RWE continues to advance in the development of the Nordseecluster, a 1.6GW group of four offshore wind farms located in the German North Sea. For the project, RWE has chosen Atlantique Offshore Energy, the marine energy division of French company Chantiers de l’Atlantique, as the preferred supplier for two electrical offshore substations.
RWE’s managing director of the Nordseecluster, Sven Schulemann: “With this agreement we have passed the next milestone on the way to completing the first two offshore wind farms of our Nordseecluster. When they become operational in 2027, we will be making a further contribution towards supporting the decarbonisation drive in our home market. After the successful delivery of the Arkona offshore substation in 2018, we are looking forward to working with Atlantique Offshore Energy again.”
The Nordseecluster project will be executed in two phases. The initial phase, known as Nordseecluster A, encompasses two wind farms (N-3.8 and N-3.7) with a combined capacity of 660MW. Atlantique Offshore Energy has been entrusted with the responsibility of designing, constructing, installing, and commissioning the essential offshore substations for these wind farms. These substations will facilitate the collection and export of power generated by individual wind turbines through high voltage submarine cables. Additionally, they will remotely monitor and control the operations of the wind farm. The design process has already commenced, and the permit application is expected to initiate in 2024. The complete installation, including commissioning of the substation, is scheduled for 2026.
Atlantique Offshore Energy director Frédéric Grizaud: “The signing of this agreement is excellent news for our teams at Atlantique Offshore Energy and the entire business network working with us to build the substations, to be commissioned by 2026. We are very happy and proud to welcome a worldwide leader of our industry like RWE as a return customer and to contribute to the very dynamic development of the German offshore wind market.”
Nordseecluster B comprises two wind farms, namely N-3.6 and N-3.5, which are projected to contribute an additional capacity of 900MW starting from 2029. RWE intends to participate in the German government’s offshore wind auctions this year and exercise its step-in rights for both Nordseecluster B sites. Once all four wind farms within the Nordseecluster are operational, they will collectively generate renewable energy capable of supplying approximately 1.6 million German households annually.
