North Sea Cluster With 15 MW Turbines: RWE And Northland Power Select Vestas For 1.6 GW Offshore Wind Project
Aarhus, Denmark - Energy company RWE and Northland Power have selected Vestas as the preferred wind turbine supplier for the implementation of their North Sea cluster.
At least 104 offshore mega wind turbines of the 15 MW class from Vestas (type: V236-15.0 MW) will be installed north of the island of Juist.
In 2022, RWE (51 percent) and Northland Power (49 percent) have formed a joint venture to develop the North Sea cluster. The partners expect to achieve significant synergy effects in the development, construction and subsequent operation of the four wind farms due to the size of the cluster.
The North Sea cluster will be built in two phases: The two wind farms, N-3.8 and N-3.7, with a total capacity of 660 megawatts (MW), are currently in the approval phase. The installation of the turbines is expected to start in 2026 and commercial operation in early 2027. 44 of the total 104 Vestas turbines are reserved for this first construction phase (North Sea cluster A).
The two wind farms N-3.6 and N-3.5 (North Sea cluster B) will add another 900 MW of offshore capacity in the second phase. For both sites, the partners plan to participate in the German government's offshore wind auctions this year 2023 and exercise their entry rights - as the partners have already done for sites N-3.8 and N-3.7 in 2021. Construction work at sea for North Sea Cluster B is scheduled to begin in 2028, with commercial operation starting in early 2029.
The North Sea cluster will be built in the immediate vicinity of the existing 332 MW Nordsee One wind farm, which RWE and Northland Power jointly developed and operate.
Source: IWR Online, 01 Mar 2023