German utility company RWE has taken the investment decision for its 1.6GW Nordseecluster offshore wind project in Germany.
To be developed in the North Sea, approximately 50km north of the island of Juist, the German offshore wind project is being executed in two phases, namely Nordseecluster A and B.
The Nordseecluster A offshore wind facility will have a total capacity of 660MW. Its offshore construction is slated to begin in 2025, with the production of the main components already underway.
All the 44 wind turbines of the offshore wind project are expected to be connected to the grid by the beginning of 2027.
The Nordseecluster B offshore wind farm will have a clean energy capacity of 900MW. It will feature 60 turbines, which are anticipated to begin commercial operation in early 2029.
According to RWE, it is not obliged to make any lease payments to the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) for the Nordseecluster sites.
The size of the offshore wind cluster will deliver synergy effects for the German company in the construction and subsequent operation of the wind farms.
RWE offshore wind CEO Sven Utermöhlen said: “Our portfolio already includes six offshore wind farms off Germany’s coastlines. The Nordseecluster will add two more. This sends out a good signal for the energy transition in Germany and for RWE.
“With a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, these wind farms will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of green electricity per year. This will contribute in particular to the decarbonisation of industry in our home market.”
RWE has selected Atlantique Offshore Energy to supply two offshore transformer substations for the German offshore wind project.
Hellenic Cables is responsible for the cable production while the foundations for the wind turbines will be manufactured by Dajin Offshore. Van Oord will deploy the wind turbine foundations.
The wind turbines, each with a capacity of 15MW, will be supplied by Vestas. Havfram Wind will carry out the transportation and installation of the wind turbines.
