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March 2 (UPI) -- A multi-thousand ton transformer station for the Arkona wind farm has left its French shipyard for Baltic Sea installation, a partnership announced. Germen utility company E.ON and Norwegian energy major Statoil are working together on the installations necessary to get the wind farm in German waters up and running.
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At a weight of more than 5,000 tons and more than 30 stories high, the transformer station started its two week journey from a French shipyard to the Arkona site in the Baltic Sea. Once installed, it will become the central power component of the installation.
Holger Matthiesen, E.ON's project director, said that moving ahead on time and on budget is a testament to the strength of bilateral cooperation on clean energy.
"The cooperation of several European companies can be seen as a symbol of how the development of renewable energy can be achieved with combined forces," he said in a statement.
The 60-turbine wind farm is set about 22 miles off the coast of Germany. Construction of the actual turbines is already under way and the offshore infrastructure is set for cabling and connection to the substation.
E.ON deployed the 60 so-called monopiles for the turbines in September. Foundations for a common substation were installed the month prior and the entire project could start generating energy for consumers in about a year.
The joint effort from E.ON and Statoil represents a $1.4 billion investment. Arkona, meanwhile, will save up to 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, per year compared to conventional energy.
Germany has one of the greener economies in Europe and E.ON said it was retooling in the domestic landscape as the country emerges as a regional leader in renewable energy development.
Nine countries that share a border with the North Sea -- Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden -- agreed in 2016 to improve infrastructure to support offshore wind.
