Coast near Norden

The chain of the place

1. 01

   Landfall: This is where the submarine cables of the offshore wind farms come ashore.

2. 02

   Under the dike: Direct-current cables run under the dike to the converters inland.

3. 03

   The first connection: alpha ventus has fed in at Hagermarsch at 110 kV since 2009.

4. 04

   Gas from Norway: Natural gas from Norway has arrived at Dornum since 1995.

5. 05

   Onshore wind: More than 200 wind turbines stand behind the dike; East Frisia took up wind power early.

6. 06

   Biogas: Biogas farms add power and heat to the wind.

What is shown – why – for whom

Facilities and areas in the model

• Landfall Hilgenriedersiel

  This is where offshore power comes ashore: six direct-current cables (BorWin1, 2 and 5, DolWin1, 2 and 6) with more than 4,500 MW together and the 110 kV cable of alpha ventus run under the dike. The converters stand further inland, for example in Dörpen, Emden and Garrel.

• Umspannwerk Hagermarsch

  110 kV: grid connection of alpha ventus, the first German offshore wind farm, since 2009 (position OpenStreetMap).

• Europipe receiving station Dornum

  Norwegian natural gas arrives here: Europipe I since 1995 (620 km from the Draupner E platform), Europipe II since 1999 (658 km from Kårstø, about 71 million m³ a day). The last stretch lies in a tunnel under the Wadden Sea; from Dornum it runs 48 km on to Emden.

• Wind turbines on the coast

  Every turbine individually from the market master data register. Wind power started early in East Frisia: the oldest turbines still running here date from 1991 and have 150 kW.

• Holtriem wind farm

  One of the large community wind farms of East Frisia, built from 1998 and extended several times. Figures for its total capacity differ depending on the boundary (OpenStreetMap: 288 MW).

• Oldest turbines: 1991

  Wind World W2700 with 150 kW, in operation since June 1991, according to the register the oldest turbines still running in the area.

• Biogas on the farms

  Biogas plants from the register: digester, gas roof and combined heat and power unit, almost around the clock.

Processes in the model

How a coastal region can use the model

• Grid and connection

  Landfall, substation, gas receiving station and wind turbines in one picture: the model shows where submarine cables, underground cables and the gas pipeline cross the coast.

  対象Grid operators, route planning, plant operators

• Municipality and coast

  What runs under the dike, what stands behind it? Time travel shows 1990, 2000, 2012 and 2025 from the same camera, and the history of the place jumps to every year.

  対象Municipalities, economic development, chambers

• Schools and universities

  Where do the submarine cables come ashore, how does gas from Norway reach Germany? The six steps from landfall to biogas fly to each part, and it lights up.

  対象Teachers, pupils, students

• Museums and exhibitions

  East Frisia took up wind early: the oldest turbines still running, from 1991, stand in the same area as the landfall of the big offshore wind farms – two eras of wind power in one picture.

  対象Museums, exhibitions, visitor centres

• Public communication

  The stormy night shows what arrives here: wind delivers more than is needed, power flows south and abroad, yellow rings show curtailment.

  対象Public relations, public dialogue, associations

What you can change

What the model gives a coastal region

• 01

  What lies under the dike

  Cables and pipelines from OpenStreetMap make visible what cannot be seen on site: submarine cables, underground cables and the gas pipeline in the tunnel under the Wadden Sea.

• 02

  Sea and land connected

  The place ‘North Sea off Borkum’ shows the wind farms and platforms from which cables lead here – both places are part of the same model.

• 03

  Every turbine in its place

  More than 200 turbines behind the dike stand individually with their year. Above them a stack of cubes shows the power now, one cube 20 MW.

• 04

  Weather that matters

  Wind makes the rotors turn faster, the sea rise and smoke plumes lie flat; season, time of day and demand change the situation at once.

• 05

  In the browser and on the big screen

  A browser is enough, and large projections work too. Eleven more places and the map of Germany are part of the same model, designed by an artist and developer.

• 

  North Sea off Borkum

  The beginning of German offshore wind as a walkable model: twelve test turbines from 2009, a cluster of 284 turbines and about 1,660 MW, substation and converter platforms and the way ashore.

• 

  Paderborn plateau

  One of the densest wind landscapes in North Rhine-Westphalia as a walkable model: every turbine with its year, from the 500 kW turbine of 1995 to the 6.2 MW turbine with a 169 m hub.

• 

  Wilhelmshaven

  Germany’s only deep-water port as a walkable model: crude oil for the pipeline to the Rhineland, coal for two power plants and, since December 2022, liquefied natural gas from Germany’s first LNG terminal.

• 

  Lingen

  The whole nuclear era in one place as a walkable model: the Lingen nuclear plant of 1968, the Emsland nuclear plant until April 2023, interim storage and dismantling – next to them gas, a battery and hydrogen.

• 

  Germany 1975–2025

  Fifty years of energy supply on one map: 365 sites, ten grid regions and the power of every hour – from two separate grids in 1975 to wind and sun in 2025.

• 

  Rhineland lignite district

  The Rhineland lignite district as a walkable model: from the Garzweiler mine via conveyors, boilers and cooling towers into the 380 kV grid – while wind, sun and batteries grow on the reclaimed land.

• 

  Düsseldorf Lausward

  A combined-cycle gas plant on the Rhine as a walkable model: power to the grid, heat via a 58 m storage tank and the district heating line into the media harbour and the city centre.

• 

  Herdecke

  Three generations of storage at Lake Hengstey as a walkable model: the Koepchenwerk of 1930, the pumped-storage plant of 1989 and batteries since 2017 – the level in the reservoir follows sun, wind and demand.