overview
that may have been swept into the turbine. downstream travel; nearby, Turbines: 2 ENERCON S-pipe turbines with 3 blades each
there is a rivulet for microor- Total power: 2100 kW
Self-adaptive software controls ganisms. Annual electricity production: 9.3 million kWh p.a.
the runners Nominal volumetric flow rate: 25 m3/s
The design of the downstream Runner diameter: 2.5 m
The turbines are controlled by adaptive fish channel which doubles
software with learning capabilities. The as flushing channel for the
software controls the safety system as well rack system takes into account the expe- a comprehensive fish monitoring system.
as the DC motors of the blades: If the river‘s rience of Arne Gluch from Saxony-Anhalt‘s “So far, we have a very positive impression.
water volume decreases, thus increa state office for flood prevention and water The animals accept the power plant as part
sing the head, the control system pitches management. The ladder has 20 steps, of their habitat,” says Karl Ihmels, respon-
the blades further into the water stream. each of which is 20 centimetres high. About sible engineer for hydropower stations.
In the opposite case, the blades can be 1 cubic metre of water passes through per
pitched out of the water stream. The soft- second. To make sure that amphibians and The construction of the power plant has
ware stores the parameters such as head small fish can make it against the current, had a positive side effect for flood preven-
and water volume used for each operation, there are resting areas between the cham- tion: “Local authorities, the state office for
compares them to the energy yield, and bers in which the animals can gather their flood prevention, and ENERCON worked
adjusts subsequent control operations ac- strength for the next leap. closely together to overhaul Raguhn‘s flood
cordingly, explains Rohden. This adaptive protection system while building the power
system ensures that the turbines always Monitoring project assesses plant,” says civil engineer Ihmels. Where
operate at maximum yield according to the impact on animal life there used to be waste heaps of rubble
available water levels. from old houses along the river bank, there
In order to assess the impact of the hydro- is now a protective wall made from natural
In GDR times, the Mulde was one of the power station on animal life, especially the materials that protects the town from the
most polluted rivers, but things have impro- fish habitat, the project is accompanied by Mulde‘s flood waters.
“On Bonaire, we and our partners are buil- with Eneco, Rotterdam) and includes, besi- how they would procure building materials
ding what will currently be the world‘s lar- des the wind farm with twelve E-44 turbines and equipment, and how they proposed to
gest wind-diesel hybrid power station,” says on the Northeast coast, the installation of a ensure quality. Even before the work began,
ENERCON project manager Stefan Keim. diesel power station by MAN in the South ENERCON wanted to be able to review all
The project was planned by Dutch renewa- west of the island. A 15-kilometre cable measures concerning health and safety,
ble energies engineering firm Evelop (now connects the two units. The electricity cus- planning, process control, and quality assu-
tomer is Water en Energie Bedrijf Bonaire, rance.
The Bonaire Wind-Diesel-System the Netherlands Antilles utility company.
ABJL, a company based on the neighbouring
The Bonaire hybrid system is the largest Participation of local partners island of Aruba, was awarded the contract
wind-diesel-project in the world. It will pro- for building the foundations. The materials
vide the entire island. Thus, extensive pre- Bonaire is the second-largest island in the not availabe on Bonaire were brought in by
patory grid studies were carried out in order Netherlands Antilles after Curaçao. “While ship. The sand came partly from Aruba and
to ensure the system components were major building projects on the islands are partly from Colombia, gravel was imported
adequately designed and dimensioned. typically contracted to American or Dutch from Colombia as well as from Venezuela.
In the event of a fault, the batteries sta- companies, it was our goal to achieve a The reinforcing steel came from Germany,
bilise the grid and bridge long enough to direct involvement of local companies and the concrete batching trucks from Aruba.
be able to power up a diesel generator. local workers,” explains Keim. ENERCON Miles Heavy Trucking based on the neigh-
ENERCON placed the cells into containers was able to use the experience gained when bouring island of Curaçao was hired for the
so that all cabling could be installed and the company built an E-33/330 kW turbine road transport of equipment and machinery.
the whole assembly tested before it was on Bonaire in 2007. “We called on prospec- They also provided the installation crane.
shipped to site. The SAFT NiCd cells have tive contractors to submit detailed plans The company acquired a modern 300-tonne
a power capacity of 3000 kW for 2 minu- for transport and the construction of foun- crane specially for this job.
