which détermines the movements of every vessel. These Systems
are important and indispensable sources of information, especially for offshore sites, in order to prevent dangers in advance.
"During the installation phase, there were over 30 vessels in the
construction site; this requires précisé manoeuvring to ensure
there are no collisions", explains the 29 year-old Marc Rosenkranz who joined wpd in 2010 as a service fitter. "We can view
the sea over the whole Butendiek project area of 33 square
kilométrés. In the operational phase, we will set off an alarm if
an unknown vessel approaches within five nautical miles of the
wind farm and inform the transport control centre in Cuxhaven. In addition, we will be able to follow the movements of offshore technicians and mechanics in the control room in order to
guarantee their safety", explains the man who trained as a
Systems electronics technician, "and we know exactly where our
people are from the signais of their transmitters".
Although the control room in Bremen already had a perfect view
of the Butendiek offshore wind farm on their screens during the
construction work, and would hâve been able to help in an emergency, the Rosenkranz team only had the rôle of an observer
during this phase. Only when the offshore wind farm was handed over in summer of 2015 the real work for this team began:
the sole responsibility for everything that happens in the wind
farm then lies within the control room. The remote monitoring
station opérâtes on two levels: firstly it serves a safety purpose. If an emergency should occur, the control room can organise
immédiate help. Secondly, it is responsible for the technical
operation of individual turbines and the transformer substation.
The allocation of staff alone shows that offshore is more complex
than onshore. Half of ail employées deal with the 80 turbines in
Butendiek while the other half look after events at ail other turbines on land. "The monitoring of our own offshore transformer
substation in particular is more extensive", emphasises Rosenkranz, "in the end you hâve to treat it like a power station where
electricity is fed in at a voltage of 33 kilovolts, transformed to 155
kV and finally transferred to Tennet and its SylWin alpha transformer substation."
If the grid should fail for any reason, a diesel generator springs
to life as a backup. "In a case like that, we déclaré an emergency. The maintenance company is informed and it either sends
its teams out by helicopter or has them ferried over by vessel",
explains Rosenkranz. But the operator's responsibility stops
at precisely the point where the electricity from the wind farm
leaves our transformer substation. From this interface onwards,
the responsibility lies with Tennet, in other words the transmission System operator takes over the technical operation from
this point onwards and has to send out his own repair teams in
the event of technical malfunctions.
Tennet's two sea cables lead through the middle of the Butendiek wind farm to the SylWin I converter station which is located
around 30 kilométrés further westward in the North Sea. SylWin I
receives the alternating current not only from the Butendiek wind
farm but also from neighbouring offshore wind farms, and converts it into direct current. The collective wind power, generated
by turbines with a combined output of 864 mégawatts in total,
reaches the West coast of Schleswig-Holstein, or more precisely
Dithmarscher Deich, through a OC cable. From there the cable
continues to the small town of Büttel where the direct current
is converted back to alternating current and fed into the highvoltage grid.
63
are important and indispensable sources of information, especially for offshore sites, in order to prevent dangers in advance.
"During the installation phase, there were over 30 vessels in the
construction site; this requires précisé manoeuvring to ensure
there are no collisions", explains the 29 year-old Marc Rosenkranz who joined wpd in 2010 as a service fitter. "We can view
the sea over the whole Butendiek project area of 33 square
kilométrés. In the operational phase, we will set off an alarm if
an unknown vessel approaches within five nautical miles of the
wind farm and inform the transport control centre in Cuxhaven. In addition, we will be able to follow the movements of offshore technicians and mechanics in the control room in order to
guarantee their safety", explains the man who trained as a
Systems electronics technician, "and we know exactly where our
people are from the signais of their transmitters".
Although the control room in Bremen already had a perfect view
of the Butendiek offshore wind farm on their screens during the
construction work, and would hâve been able to help in an emergency, the Rosenkranz team only had the rôle of an observer
during this phase. Only when the offshore wind farm was handed over in summer of 2015 the real work for this team began:
the sole responsibility for everything that happens in the wind
farm then lies within the control room. The remote monitoring
station opérâtes on two levels: firstly it serves a safety purpose. If an emergency should occur, the control room can organise
immédiate help. Secondly, it is responsible for the technical
operation of individual turbines and the transformer substation.
The allocation of staff alone shows that offshore is more complex
than onshore. Half of ail employées deal with the 80 turbines in
Butendiek while the other half look after events at ail other turbines on land. "The monitoring of our own offshore transformer
substation in particular is more extensive", emphasises Rosenkranz, "in the end you hâve to treat it like a power station where
electricity is fed in at a voltage of 33 kilovolts, transformed to 155
kV and finally transferred to Tennet and its SylWin alpha transformer substation."
If the grid should fail for any reason, a diesel generator springs
to life as a backup. "In a case like that, we déclaré an emergency. The maintenance company is informed and it either sends
its teams out by helicopter or has them ferried over by vessel",
explains Rosenkranz. But the operator's responsibility stops
at precisely the point where the electricity from the wind farm
leaves our transformer substation. From this interface onwards,
the responsibility lies with Tennet, in other words the transmission System operator takes over the technical operation from
this point onwards and has to send out his own repair teams in
the event of technical malfunctions.
Tennet's two sea cables lead through the middle of the Butendiek wind farm to the SylWin I converter station which is located
around 30 kilométrés further westward in the North Sea. SylWin I
receives the alternating current not only from the Butendiek wind
farm but also from neighbouring offshore wind farms, and converts it into direct current. The collective wind power, generated
by turbines with a combined output of 864 mégawatts in total,
reaches the West coast of Schleswig-Holstein, or more precisely
Dithmarscher Deich, through a OC cable. From there the cable
continues to the small town of Büttel where the direct current
is converted back to alternating current and fed into the highvoltage grid.
63