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KRIEGERS FLAK WIND FARM KRIEGERS FLAK wind farm We are studying the possibility of building an off- shore wind farm with around 130 wind turbines in a stretch of the Baltic Sea known as Kriegers flak. The area is located in the Southern part of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Germany, 30 kilo- metres south of the Swedish city of Trelleborg. Electricity for 400 000 homes pe to a greater or lesser extent. The If the plans for the wind farm at Kriegers impression of size and dominance a flak materialize, this would provide an wind farm makes is dependent on the annual energy boost of around 2.1 individual’s attitude to wind power, his terawatt hours. This corresponds to the or her relationship to the site, the natu- domestic electrical energy demand of re of the landscape, and how far offsho- around 400 000 homes. Assuming four re the plant is located. persons per household, around 1.6 mil- Viewed from the shore, some of the lion persons will be supplied with their wind turbine towers at Kriegers flak electricity from Kriegers flak. would be below the horizon, since the wind turbines are located around 30 km Thirty kilometres out to sea from the shore. When viewed from the A wind farm always affects the landsca- shore, a 160-metre high wind turbine is If the wind farm at Kriegers flak is built, it will be located around 30 kilometres from the shore and will produce the domestic electricity demand for around 400 000 homes. equivalent in size to a drawing-pin held uniform and can generate a large at arm’s length. Depending on the weat- amount of electrical energy. Such places her conditions, the farm will seldom be are usually out at sea. Kreigers flak in clearly visible from the coast. The aut- the Baltic Sea is one of the areas that is horities place strict conditions on the considered to have the very best condi- sound emitted by wind turbines. tions for wind power generation. However, the sound from the Kriegers A moderate depth of water is also flak wind farm will never be heard ashore. important, so that it will not be unreaso- nably expensive to build the wind farm. Why just Kreigers flak? The deeper the water, the more expensi- To achieve maximum possible output, ve the construction work. At Kreigers a wind turbine must be sited in the right flak, the depth is between 17 and 40 place, where the winds are strong and metres. KRIEGERS FLAK wind farm How will the environment be affected? the environment, we carry out environ- All energy generation makes an impact mental studies before, during and after on the environment in one way or anot- the construction of the wind farm. her. The impact of a wind farm is grea- test during the construction stage. Once Birds in place, it is admittedly a new element Studies have shown that birds normally in the environment, but is virtually free evade offshore wind turbines, and extre- from environmentally harmful emissions. mely few sea birds collide with the wind Extensive studies of the influence of turbines. a wind power plant on the environment Birds have good vision, relatively have been made for Kriegers flak. As an good hearing and good navigation capa- example, the effect of the plant on fish, bilities. When birds approach a wind birds, marine mammals and seabed farm, they usually change course and flora has been studied. fly to one side of the farm. Overhead The risk of changes to the sedimen- power lines and road traffic represent a tation and flow conditions are also greater threat to birds. being explored. We are also examining the effect of sound and shadows that Marine flora and fauna occur when the plant is in place. The work of excavating the sea bed for cable trenches and foundations tempo- Environmental studies before, during rarily makes the water turbid. This may and after construction lead to impaired growth of plants and All interests must be carefully weighed animals. Research has shown that turbi- when a wind farm is being planned. dity of the water usually has little effect Serious consideration must be given to and is of a short-lived nature. The water the flora and fauna, leisure activities, recovers quickly. the cultural environment, shipping and The sound and vibrations from wor- fisheries, and also to the residents. king vessels and foundation work may We benefit from the experience gai- frighten fish and mammals. But since ned from other offshore wind farms the construction work is of limited dura- and the research studies carried out on tion, the consequences are considered site. In order to minimize the impact on to be modest. Part of the sea bed area KRIEGERS FLAK wind farm will be taken up by the foundations, In return, the area may become a which will deprive the animals there of protected reproduction area for fish. their living environment. But the foun- The fish population could increase in dations of wind turbines have proved to the longer term, which would benefit become an artificial reef in which algae the fishing industry in the Baltic Sea. and invertebrates appear to do well. The foundations are quickly coloni- Recycling zed and create entire communities of A wind turbine installation is expected marine life. Mussels on or in the vicinity to have a service life of 20 – 25 years. of the wind turbine foundations may At the end of its useful life or when it is even do better from the nutrient view- to be replaced, virtually all parts can be point than mussels far from the wind recovered. When the site is no longer turbines. used for wind power, it can be complete- ly restored. Shipping The environmental impact of decom- Extensive studies have been made on missioning a wind farm is roughly the the possible effect of the wind farm on same as the impact caused when the the safety of shipping. Few ships ply the farm is being built. area at the present time. So the proba- bility of a collision is very low. In order Beginning of construction in 2009? to reduce the risk further, the wind farm If the wind farm meets the demands will be clearly marked out and will be that Vattenfall makes on its projects and provided with technical monitoring if the Vattenfall Board decides to build equipment. the wind farm at Kriegers flak, it will be completed in stages during the period Fisheries between 2009 and 2013. The wind turbines and cables will cause difficulties to fishing by making it impossible to trawl, for instance. Net fishing may also be much more difficult. Vattenfall and wind power Wind has been used as a source of energy for thou- sands of years. Around 700 wind turbines are now in operation in Sweden, principally in the southern parts of the country, along the coasts and on the island of Gotland. Vattenfall owns 39 of these (in 2005), but intends to increase this proportion substantially in years to come. Development will progress from smaller groups of wind turbines ashore to large wind farms out at sea, since offshore wind turbines usually deliver much more power than their counterparts ashore. Long term research into wind power substantially when the Lillgrund wind farm, The construction of wind power plants in which will be supplying domestic electric Sweden has so far been modest. This is lar- power to 60 000 homes, is taken into ope- gely due to our excellent availability of ration at the end of 2007. We are confi- hydro power and nuclear power. Vattenfall dent that wind power will be a good sup- has devoted almost 30 years to research plement to other power generation sour- and development of wind power. We now ces. So we are studying the possibilities of account for 7 percent of the total wind expanding this energy source further in power generated in Sweden, and our turbi- years to come. nes jointly produce 0.05 TWh annually. This corresponds to the electrical energy Renewable electricity should increase demand of roughly 10 000 homes during To meet the electric power demand while one year. But this proportion will increase also conserving the environment, power Vattenfall and wind power generation from renewable sources should alone, production increased by more increase substantially in the immediate than 40 percent. Sweden is now in future. Swedish Parliament has therefore seventeenth place in the world in terms set a target based on an EU directive: By of wind power generation capacity. But 2016, power generation from renewable this position will change in the near future. energy sources should have increased by Even though the proportion of wind 17 TWh from the level in 2002. The increase power is increasing robustly, it will corresponds to around 12 percent of the account for less than 2 percent of the electrical energy consumption in Sweden. world’s total power generation in 2030. Vattenfall will play a leading role in this increase. FACTS: Fossil-fired power Wind power • In Sweden, wind power accounts for 0,5 % 0,1 % 0.6% of the total electricity consumption • In Denmark, wind power accounts for 18.5% of the total electricity consumption Nuclear power Hydro power 59,3 % 40,1 % • In Germany, wind power accounts for 6% of the total electricity consumption National sites of interest for wind power The Swedish Energy Agency has identified Power generation by Vattenfall in Sweden in 2005. a number of areas that are particularly well Power generation from renewable energy sources suited for the construction of wind power will increase substantially in the immediate future.

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