First Phase of RWE’s 1.6 GW Nordseecluster Offshore Wind Project Approved

June 25, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has issued the planning approvals for Nordseecluster A, the first phase of RWE’s Nordseecluster offshore wind project.

The Nordseecluster offshore wind project is being built around 46 kilometres north of the German island of Borkum and approximately 50 kilometres north of the German island of Juist.

The first phase, which has now been approved, has a total capacity of 600 MW and consists of NC 1 and NC 2 sites.

The production of some components, such as foundations and a substation, has already started and offshore construction is scheduled to commence next year.

The 44 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines destined for Nordseecluster A are expected to be fully connected to the grid in 2027.

The electricity generated will be transmitted via the DolWin Kappa converter platform.

“I am very pleased that the BSH’s approvals for Nordseecluster A means that we now have the green light to start offshore construction next year. We already have six wind farms off the German coast in our portfolio,” said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind.

The second phase, Nordseecluster B, will add a further 900 MW of capacity, with commercial operation expected to begin in early 2029.

Together, the wind farms in the Nordseecluster will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of climate-friendly electricity annually, according to RWE.

The developer plans to use the green electricity generated from the offshore 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 made the final investment decision for the Nordseecluster project in the German North Sea at the end of May 2024 and has already signed several key supplier contracts.

Atlantique Offshore Energy, the maritime energy segment of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, will supply two offshore transformer substations while the offshore substation jacket will be supplied by Rosetti Marino.

Hellenic Cables was selected for the supply of export and inter-array cables.

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

Vestas’ 15 MW wind turbines will be installed by Havfram Wind, using its installation vessels Norse Wind and Norse Energi.