Wind farm project in North Hesse picks up speed – Koehler Renewable Energy implementing extensive wildlife conservation measures
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- Five V162 wind turbines approved
- Large number of environmental compensation measures implemented already
- Wind farm scheduled to go live in 2024/2025 winter
A particularly tricky wind power project by Koehler Renewable Energy in alliance with Qair Deutschland is currently underway in North Hesse. The wind farm, which will be located north of the town of Waldeck, will feature five V162 wind turbines. These models are cutting-edge units from the latest generation of wind turbines, with each one delivering up to 6.2 MW.
Wind farm project with unique challenges
It took countless analyses to get to the point where the definitive locations for the wind turbines were finally set in stone. On one hand, an extremely complex topography had to be taken into account while adhering to height restrictions. On the other, there is a radar station within range, meaning that only certain specific corridors were available for construction.
Even after taking the site into account, there were other unique challenges involved in the project. One of them was building a transformer station for the wind farm, since routing power cables to the nearest transformer station would have simply not been cost-effective. The challenge here? The required transformers, as the lead time for them is currently around one and a half to two years due to them being in short supply. In other words, the bottleneck means that every individual step in planning and construction must be perfectly in sync with the other steps.
Extensive wildlife conservation measures in progress
The initial preparation work for construction kicked off at the beginning of this year, requiring for some areas to be temporarily cleared so that it would be possible to erect the wind turbines. Some of these areas had previously been devastated by dry weather conditions and bark beetle infestations in past years, making it possible to reduce the project’s impact on the spruce forest. And in order to further compensate for this impact, the company has taken extensive reforestation and other environmental compensation measures. Since the area is found in potential hazel dormouse territory, the clearing work had to be done exclusively by hand or with machines working from existing paths so as not to disturb the dormice’s hibernation in tree stumps. In addition, this is why stump removal work will not start until mid-May, when the dormice are up and about again. And on top of this, 300 fruit trees and bushes have been planted close by in order to provide them with an attractive habitat in the near vicinity.
Extensive environmental compensation measures are also being taken for other affected fauna. For instance, bat houses and birdhouses are being installed in the neighboring forest stand, small bodies of water are being set up in the forest for amphibians, and even the dormice are getting their own houses.
In addition, an area overgrown with blackberry bushes is being turned into a cherry copse, meadows are being extended, and wildflower strips are being planted. Among other things, this should provide honey buzzards and red kites with appealing hunting grounds.
The project’s schedule contemplates one and a half years of construction work
Once the clearing work is completed, the required earth-moving and foundation construction work should start in the late summer of this year and be completed by the first quarter of 2024 at the latest. The main wind turbine components are then set to be delivered and erected in the summer of 2024 so that the wind farm can be commissioned in the 2024/2025 winter.
Yours sincerely
Cecilia Hardenberg Marketing & Communications Manager
Koehler Holding SE & Co. KG mailto:cecilia.hardenberg@koehler.com