Bremen, Germany/OWF Butendiek 04.06.2018
On Sunday, June 3, 2018, the polar researcher and author Arved Fuchs visited the Butendiek wind farm as part of his research expedition “Ocean Change – Turn the Page”, which started in Hamburg on May 30. The sailing ship and its crew were welcomed by Carl Rasmus Richardsen, Managing Director of Deutsche Windtechnik Offshore und Consulting GmbH. Arved Fuchs and his team received detailed information about the use of offshore wind energy during a tour of the substation, which Deutsche Windtechnik provides maintenance for. In particular, this included issues relating to technology, operation, maintenance and the environmental sustainability of offshore wind energy.
The purpose of Arved Fuchs’ new expedition “Turn the Page”, which will take him and his sailing crew from Hamburg across the North Sea to the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and further into the Canadian Arctic, is to set an example for environment and sustainability. He is not only documenting the consequences of climate change, he also wants to raise public awareness regarding existing solutions.
Arved Fuchs said, “Climate change is a fact and the causes are well-known. Pretending that we can continue doing ‘business as usual’ is irresponsible and violates any sense of intergenerational justice. It is time to focus on possible solutions. This includes offshore wind energy. Energy suppliers, individual governments and large sections of the civilian population have long since reacted to the changing situation and have taken corresponding steps.”
Matthias Brandt, Board Director at Deutsche Windtechnik AG, emphasised: “We believe in what we do in the field of renewable energies, and we are always prepared to work on ourselves and on our guidelines to improve the environmental friendliness of our actions and actively support the energy transition.” The company trained a number of its employees in the area of safety technology at the company’s own Training Center so that they could visit the offshore substation. “We are happy to support Arved Fuchs because the preservation of our resources is not only meaningful from a business point of view, it also represents a fundamental social obligation.
The offshore wind farm Butendiek is located approximately 32 km west of Sylt. The wind farm went into operation in 2015, and its 80 wind turbines supply approximately 370,000 households with renewable energy.
