Germany: RWE Receives Permit for Innogy Nordsee 2, 3 OWFs

RWE Innogy yesterday received the permits for the Innogy Nordsee offshore wind farm 2 and 3.

The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) approved the construction of 108 additional wind turbines located some 40 kilometres north of the island of Juist. Innogy Nordsee 2 will consist of 48 wind turbines and Innogy Nordsee 3 of 60 turbines. In April 2012, the BSH had granted RWE Innogy the permit for Innogy Nordsee 1, the first of the three wind farms, consisting of 54 wind turbines. The wind farm’s construction field covers 100 square kilometres in total. The permits allow for a total of up to 162 wind turbines with an installed capacity of approx. 1,000 megawatts (MW) to be built in this area.

Dr Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy GmbH: “The granting of the second and third permits has finalised the development process of Germany’s largest offshore wind farm cluster. This represents a successful step forward in our sustainable and value-enhancing project development strategy, in which the Innogy Nordsee wind farm with its three sub-projects plays a prominent role.”

At the end of 2008, RWE Innogy had purchased the rights to the entire Innogy Nordsee project from the project development company ENOVA. ENOVA had initiated the project and, after the sale, continued to support its development up to the granting of the permits. Following the purchase, RWE Innogy divided the wind farm into three individual projects of roughly equal size.

A final decision to invest into the construction of Innogy Nordsee 1 is expected in the beginning of 2014. In the meantime, this sub-project was renamed to Nordsee One. According to the plans, construction could commence in 2015. During the construction of Nordsee One, RWE Innogy intends to work with partners. The implementation of the second and third development stages could follow in the second half of the decade.

Alone and with partners, RWE Innogy is currently developing European offshore wind projects with an overall generation capacity of approx. 7,000 MW. Three projects with a total capacity of some 900 MW are under construction, including Gwynt y Môr. The windfarm is being built in Liverpool Bay, off the North Wales coast. At 576 MW, the power plant is RWE’s largest offshore wind farm currently in construction. It is a shared investment between partners RWE Innogy (60%), Stadtwerke München (30%) and Siemens (10%). Presently, RWE Innogy is operating offshore wind farms with approx. 1,000 MW.

[mappress]

Press release, August 28, 2013; Image: RWE