At the 7th International RAVE Workshop (Research at alpha ventus), which took place last week in Hamburg in a hybrid format, the 70 GW Offshore Wind living lab was represented by its spokesperson, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torsten Schlurmann. Around 100 national and international participants from research, government agencies, and industry gathered to discuss the latest research findings based on the long-term data sets from the alpha ventus test field.
A central theme of the event was the upcoming decommissioning of alpha ventus—Germany’s first offshore wind farm to reach the end of its operational life. Prof. Schlurmann participated in the concluding panel discussion, during which representatives from research, operators, and industry explored the question of what further benefits alpha ventus can offer the offshore wind industry and Germany. The discussion highlighted the need for accompanying research on the decommissioning of offshore wind farms—for example, regarding the remaining service life of foundations, decommissioning technologies, and their environmental impacts.
Photo: Fraunhofer IWES
