Vattenfall Switches from Siemens Gamesa to Vestas 15 MW Turbines for Norfolk Offshore Wind Projects

December 21, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

Vattenfall has signed agreements with Vestas for three large-scale offshore wind projects in the Norfolk Zone, UK, where the developer plans to use the new V236-15 MW wind turbines. This marks a switch in the wind turbine model planned for the projects as the developer first named Siemens Gamesa as the preferred supplier in 2021.

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For the 1,380 MW Norfolk Vanguard West offshore wind farm, Vattenfall and Vestas inked a capacity reservation agreement that makes the Danish wind turbine manufacturer the preferred supplier of the project’s 92 turbines.

The companies also signed an exclusivity agreement for the 1,380 MW Norfolk Vanguard East project. Additionally, while Vattenfall has not resumed with bringing the 1,380 MW Norfolk Boreas to realisation after pausing its development track in July this year, the company signed an exclusivity agreement with Vestas for this project as well, thus opting for the V236-15 MW turbines for the entire Norfolk Zone.

In its interim report this Summer, Vattenfall said it was pausing the development of Norfolk Boreas due to challenging offshore wind market conditions. While higher inflation and capital costs were affecting the entire energy sector, the geopolitical situation had made offshore wind and its supply chain particularly vulnerable, the company said in July.

In a press release issued on 20 December, Vestas states that the capacity agreements follow the UK government’s recent announcement about the parameters for the next contracts for difference (CfD) round “which sent a very positive signal to renewable energy investors”.

The now-signed agreements also include long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) service contracts under which Vestas will service the project(s).

Signing the capacity reservation and exclusivity agreements with Vestas represents a switch in the wind energy generation technology that is planned to be used for Vattenfall’s Norfolk projects.

Namely, as reported in November 2021, Vattenfall selected Siemens Gamesa as the preferred wind turbine supplier for, what were at the time, two projects, Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas.

The model Vattenfall opted for two years ago was the SG 14‑236 DD offshore wind turbine which, same as Vestas’s flagship model, has a 236-metre-diameter rotor and a generation capacity of up to 15 MW, while the difference is that Siemens Gamesa’s technology is based on direct drive.

Norfolk Vanguard projects are located more than 47 kilometres off the Norfolk Coast. They are adjacent to the Norfolk Boreas site, which is located approximately 72 kilometres from shore at its nearest point.