The first wind turbines are being erected and the installation of solar panels has begun in the Purtse hybrid park
As wind turbines are being erected in Enefit Green's wind and solar hybrid park in Purtse, the first one has been completed. The installation of solar panels started this week.
Enefit Green is building Estonia's first wind and solar hybrid park in Lüganuse Parish. Five wind turbines with a total capacity of 21 megawatts will be erected in the wind farm. A solar park with 49,000 panels and a total capacity of 32 megawatts will also be built in the same area.
Both parks use the same equipment, substation, connection and connection capacity to bring the electricity produced from wind and solar to consumers. Since from autumn to spring is the best time for wind power production and from spring to autumn for solar power production, the electricity output of a hybrid plant is more consistent throughout the year and the network is better utilized.
According to Janek Lillemägi, Senior Project Manager at Enefit Green, the assembly of wind turbines goes quickly when the weather is good. "If strong winds don’t interfere with the work, a wind turbine can be assembled in two days. The lower tower sections have been placed in all positions. Now the installation of the upper sections with a higher crane continues, followed by lifting the nacelles to the tops and fixing the blades," Lillemägi described.
According to him, the transport of nearly 70-metre wind turbine blades from the port of Paldiski to the wind farm area was successful. "A total of 15 blades completed the journey of more than 200 kilometres without incident. The towers and nacelles of the wind turbines were also successfully delivered. We are on time with the schedule of sending the first amount of electricity from Purtse to the power network in the spring," he said.
The construction of the solar park in Purtse is proceeding according to the planned schedule as well. According to project manager Rainer Tammus, a lot of different jobs are taking place at the construction site at the same time, and despite delivery difficulties, all important materials have arrived at the site on time. "The construction of the base frames for solar panels is nearing the finish line and the installation of nearly 49,000 panels has begun, lasting until the end of March. Almost 70 people are working on the site every day so that we are ready for the peak time for production," Tammus said.
Five Vestas V136 wind turbines with a tower height of 82 m and a peak height of 150 m are being installed in the Purtse wind farm area. These are the first Vestas wind turbines to come directly from the factory to be erected in Estonia.
The Yingli Solar solar panels used in the hybrid park have a capacity of 655 watts each. These are double-sided panels that can use the energy reflected on the back side as well.
Enefit Green currently has six wind farms under construction with a total capacity of 546 megawatts in Estonia, Lithuania and Finland. In addition to four solar parks - two in Estonia and two in Poland with a total capacity of 50 megawatts.
Find a timelapse video of erecting the first wind turbine tower here.