Vattenfall Links Vesterhav Nord to Danish Grid Despite Ongoing Blade Repairs

March 12, 2024, by Adnan Memija

All 21 wind turbines at Vattenfall’s Vesterhav Nord (North) offshore wind farm have delivered the first power and the 176 MW project is now connected to the Danish electricity grid. However, the blades on a single unit have been temporarily taken down for repairs after sustaining damage during the preparation of the offshore wind farm.

Vesterhav North is part of Vattenfall’s 344 MW Vesterhav duo, whose 168 MW Vesterhav Syd (South) has been feeding power into the Danish grid since January.

The installation of the wind turbines kicked off in July 2023 and was completed in October last year. On 16 February 2024, Vesterhav North started producing renewable power.

With all 21 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW turbines having delivered the first power, the offshore wind farm is now connected to the Danish electricity grid.

Vattenfall, the developer of the wind farm duo, said that this marks the culmination of almost seven years of work on the offshore wind farm.

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“We are proud that Vesterhav Nord, as a new power plant at sea, is now entering the energy supply. It is a challenging task to produce electricity from wind on a large scale, and it can only be done thanks to a great effort from the many people involved,” said Mathilde Damsgaard, project director for Vesterhav North and South at Vattenfall.

The 176 MW Vesterhav North and the 168 MW Vesterhav South projects are capable of providing renewable energy to approximately 350,000 Danish households.

Several Blades Brought Back to Shore

Vattenfall revealed that the blades on a single of the 21 wind turbines have been temporarily taken down and brought back to Thyborøn. There, a single blade will have to be repaired after sustaining damage during the preparation of the offshore wind farm.

“We cannot repair the blade at sea, and for safety reasons we take down all three blades so that there is no imbalance on the turbine. We expect that the damage to the blade can be repaired within four weeks, after which the three blades can be mounted on the turbine again,” said Damsgaard.

Vattenfall said it was clear last year that Vesterhav Nord would not be fully connected within the deadline (31 December 2023) included in the agreement with the state. The company has therefore applied to the authorities for a deadline extension and is still in dialogue with the Danish Energy Agency about this, according to the company.

The Vesterhav Nord is located west of the coast of Vejlbi, and the Vesterhav Syd is located close to the Sondervig coast. The two wind farms comprise 41 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW wind turbines.