Offshore staff
ESSEN — RWE has been granted awards for Nordseecluster B in the North Sea, the German Federal Network Agency announced.
This involves the N-3.6 and N-3.5 sites in the German North Sea, on which RWE intends to develop, build and operate two wind farms with a total capacity of 900 MW. RWE secured the 900 MW without a negative bid component.
Last year the company secured the rights for two wind farms in Nordseecluster A with a total capacity of 660 MW. Preferred suppliers of the main components have already been selected for all four sites with a total capacity of 1.6 GW.
RWE Offshore Wind CEO Sven Utermöhlen said, “We are driving forward the expansion of RWE’s offshore wind power fleet in Germany at full speed. Our portfolio already includes six offshore wind farms off the German coasts."
The Nordseecluster, located about 50 km north of the island of Juist, will be constructed in two phases, Nordseecluster A and B. The two wind farms of Nordseecluster A with a total capacity of 660 MW are to become operational as early as the beginning of 2027. A further 900 MW will be provided by the two wind farms of Nordseecluster B, which are scheduled to start operation from 2029.
Due to the size of the Nordseecluster, RWE intends to achieve considerable synergy effects in the development, construction and subsequent operation of the four wind farms.
The German Federal Network Agency has also provisionally awarded RWE another site for an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 630 MW. Site N-6.6 is a pre-investigated area located about 50 km northwest of the Nordseecluster. The further development of the project by RWE is still subject to the exercise of the step-in right by another company.
Earlier this year, Van Oord was selected as the preferred supplier for transport and installation of foundations for the 1.6-GW Nordseecluster wind project. At the time, the companies said construction would take place in two phases, with a total of 104 extended monopiles, each weighing up to 1,750 metric tons. Also announced in Aprill, Havfram Wind was selected to transport and install a minimum of 104 Vestas offshore wind turbines, each with a capacity of 15 MW.
Adjusted EBITDA for RWE's Offshore Wind segment amounted to €762 million ($839 million) in the first half of 2023, compared to €632 million ($696 million) in the prior-year period. The increase in earnings is due to the commissioning of new capacity, the Kaskasi offshore wind farm off the coast of Heligoland and Triton Knoll off the UK coast. This more than compensated for the overall weaker wind conditions, RWE said.
The Nordseecluster wind project was a joint venture between RWE and Northland Power. However, in late May Northland Power Inc. sold its full 49% ownership stake in the Nordseecluster offshore wind portfolio to partner RWE Offshore Wind GmbH.
08.10.2023
