Baltic JV for Hochtief and DEME

Germany's Hochtief Construction and the Belgian DEME Group have been contracted to deliver and erect the foundations of the German Baltic EnBW Baltic 2 wind farm.

The joint venture will also handle logistics for the construction of the towers and wind turbines in a project worth around € 382 million. Hochtief and DEME each have a 50% share in the joint venture.

Nordsee Nassbagger- & Tiefbau and GeoSea - both part of the DEME dredging, marine engineering and environmental group - will be involved.

EnBW Baltic 2 - previously Kriegers Flak - is Germany's second commercial offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. It will be located about 32 km north of the island of Rügen in the western Baltic, and will cover an area of about 27 km². The project calls for 80 wind turbines.

Hochtief said that one of the biggest challenges in the offshore market was that of anchoring the installations quickly and securely in the seabed. The Baltic 2 project will use what it describes as one of the world's most effective special platforms for wind farm construction. It said it could operate in very rough seas and would anchor the foundations, which weigh up to 670 tonnes, in the seabed at depths of up to 44 metres.

The offshore work will start in early 2012, and will be completed in mid-2013.