German electricity system operator 50Hertz said that in preparation for the start of the plan approval process for the Ostwind 3 offshore connection project, two consultation meetings were held – in December 2021 and February 2022.

According to the operator’s press release, the purpose of the consultation was to provide information on the current status of planning and to agree with key stakeholders on the necessary approval milestones and documents in the run-up to the project approval process.

“The commissioning consultation is an important step towards finalizing the application documents in the plan approval procedure and, subsequently, to implementing the project as planned”, says Manuel Wildmann, Technical Project Director of the Ostwind 3 project at 50Hertz.

The consultation focused on the onshore route, including the new substation that is to be built in Stilow, and the offshore route, which will run in the coastal waters of Mecklenburg, Western Pomerania. The project presentation included details on the technical planning of land and sea routes in the coastal sea, information on the alternatives assessment including a presentation of preferred routes and a discussion of environmental issues.

In addition to the relevant planning permission authorities, public interest groups, nature conservation associations, representatives of the municipalities of Brünzow and Lubmin as well as those responsible for the port of Vierow took part in the consultation.

50Hertz has already intensively shared information with the residents of the municipality of Brünzow in 2021 during two information campaigns on plans to build a new transformer station.

Ostwind 3 is the third offshore project to connect wind farm areas northeast of Rügen to the German grid. As a result, the 300 MW Windanker wind farm will be connected to the grid. Electricity from wind turbines could power about 260,000 households.

Source: 50Hertz