RWE Greenlights 1.6 GW German Offshore Wind Farms

May 27, 2024, by Adnan Memija

RWE has made the investment decision for its Nordseecluster, involving offshore wind projects with a total capacity of 1.6 GW to be built in the German North Sea.

The Nordseecluster is being implemented in two phases, Nordseecluster A and Nordseecluster B, each comprising two offshore wind farms.

Nordseecluster A has a total capacity of 660 MW. Manufacturing of some key components has already started, said RWE, while offshore construction is scheduled to commence next year.

By the beginning of 2027, all 44 wind turbines of the Nordseecluster A are planned to be connected to the grid.

The 60 turbines of the Nordseecluster B, which adds a further 900 MW of capacity, are scheduled to start commercial operation from the beginning of 2029.

“Our portfolio already includes six offshore wind farms off Germany’s coastlines. The Nordseecluster will add two more. This sends out a good signal for the energy transition in Germany and for RWE. With a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, these wind farms will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of green electricity per year. This will contribute in particular to the decarbonisation of industry in our home market,” said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind.

According to RWE, the company will use the green electricity generated from the wind farms to support its industrial customers on the path to decarbonisation with customised energy solutions. These customers increasingly include operators of AI data centres, said RWE.

RWE has already signed several contracts for the construction of key components for the 1.6 GW Nordseecluster.

Atlantique Offshore Energy, the maritime energy segment of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, will supply two offshore transformer substations while Hellenic Cables were selected for the cable manufacture.

The offshore substation jacket will be supplied by Italy-headquartered Rosetti Marino.

Dajin Offshore will manufacture the foundations for the wind turbines which will be installed at the site about 50 kilometres north of the Juist Island by Van Oord.

Vestas will supply the wind turbines, each with a capacity of 15 MW. Transport and installation of the V236-15.0 MW units will be performed by Havfram Wind, using its installation vessels Norse Wind and Norse Energi.