tes. The battery is charged and discharged dations and access roads.” The companies
using tried-and-tested ENERCON converter were asked to specify exactly what stages ABJL started building the foundations in
technology. they would complete in what time frame, April. “A team from Wobben Windpower
Technology WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 13
(WWP) in Brazil came over and monitored After the sun came up, we
the fulfillment of the project plan on-site,” had to water the fresh concre-
reports Keim. WWP has comprehensive ex- te, otherwise it would start to
perience with building foundations in very crack. Around noon, work on
hot climates. In addition, the Brazilian team the foundations had to stop for
had previously overseen the installation of the day,” remembers Keim.
the Guanacaste wind farm in Costa Rica
where they coached a team that had little ex- There are currently about
perience in WEC construction. “The Brazilian 20 installation technicians
team under construction supervisor Fer working for ENERCON on
nanda Perigo contributed substantially to the Bonaire. Initially, part of the
steady improvement of quality and produc- team worked on unloading The “Togo” with components from Brazil docking at the pier.
tivity in the construction phase,” says Keim. the ships and transporting the
goods to the temporary storage area by the and then assigns the power setpoints to the
There is a weekly ferry service between Aru- stadium and then on to the construction site WECs,” explains Rolf Rohden, manager of the
ba and Bonaire, but there is no harbour on in Morotin, while the others were already New Technologies department at WRD. The
the island that could accommodate contai- installing the bottom tower segments and control console consists of three computers
ner ships. To deliver the E-44 turbines, two pre-assembling machine houses, genera- with touch screens displaying the data from
large freighters docked at the pier in the tors, and rotors. By now, the whole team is diesel units, WECs, and consumer units. The
capital town of Kralendijk. The WEC nacel- on the construction site. “We will finish in data are constantly changing, regulated by the
les came from Brazil, the steel towers and stallation before the start of the rainy season programmable logic controller. In the back-
transformers from Aurich and Magdeburg at the end of September,” says Keim. In the ground, one of the PCs measures and stores
via Bremerhaven, Germany. Says Keim: “One coming months, the other components of all important power station parameters.
challenge was to take the towers from the the wind-diesel system will be installed.
quayside through the winding streets of Kra- During the test phase, the wind-diesel sys-
lendijk to a storage area near the stadium.” Power Management System tem works completely manually. The operator
enters the setpoints for the WECs. Analogue
Building foundations in a hot ENERCON supplies the battery units for the dashboard instruments constantly display
climate hybrid power station as well as a Power the most important parameters: These inclu-
Management System (PMS) developed by de the voltage of all three phases, the grid
The climate on Bonaire is hot and – particu- Wobben Research & Development (WRD). frequency, as well as the power values. “If
larly inland – very dry (except for the rainy The system coordinates the interaction of the main power supply were to fail, a small
season from October to December). The is- wind energy and diesel generators according battery supplies power to the programmable
land is covered with rocks, sparse bushes, to the power requirements of the island. “The logic controller for the analogue instruments
and cactuses. During the mid-day hours, PMS constantly polls the maximum available so that the operator always has an overview
the heat becomes unbearable: “We started output of the wind turbines, factors in the of the most important parameters of the
pouring the concrete at 3 o‘clock at night. operating range of the diesel generators, wind-diesel station,” says Rohden.
Battery units: Container with SAFT NiCd cells. The PMS control desk.
14 WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 International
E-44 rotor hub at Birsay Moor near Dounby (Mainland, Orkney). E-44 turbine owned by the Westray Development Fund.
International WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 15
by in the West of the Mainland is also lo- the island. His island home is in Holodyke
cated in a protected area. The moorland Dounby, where his great-grandfather built a IE GB
here has been designated a Site of Special house in the 19th century. Wallace loves the FR 0 12,5 25 50 75 100
Scientific Interest (SSSI) and enjoys Euro- open landscape of gentle rolling hills and
pean protected status. Besides red-throated the steady brisk wind. ENERCON turbines on Orkney Islands.
