Generating green hydrogen fuel from wind power - that won’t work. Yes it does! This is clearly proved by the largest sustainable hydrogen mobility project to date, eFarm. In the district of North Frisia, Schleswig-Holstein, the joint project initiated by GP JOULE is implementing a hydrogen infrastructure from generation to processing and fleet use in electric vehicles using renewable energies only. The aim is to introduce a sustainable, collective system to society at large based on renewable energy. Producing, transporting, processing and marketing green hydrogen in a joint project is an ambitious undertaking that requires in-depth business and technical know-how and also the power of persuasion.
The eFarm project provides supply security in North Frisia for 100 % green, regionally produced hydrogen from wind power, thus paving the way for all citizens and companies who want to purchase a hydrogen vehicle. To meet the expected mobility needs, the project includes:
Enabling citizens to experience renewable energies and participate in regional value creation creates the necessary acceptance of the project. In view of this, project supervision includes systematic acceptance management in addition to direct citizen participation: in this way, a dialogue process is initiated in which acceptance is systematically monitored in the region, indicating influence variables.
Where in autumn 2019 a large crater still bore witness to years of work carried out by heavy-duty excavators, there is now a solar park consisting of some 165,000 modules that generates 65 megawatts of power and is able to supply around 16,500 households with CO2-free electricity. On the 71-hectare site of a former gravel pit, GP JOULE created Germany's largest solar project since 2013 on behalf of Clenergy Global Projects Hamburg in record time. Construction of the impressive solar park in Ganzlin in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim was completed in a period of just eight months –
accomplished by GP JOULE as a general contractor with extensive practical experience of projects on this scale. Under an EPC contract (Engineering – Procurement – Construction), GP JOULE was responsible for the entire planning process – from the selection and procurement of components and the awarding of service provider contracts through to the entire construction.
“It was not the price that clinched it for us”, says Daniel Ruoss, Vice President of the Clenergy Group and Managing Director of Clenergy Global Projects Germany, on the decision to join forces with GP JOULE for this megawatt project. “We were impressed not just by the company’s experience but also by its high level of expertise. GP JOULE always adopts a solution-oriented approach and has consistently provided us with constructive and purposeful support in our various shifts in direction.” The careful selection of subcontractors was also a key factor. “The GP JOULE team really faced up to the challenge.”
For Meik Georg Gessner, Head of Plant Construction – EPC at GP JOULE, this was nothing new: “It’s all possible based on sound coordination between the various subcontractors,” says Gessner. “We chose regional partners wherever we could, but of course our past experience of the quality produced by those subcontractors we commissioned was also a deciding factor.” The project team certainly achieved impressive results, and Gessner is extremely satisfied with the finished plant: “The Ganzlin solar park makes full use of the space available,” he says.
EPC Plant Construction and Operational Management: GP JOULE builds and operates Windpark Schimmendorf
Seven turbines and 16.8 MW of installed capacity: Windpark Schimmendorf in the Upper Franconian district of Kulmbach is the largest wind farm built by GP JOULE in Bavaria.
In addition to the entire project planning, GP JOULE also took over construction management of the wind park in Schimmendorf as the general contractor under an EPC contract (Engineering – Procurement – Construction). The company provided all the necessary services here – in particular the entire range of engineering work, the procurement of all necessary building materials and components, installation on site and turnkey commissioning in February 2017.
Since then we have also been responsible for technical management: the seven installed turbines are controlled via two modern control rooms that can be accessed on a round-the-clock basis. GP JOULE tracks maintenance cycles and monitors the work on site. To complete the range of services, the company provides detailed reporting on the performance and profitability of the plant as well as online access to the customer portal for wind turbines.
Turbines made by the Rostock-based company Nordex are used at Windpark Schimmendorf.
"We’re particularly pleased with this project. It’s a key project for our business in southern Germany – and it very much reflects on our expertise to be entrusted with the entire construction and operation of such a plant: we really were able to contribute all our technical know-how here.”
Ove Petersen, Managing Director and founder of GP JOULE
