Iberdrola installs the first turbine at the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm
Iberdrola has installed the first of fifty wind turbines at the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm. With 476 MW, when commissioned by the end of 2024, it will supply 475,000 households with renewable energy and avoid the emission of 800,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, contributing to Germany's energy transition and independence from fossil fuels.
Each of the 50 Vestas V174-9.5MW wind turbines has an output of 9.5 MW and a blade diameter of 174 m - with a swept area of 23,778 m2, equivalent to 3.3 football fields - and a hub elevation of 107 m above sea level.
The wind farm's transition pieces, which join the wind turbine towers to the foundations, were manufactured in Avilés by Windar, which contributed to the creation of approximately 800 jobs and the participation of around 30 suppliers from the north of Spain.
The rest of the turbines will be transported and installed in the coming months with the self-elevating vessel Blue Tern, owned by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier. This vessel is particularly suited to the Baltic Sea terrain thanks to its long legs. It has an 800-tonne main crane and a variable deck loading capacity of 8,750 tonnes. It is capable of transporting the towers, nacelles and rotor blades to the offshore construction site and assembling them on the transition pieces. Fred. Olsen Windcarrier has already collaborated with Iberdrola in the Baltic Sea during the construction of the Wikinger offshore wind farm.
Masdar and Iberdrola signed a strategic agreement in July 2023 to co-invest in Baltic Eagle. At COP28, the two companies announced an additional €15 billion strategic partnership to assess the joint development of offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in key markets such as Germany, the UK and the US.
Focus on the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea holds great potential for offshore wind energy in Europe. In line with its commitment to accelerate the energy transition, Iberdrola has become an international benchmark in the development of offshore wind energy with a key focus on Germany, where it maintains an integrated growth strategy.
Baltic Eagle is the second of Iberdrola's three major projects in Germany. Together with the Wikinger offshore wind farm, which with 350 MW is already in operation, and Windanker, which with 315 MW is entering the execution phase, they form the Baltic Hub complex, which will have a total capacity of more than 1.1 GW in 2026 and will generate an investment of around 3.7 billion euros.
The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm is an important component of Iberdrola's integrated growth strategy in its core German market. In the field of sustainable energy solutions, the company aims to cooperate with key players in the German economy to help them achieve their climate targets with market-based solutions.
World leader in renewable energies
Iberdrola decided to commit to renewable energies more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build its safe, clean and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, today it is a world leader in renewable energies, reaching 42,387 MW of renewable energy in operation after the first quarter of 2024.
This commitment is reflected in its strategic plan in which it will allocate 15.5 billion euros gross to renewables. Of this total, more than half is focused on offshore wind in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, 28% on onshore wind and 18% on solar.
