RWE Partners with Masdar for 3 GW Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Projects

December 4, 2023, by Adnan Memija

RWE has signed an agreement with UAE’s Masdar as a partner for its 3 GW Dogger Bank South (DBS) offshore wind projects in the UK.

The partners acknowledged the signing of the new partnership during a ceremony at COP28 in Dubai.

Masdar will acquire a 49 per cent stake in the landmark renewables projects while RWE, with a 51 per cent share, will remain in charge of development, construction, and operation throughout the life cycle of the projects.

RWE’s proposed DBS offshore wind project is made up of two offshore wind farms, Dogger Bank South East and Dogger Bank South West (DBS East and DBS West), each 1.5 GW, which are located over 100 kilometres offshore in the shallow area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank.

RWE entered into agreements for lease for the DBS projects with the Crown Estate in January 2023.

Masdar will join DBS at a key stage in the projects’ development, as they approach the end of consultation with stakeholders and communities ahead of submitting Development Consent Orders likely in the second quarter of 2024, RWE said.

Construction could start as early as 2025, first 800 MW of electricity is planned to come online in 2029 with the aim to fully commission the projects by late 2031.

With an estimated combined installed capacity of 3 GW of new clean electricity, the two projects are expected to be capable of powering up to three million UK homes with green electricity.

“As one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, the Dogger Bank South project will make a huge impact on reducing emissions while supplying millions of UK families and businesses with clean, affordable and secure energy,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President.

“The world needs to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030 if we are to keep the Paris Agreement goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees within reach. At COP28, as we strive to form a unified plan to deliver the urgent course correction the planet needs, projects such as DBS show how nations, companies and communities can join forces to deliver powerful solutions.”

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In September 2022, RWE and Masdar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaborations on offshore wind projects both in and outside Germany.

Since 2008, Masdar has been a partner in the 630 MW London Array which, at the time of entering operation, became the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Today’s investment in the 3 GW DBS projects – almost five times as big as London Array, is part of Masdar’s plans to invest GBP 11 billion into the UK’s renewable energy sector.

“We’re delighted to welcome Masdar onboard as our partner and co-investor in the delivery of our Dogger Bank South projects which, at 3 GW in size, make up RWE’s largest offshore wind development in the UK. With Masdar, we have a strong and renowned partner at our side who shares our ambition to further drive the growth of offshore wind energy,” said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE.