Palfinger Wind to deploy cranes for German offshore wind farm construction

Austria-based marine, wind and offshore cranes manufacturer Palfinger Wind will deploy a total of 144 cranes for the Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm construction off the German coast.

Construction of the 48 wind turbines began in late 2011 and completion and commissioning of the wind park is scheduled for 2014.

Each REpower turbines will have a power of 6.15MW. The turbines will cater to the electricity requirement of 6,000 households.

Owned by Renewable energy company RWE Innogy, the site is located about 30km north of the island of Helgoland.

Palfinger Wind will serve as the full-service provider with the coordinated lifting system at the wind park.

Palfinger Wind will supply three cranes for each turbine in the wind park, including the nacelle crane PK 40002 M, the PSM 400 on the platform and an additional SCMT handy crane.

These cranes will enable coordinated lifting for transporting maintenance and servicing parts from the supply ship onto the platform and on into the nacelle.

Valued at €1bn, Nordsee Ost is considered to be one of the largest commercial wind power projects off the German coast.

The project has the support of the European Union, with €50m financial assistance extended as part of its European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR).