Municipal power supply company Hamburg Energie opens its three latest wind turbines Siemens Wind Power turbines on the site of Trimet’s aluminium mill in Hamburg Port

The three new wind turbines were commissioned at the end of February. In attendance were First Mayor Olaf Scholz, Environmental Senator Jens Kerstan and representatives of the companies Trimet, Dr Martin Iffert, Siemens Wind Power, Gunnar Liehr, and Hamburg Energie, Dr Michael Beckereit.

With a total height of 199 m from the ground to the tips of the rotors, the wind turbines are among the largest in Hamburg. The diameter of the rotors alone is greater than the height of the new Elbphilharmonie concert hall. The rotor surfaces have the same area as a football pitch. With this area, the three new turbines generate a total electricity quantity of 28 million kilowatt hours per annum – equivalent to the electricity requirements of roughly 10,000 households in Hamburg. As of the commissioning of the three turbines, Hamburg Energie is now the largest wind producer in the Hanseatic city.

What makes the three new wind turbines special is that they are located in the heart of the industrial environment of the port. That resulted to entirely new challenges for construction and operation. Comprehensive safety measures had to be taken to make the turbines possible at this unusual location. For example, special technical equipment like fire safety solutions were installed in the turbines to ensure maximum safety for the areas around the production halls of the aluminium mill. Comprehensive measures were also taken to protect against falling ice. If there is a risk of icefall, the rotors stop automatically and the nacelles rotate to a safe parking position. After all, the surrounding companies and industrial plants must not be endangered.

On initial commissioning, First Mayor Olaf Scholz had the following to say: “The new wind turbine is another lighthouse for Hamburg as a wind capital. With this project, the power supply company Hamburg Energie, the private sector and the City of Hamburg are proving how seriously we take the energy transition. The three large wind turbines against the impressive harbour backdrop are a highly visible demonstration that commercial property can also contribute to energy production, even more so than previously. Installing a wind turbine in a commercial part of the harbour which is intensively used is the only project of this kind in Germany.”

“The energy transition in Germany is often implemented on green field sites,” explains Hamburg Energie director Michael Beckereit. “This shows that we can implement the energy transition in the city centre too. It was an unusual project for all involved. We are particularly grateful to Trimet and Siemens Wind Power, without whose commitment we could not have implemented the wind turbines at this location. This experience helps us. This year we will implement three more wind turbines in the port – on the Arcelor Mittal site. That will take our port wind farm to eleven turbines. And we will then generate over 50 percent of the electricity requirements of our roughly 100,000 customers in our own renewable systems.”