BERLIN (WAM)
Turbine installation has been successfully completed at the 476 MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar, and Iberdrola, a world-leading clean energy company.
When fully operational, Baltic Eagle will supply around 475,000 households with renewable energy while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 800,000 tons annually.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President and Chairman of Masdar, said, "The installation of the 50th and final turbine of the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm marks an exciting milestone. With the project progressing according to schedule, Baltic Eagle is set to power 475,000 German households with clean, renewable energy.
"This achievement also strengthens Masdar's partnership with Iberdrola, driving significant expansion in our offshore wind portfolio and advancing the global energy transition."
He added that this collaboration, underscored by the €15 billion agreement signed at COP28 in the UAE, reaffirms both sides' commitment to helping to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The 50 installed wind turbines, each with a unit capacity of 9.53 MW, were supplied by Vestas and installed by the shipping company Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.
Iberdrola's Executive Chairman, Ignacio Galán, said, "The completion of turbine installation at the Baltic Eagle wind farm is an important milestone in what is a record year for Iberdrola's offshore wind activity. With this project, Iberdrola is on track to have nearly 5,000 MW of offshore capacity globally by the end of 2026."
"Once fully operational, Baltic Eagle, the second offshore wind farm in our Baltic Hub, will make a considerable contribution to Germany's energy transition, providing homegrown clean energy to almost half a million homes, whilst reducing emissions," he added.
"This landmark milestone has been reached thanks to the strong partnership forged with Masdar, who share our vision of harnessing offshore wind energy to accelerate green energy security in Europe. It has also been made possible by the expertise and tireless commitment of the teams on site."
Masdar and Iberdrola signed a partnership to jointly invest in Baltic Eagle in July 2023. At COP28, the two companies announced a further €15 billion agreement to explore the joint development of offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in key markets such as Germany, the UK, and the US.
Masdar's Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said, "Today's announcement is an important landmark in the progress of Baltic Eagle, the project which launched our partnership with Iberdrola in July last year and brought together two companies with long histories of pioneering clean energy.
He noted that offshore wind is a vital technology for the energy transition and Masdar looks forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Iberdrola that will deliver more transformative utility-scale projects, supporting the journey to net-zero in Europe and beyond.
Masdar has a long-standing commitment to advancing offshore wind projects across the globe. It is aiming for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030, supporting the target set in the historic UAE Consensus to triple global renewables capacity by the end of this decade.
By 2026, Iberdrola's Baltic Hub will have a total capacity of more than 1.1 GW and trigger investments of around €3.7 billion.
The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm is an important building block in the integrated growth strategy that Iberdrola is pursuing in the core German market.
In the field of sustainable energy solutions, the company strives to work with key players in the German economy to support them in achieving their climate goals with market-based solutions.
Baltic Eagle is the second of Iberdrola's three major wind farm projects in Germany, along with Wikinger (350 MW, in operation) and Windanker (315 MW, in planning).
Collectively, these offshore wind farms form Iberdrola's Baltic Hub.
Baltic Eagle is Masdar's first project with Iberdrola, its first in Germany and resulted in the company's largest-ever euro-denominated financing.