16 WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 Job Profiles
Precision teamwork on
precast concrete towers
About 50 teams are currently busy installing precast concrete towers operator who is working the jib and crane
for ENERCON wind energy converters in Germany, other European rope. “This segment is special because it‘s
countries, and overseas. Each team consists of seven to twelve tech- made of steel and completes the concrete
part of the tower,” says Waragasch. Slow-
nicians. The teams erect concrete towers from 63 to138 metres high.
ly and with millimetre precision, the “steel
They prepare foundations and precast segments for assembly; join the
pot” – as the first steel section is also
segments; and fit the towers with ladders and rest platforms. called – eases into its spot. The workers
ENERCON is in the process of setting up new teams that will be based press heavily against the wall of the steel
in regional Service subsidiaries in Germany as well as in international pot to adjust its placement. They measure
locations. the transition area of the two segments
with smoothing trowels and call out num-
This autumn will see two new additions creating the footing for the second concrete bers to Waragasch that indicate the size of
to the wind farm surrounding the Arcelor- tower. the remaining gap between tower and steel
Mittal steelworks in Bremen, Northern Ger- pot. As the segment is lowered down, glue
many: Two E-82 wind turbines on 108-met- A work platform surrounds the unfinished oozes from the joint. The workers scrape off
re towers. The concrete tower installation tower. Eugen Waragasch (24) and three the glue and then raise the platform to the
team headed up by Andreas Pollmann (27) other workers stand on the platform that top edge of the steel pot. Here, they insert
has been on-site for two weeks. The first is raised 80 metres above the ground. Via steel cables into the tower wall that will la-
tower has been erected quickly, and right radio, Waragasch controls the placement of ter be used to tension the tower. Once that
beside it, the foundation team is already the final tower segment, guiding the crane is done, the platform takes everybody back
down onto solid ground.
Job Profile PCT Installation Technician “Our work on the tower is done for now,”
explains Pollmann, the team leader. Other
The ENERCON Service is seeking precast concrete tower technicians for the installation of its wind Service departments take care of the next
energy converters – for its German subsidiaries as well as for its subsidiaries in France, Sweden, installation stages: First comes a special
Canada and Turkey. Completed vocational training in a technical field as well as practical experience team that tensions and grouts the prestres-
on construction sites are vital. The ability to work at heights is an essential prerequisite for the job sing steel tendons. Other teams install the
and the willingness to travel and work abroad. nacelle on top of the tower and connect the
turbine to the grid. “At the very end, the
Key qualifications: Advantages: concrete tower specialists are needed once
Completed vocational training in a technical + Diverse tasks in the construction of precast again,” says Pollmann.
field / high technical affinity concrete towers
Enthusiasm for wind energy + Practical introduction to all aspects of the “Today, the majority of ENERCON wind tur-
Physical fitness, ability to work at height job bines in Germany are installed on precast
Flexibility, mobility, good team player + Highest safety standards apply; annual re- concrete towers,” says Michael Honczek,
Tasks and responsibilities: fresher courses in safe working practices one of currently three team coordinators
Assembling concrete towers from prefabri- and use of safety equipment with ENERCON Service in Germany. The
cated segments; preparing foundations and + Different working places (partly abroad), demand for PCT is increasing outside of
tower segments for installation; fitting tow- career opportunities in WEC installation/ Germany, too. Accordingly, the number of
ers with steel accessories service concrete tower installation teams has been
Job Profiles WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 17
“At the moment, we are recruiting precast three to four weeks to get an unskilled per- technician picks up any remaining tasks.
concrete installation technicians, both in son who has never worked in tower instal- “We rotate positions so that everyone in the
Germany and abroad,” says Honczek. Ap- lation fully up to speed,” reports Honczek. team is familiar with everyone else‘s role
plicants must have successfully completed and can fill in if needed,” explains team lea-
their vocational training in a craft or a tech- A concrete tower is built step by step: Some der Pollmann.
nical field, and have some practical expe- teams specialise in pre-assembly. They use
rience with working at a construction site. mortar to assemble the circular segments ENERCON is forming precast concrete to-
Because the teams work in changing loca- for the bottom of the tower, which are pre- wer installation teams in its foreign mar-
tions in Germany and abroad, a willingness fabricated in multiple parts. They set the kets where needed. „In Portugal, we are
to travel, great flexibility, and a valid driving first segment onto the foundation, and put already well established,“ reports Stefan
license are indispensable. the E-module in place. Next comes the in- Hinz, Installation Manager at the ENERCON
stallation team that builds the tower up to Service Center in Aurich. “However, we are
Among ENERCON’s concrete tower in the large steel section at the top. Finally, the still looking for concrete tower installation
stallation teams, one can find mechanics, finishing teams install tower ladders, cable technicians in Canada, Sweden, France,
metalworkers, bricklayers, concrete con- holders, rest platforms and safety nets, and and Turkey,” says Hinz.
