The research platform FINO 1 was erected in the North Sea close to the approved offshore wind parks Borkum Riffgrund and Borkum West.

Germanischer Lloyd Wind Energy (GL Wind) was commissioned with coordination of the construction, installation and commissioning of the platform and with its operation. Financing was provided by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), represented by the Research Centre Jülich (Project Management Jülich PTJ).

A jacket-type structure was selected for the platform foundation. The welded steel construction is 48m high, protruding 20m above the water surface. The jacket was anchored into the seabed with four displacement piles 38m in length. A 16x16m platform with two cranes and five containers for measuring and radar equipment, emergency accommodation and a diesel generator set were installed on the jacket. The platform is equipped with a helicopter pad and an 80m wind mast.

The platform collects meteorological, oceanographic and biological data and data on structural dynamics in the German Bight. It is operated fully automatically or with remote control. Personnel is only required on the platform for maintenance work and sample taking. All data is sent across a radio link to the closest onshore station on Borkum.

The platform has been measuring wind speeds successfully since September 2003.

Downloads and links:
Project website

The platform FINO 2, which is located close to the Kriegers Flak wind park north of Rügen in the Baltic Sea (see map), started operation in May 2007. The aims of the project are similar to those of FINO 1. The BMU is providing 3.24 million euros in subsidies for FINO 2. A further 1.26 million euros are being provided by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The shipping institute Schifffahrtsinstitut Warnemünde is project manager and recipient of the subsidies.

Downloads and links:
Project website  [German]

The aim of the FINO 3 project is to collect data in a showcase location 80km from the coast of Schleswig-Holstein in water with a depth of 22m. The information will be used to reduce the risks currently associated with building and running offshore wind parks far from the coast. The platform is to be built close to the Dan Tysk, Sandbank 24 and OSB Butendiek wind parks.

The research and development centre at Kiel University of Applied Sciences (FuE-Zentrum FH Kiel) is supporting the development, construction, installation and operation of FINO 3, which is financed by the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the European Fund for Regional Development, and the Federal Environment Ministry.

The FINO 3 project places special emphasis on determining lightning parameters, measuring offshore wind turbulence, preliminary and subsequent explorations of the substratum and on-site geotechnical measurements. As with research platforms FINO I and 2, meteorological and hydrological data will also be collected and bird migration monitored. Project developers will be able to use the findings to reduce the risks currently associated with building and running offshore wind parks far from the coast.

Construction of the platform began on land in the autumn of 2007. In early April 2008 the two halves of the platform were carried on the Oder and Elbe rivers from Malchin, Vorpommern, to Cuxhaven. The research platform was assembled on shore in mid-September.

The monopile manufactured in Rostock was shipped to Cuxhaven in July 2008, and driven into the floor of the North Sea in early August. This was the first offshore work to be carried out.

The final offshore assembly (installation of the transition pieces) was rescheduled to June 2009 after several abortive attempts in August and October 2008.

Downloads and links:
Project website
Fino 3 workshop on noise control

The Amrumbank West measuring mast was erected in April 2005 at 54.30° N, 07.42° E to the north west of the island of Helgoland between the planned offshore wind parks Amrumbank West and Nordsee Ost.

The mast has a 275 t monopile foundation. The water is 23 m deep. The highest point of the mast is 90m above water level.

Not only wind data (strength, direction and degree of turbulence), but also air and water temperature, visibility, wave height and direction, current and the wave-induced pressure on the foundation are recorded. The electricity supply to the measuring and safety installations is provided from a battery bank which draws its power from four mini windmills, a solar panel and, as a back-up, from a diesel generator.

The data is transmitted via short wave with a satellite telephone as a back-up and is evaluated by the University of Paderborn.

Downloads und Links:
Project website  [German]

The SKY2000 measuring mast was set up by GEO mbH to collect meteorological and hydrographic data, mainly to ensure that installation of the SKY2000 offshore wind park goes smoothly.

The measuring mast is composed of a steel monopile (60m in length and weighing 110 t) onto which a research container has been screwed approx. 6m above water level. A 12m measuring mast is attached to the container with twist locks and 8 steel cables.

Important information as to the effectiveness of pile driving, as well as noise emissions and sediment drift was collected when the measuring mast was erected.

Data is saved on a data logger inside the container and transmitted to shore through a GSM network.

The measuring equipment is designed for operation over a period of 5 to 8 years.

Downloads und Links:
Project website