For the first time, a complete infrastructure for the use of so-called green hydrogen is being set up at the Bad Lauchstädt site and tested in a kind of real-world laboratory. A total of more than 200 million euros will be invested in the projects, including funding. Hydrogen is produced with the help of renewable energies, which is considered an important key element of the energy transition.
With the installation of the last rotor blade, the completion of the 8 systems for the Bad Lauchstädt energy park is imminent. In April 2023, Terrawatt Planungsgesellschaft mbH began preparing the construction lines and assembly areas as well as the construction of the foundations. In late summer last year, the first tower elements, machine houses and rotor blades of the model V 162-6.2 MW were delivered from Vestas, so that the assembly could be started in October. The first of the eight wind turbines was the first wind turbine to be connected to the grid in Germany in January of this year – almost symbolically. Since then, the other plants have been gradually installed and connected.
“For us, a busy and exciting time is coming to an end. In recent years, we have put a lot of effort into the realisation of this project – in addition to a lot of work, we have also invested 73 million. Euro. It is therefore a nice picture for us to see now eight plants of the most modern generation of Vestas here completely assembled in front of us, after the weather conditions have made the assembly very challenging for us in many places,” explains Falk Zeuner, Managing Director of Terrawatt Planungsgesellschaft mbH.
Parallel to the construction of the wind farm, which has a nominal output of 50 megawatts and will therefore generate up to 145 million kWh of green electricity per year, a substation was built in the immediate vicinity and put into operation in the second half of last year. This makes it possible to feed the electricity into the public grid until the electrolysis is completed, thus supporting the regional, climate-neutral energy supply. After completion of the electrolyser, the green electricity will be provided primarily directly for electrolysis and only additional capacities will be fed into the grid.
“With the installation of all eight wind turbines, the first value added stage of our energy park, the generation of green electricity, is about to be completed. This brings us a decisive step closer to our great goal of representing all levels of value creation of green hydrogen in the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park. We are pleased and motivated at the same time to fully strength to push the remaining work, i.e. the construction of the electrolysis and the continuation of the changed gas pipeline up to our first-time customer, the TotalEnergies refinery in Central Germany,” explains Cornelia Müller-Pagel, project manager in the consortium and head of Green Gases at VNG AG.
Until the inauguration of the wind farm on 1st June 2024, which will be accompanied by a citizen information market, will now be used for the interior fit-out and the connection of the last wind turbine to the grid. After all, the green electricity of these eight plants is expected to start the sampling operation of the electrolyser from the middle of next year in order to be able to move into regular operation from the end of 2025.
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