EnBW Baltic 1 was the first commercial offshore wind farm in Germany to go into operation in May. At the same time, a large-scale research project on the wind farm is starting its work. Within three years, the project aims to provide findings on optimising the operation of offshore wind farms and their integration into the grid.

ForWind, the centre for wind energy research at the universities of Oldenburg, Hanover and Bremen, is coordinating the project in cooperation with the operator and client, EnBW Erneuerbare Energien GmbH, and the Endowed Chair for Wind Energy (SWE) at the University of Stuttgart.

The joint research project is entitled "Control of offshore wind farms using local power forecasts and monitoring of power and load characteristics". The Rostock-based measuring institute WindConsult and Siemens, the manufacturer of the EnBW Baltic 1 wind turbines, are also involved. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety is funding the project following a decision by the German Bundestag. The support for the research work totals up to 1.66 million euros.
"Offshore wind energy is an expanding sector in Germany with great importance for the future energy supply," explains Prof Dr Martin Kühn, Professor of Wind Energy Systems at the University of Oldenburg and head of the research project. There is hardly any experience with commercial offshore wind farms in Germany. It is therefore a matter of urgency to provide scientific support for EnBW Baltic 1.
The research work is largely based on analysing data that is already collected as standard for the commercial operation of the wind farm. In addition, laser-optical remote sensing methods are used to measure the wind conditions and the wake currents of the wind turbines in the wind farm. Further sensors record the loads on two wind turbines. On this basis, methods for monitoring the power output and loads on the wind turbines are to be developed.

The EnBW Baltic 1 wind farm is located 16 kilometres north of the Darß/Zingst peninsula. The 21 wind turbines have a total output of around 50 megawatts and can generate 185 gigawatt hours of electricity per year for around 50,000 households.