Nysted Offshore Wind Farm can celebrate its 20th anniversary in bright sunshine. The farm, located ten km south of Nysted on Lolland, was built by Ørsted in 2002-2003. It was the world's largest offshore wind farm in the period from 2003-2009. The capacity of 165.6 MW still covers the annual electricity consumption of more than 140,000 Danish households with green electricity.
But the anniversary also shows how offshore wind farms can end up providing good and permanent local jobs to an area on the outskirts of Denmark, where there is otherwise a lack of development and job opportunities. Although Nysted Offshore Wind Farm is named after the nearest town, namely Nysted on Lolland, Gedser on Falster is the service port for the farm.
Thomas Almegaard has been the operations manager here ever since the Nysted farm was put into operation, and he has therefore been responsible for recruiting the farm's total of 22 employees. And it was an easy recruitment, the operations manager remembers as he shows the park aboard Wind Supporter. There is the Crew Transport Vessel (CTV) that normally transports the wind turbine technicians out to the Nysted park every day, about 10-12 km from Gedser harbour.
- In the beginning, it was Siemens people who serviced the turbines, and when we took over the service ourselves, I offered them a job, says Thomas Almegaard, who has been employed by the same company for 35 years and is originally a trained machinist. That is why he has also worked with energy production, as the raw materials were fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Today, wind is the driving force, it is both green and provides local development.
His employees also all come from the local area, and he himself lives close to the park.
- I live close to Nysted myself, although I cannot see the park from my home. The 15 technicians and seven employees in the administration all come from Lolland and Falster. People typically have a half-hour drive home from Gedser, says Thomas Almegaard.
How the service work is done
Service work is a large part of an offshore wind farm's operation. Part of the work is already pre-programmed every year.
- It takes two technicians four days to service a turbine every year, explains Thomas Almegaard.
And the operations manager has chosen a different working hours than those known in the industry with 12 hours of work per day.
- I have chosen a different form than the 12 hours a day. We work from 6:45 to 17:45 from Monday to Friday for two weeks, and then the employees have a week off after that. In addition, they work eight weekends a year, says Thomas Almegaard.
There are also small practical tips that help with service work.
- We have spare parts at the bottom of each turbine, so they can be picked up there, and each man has his own tool. I believe that is the best way, so that everyone is responsible for their own tool, says Thomas Almegaard.
Out of the original 72 turbines, 70 are still in operation.
- On one turbine, there was a fault in the foundation that has been there from the very beginning. That is why it has been removed. We have cut it off below sea level so that it does not interfere with ship traffic. It will then be decided later whether it will be removed later, it says.
The future of Nysted
It has already been decided how long the Nysted offshore wind farm will operate, and an extension may be on the way.
- The farm will operate until 2027, and we expect its lifespan to be extended to run for another two years. But the decision has not been made yet, says Thomas Almegaard, who makes it clear that he may not continue as the park's operations manager until 2037.
- By then I will definitely have retired, says 58-year-old Thomas Almegaard.
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