struction workers, or heating technicians. take care of any cosmetic issues such as
After the job interview, the most important touching up the green paintwork of the to- In Canada e.g., ten teams are being formed
step toward employment is the medical wer exterior. in the province of Québec. In 2010 and
exam that verifies an applicant‘s overall 2011 alone, ENERCON will build around
physical fitness and their ability to work At sites, every member of the installation 180 towers for WEC in Québec, ordered by
at height. After passing the medical, in an teams has a clear assignment: Three tech- the Hydro Québec utility. For this purpose,
introductory training for the job the new nicians make sure that there is a ready ENERCON is setting up a concrete tower
employees are trained in safe working supply of segments on the ground, and pre- factory in Matane on the Saint Lawrence
practices and taught how to use protection pare these segments for installation. The River. In France, five concrete tower instal-
equipment during abseiling and height res team leader manages work schedules, ma- lation teams are being formed that will be
cue exercises. Honczek: “In addition, we terials supply, and logistics. Four workers based at various existing ENERCON Service
show them how to fill in their work reports, are on the platform. The radio operator, who stations. “We need two additional teams
track travel times, place material orders, is also the second team leader, keeps the each in Turkey and in Sweden,” says Hinz.
and file travel expenses.” radio contact to the crane. One technician “For organising the teams, we are working
mounts the ladders inside the segments; out of Izmir and Malmø. The teams will then
Next comes the practical, hands-on trai- another mixes the glue, prepares the shea- be based as close as possible to the major
ning at the construction site. “It takes about thing pipes, and sets spacers; the fourth installation projects in each country.”
18 WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 Supplier
“In recent years, the wind energy industry started off by producing the
has become a very attractive market for cast components under a sub-
our products. ENERCON is among our most contract with another supplier.
important customers because this coope- After four years, ENERCON ini-
ration allows us to stay in close touch with tiated a direct contact.
the latest technological developments in
wind energy,” says Hermann-Josef Bongert, One reason is the high, con-
Sales Director at the Hulvershorn iron sistent quality of Hulvershorn’s
foundry in Bocholt. castings. The manufacturing
of cast components starts
One third of production output with making patterns for the Preparing moulds for E-82 blade adapters in Factory II.
for wind industry castings. Says Bongert: “We
create 60 to 70 percent of patterns in- metal parts as well as the specially included
With six electrical furnaces, the foundry house.” The patterns are based on dra- sample specimens for quality control.
produces about 20,000 tons of spheroidal wings provided by the customer. Typically,
graphite cast iron, grey cast iron, and ADI they consist of multiple pieces and are Cast components weighing
(austempered ductile iron) – a cast iron that made of plastic. The patterns are placed between one kilo and ten tons
is alloyed with nickel, molybdenum, and into flasks that are then filled with sand.
copper, and quenched in a salt bath. Custo- After the sand has hardened, the mould The cast components made by Hulvershorn
mers include gearbox manufacturers, pump makers remove the pattern pieces. Then weigh between one kilogramme and ten
and valve makers, machine tool makers, the they place pre-shaped, refractory-coated tons. “It is easy enough to cast one single
machine engineering sector in general, the sand cores into the moulds that create the workpiece that matches the specifications
printing and paper industry, the textile in- required cavities during casting. Finally, the precisely. But what is crucial is that also
dustry, as well as makers of clutches and molten iron is poured into the mould from after casting one hundred or one thousand
ship‘s drives, and the automotive industry. a large crucible. blade adapters, each unit fits exactly into
About one third of the foundry‘s output is the machine,” says Bongert, who has been
destined for the wind industry. “We‘ve After the material has cooled down, the wor- with the company for 28 years. For this
worked with the ENERCON-specific shapes kers empty the flasks, break the mould off reason, components are 100 % quality
since 2000,” says Bongert. The foundry the workpiece, and remove any superfluous checked before they ship. Material from
Supplier WINDBLATT 03 | 2009 19