TotalEnergies has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the 795MW OranjeWind offshore wind farm, which is being developed in the Dutch North Sea, from German renewable developer RWE.
The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
The newly formed 50-50 joint venture (JV) by the parties have also taken the investment decision to develop the Dutch offshore wind farm.
To be developed in the North Sea, approximately 53km off the Dutch coast in the province of Noord-Holland, the OranjeWind project is estimated to generate about 3TWh of green energy per year.
The electricity produced by the offshore wind facility is expected to power an equivalent of over one million Dutch homes.
RWE secured the OranjeWind project in 2022 as part of the Dutch Hollandse Kust West VII tender.
To tackle the challenge of aligning intermittent renewable energy production with flexible energy demand, the OranjeWind project will focus on integrating into the Dutch energy system.
Both TotalEnergies and RWE will contribute their share of system integration solutions, which include electrolysers, smart charging solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), e-boilers for heating, and battery storage.
The development, construction, and operation of the OranjeWind offshore wind farm will be led by RWE on behalf of the JV.
Offshore construction of the Dutch offshore wind farm is anticipated to commence in 2026, with full commissioning scheduled in early 2028.
TotalEnergies gas, renewables and power president Stéphane Michel and refining and chemicals president Bernard Pinatel said: “This integrated, innovative project perfectly illustrates our pioneering role in the energy transition in Europe, especially through the emergence of offshore wind power linked to green hydrogen electrolysers in the Netherlands.”
The suppliers for the OranjeWind wind farm have already been selected.
A turbine supply contract has been given to Vestas for 53 of its 15-MW turbines (V236), while a foundation supply agreement has been signed with SiF for the same number of monopiles.
The inter-array cables will be supplied by TKF, while Jan De Nul contracted to transport and install the foundations and wind turbines. The offshore grid connection will be implemented by TenneT.
RWE offshore wind CEO Sven Utermöhlen said: “In TotalEnergies I am delighted to have a strong partner at our side with whom we can realise our first offshore wind project in the Netherlands and at the same time unlock the full system integration of OranjeWind.
“Together, we will provide a blueprint for the Dutch energy system of the future, designed to tackle the challenges of intermittent wind generation and flexible energy demand.”
