Offshore wind sector ramps up with FIDs, final turbine installations, newbuild vessel activity and more
Vattenfall given final go-ahead for North Sea Nodlicht wind farm cluster
Vattenfall has taken FID on two wind farm developments in the German North Sea, Nordlicht I and II.
This follows confirmation from Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) of the permit for the Nordlicht offshore wind cluster, 85 km north of the island of Borkum.
Monopile installations for Nordlicht I are due to start in the third quarter, followed by the monopiles for Nordlicht II about one year later. Both wind farms should start operations in 2028.
Nordlicht 1 will have a capacity of about 980 MW, and Nordlicht 2 about 630 MW. Both will have turbine towers made partly from low-emission steel to reduce their overall carbon footprint by 16%.
Final turbine installed at Greater Changhua wind farms
The developments, 35–60 km from the coast of Changhua County, feature 66 x 14 MW Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 wind turbines.
Offshore construction of the 920-MW project started last February 2025, with Cadeler’s newbuild vessel Wind Maker commencing turbine installations in April.
The project delivered first electricity to Taiwan’s national grid in July. Now the focus has switched to completing commissioning of the wind turbines, electrical system testing and concluding offshore cable works.
Full commercial operations should begin during the third quarter.
Ørsted highlighted certain technical breakthroughs, including:
- First offshore wind project in the Asia-Pacific region to feature piling-free suction bucket jacket foundations at scale, limiting underwater noise close to background levels during installations;
- First offshore wind farms anywhere to install 14-MW wind turbines with 115-m-long blades, representing a new benchmark for large-scale wind turbine component deployments; and
- Completion of the wind turbine installation campaign in 275 days.
Smulders to deliver jacket foundation for Dunkerque offshore substation
In France, Chantiers de l’Atlantique has appointed Smulders to manage engineering, procurement and construction for the offshore substation jacket foundation for the 600-MW Dunkerque wind farm offshore the country’s far northern coast.
Final assembly and delivery will take place at Eiffage Metal’s yard in Fos‑sur‑Mer on the French Mediterranean coast.
Smulders teams will work alongside Chantiers de l’Atlantique as the main EPCI contractor and RTE as the end‑client.
EnBW sells stake in Mona offshore wind project
The JERA Nex bp venture is acquiring EnBW’s stake in the 1.5-GW Mona wind farm development in the east Irish Sea, and it has signed a lease agreement for the project with the UK’s Crown Estate.
The Mona lease area covers a 300-sq-km area.
However, the joint venture has opted not to proceed with the Agreement for Lease for the Morgan offshore wind project.
RWE has been awarded CfDs for 6.9 GW of capacity
RWE has secured Contracts for Difference (CfDs) at a strike price of £91.20 ($122.41) per megawatt hour for five UK offshore wind development projects: Norfolk Vanguard East and Norfolk Vanguard West, Dogger Bank South (two projects), which are all in the southern North Sea, and Awel y Mô in the Irish Sea.
Combined capacity is 6.9 GW. The company and KKR will jointly develop, construct and operate the Norfolk Vanguard projects, pending closure of the partnership transaction, project financing and FID, which is scheduled for this summer.
RWE expects to commission these developments during 2029-30.
Awel y Môr, 10.5 km from the north Wales coast, will be an extension to the existing Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm. RWE has a 60% operated interest, along with partners Stadtwerke München (30%) and Siemens (10%).
Commissioning should take place in 2031.
CIMC Shipyard delivers wind turbine installer to DEME
DEME has taken delivery of its second new offshore wind turbine installation vessel, Norse Energi, built by the CIMC Raffles shipyard in China.
Like its previously delivered sister ship, Norse Wind, the Norse Energi vessel is designed by GustoMSC to install turbines with rotor diameters of more than 300 m and monopiles weighing up to 3,000 t, in water depths of up to 70 m.
Both vessels are already signed up offshore wind projects in Europe and will start service over the next few months.
CIMC signs with Van Oord for second subsea rock installation vessel
Last week, CIMC Raffles signed a contract with Van Oord to build a second multi-fuel-capable subsea rock installation vessel, which will be classed by Bureau Veritas.
It will have an overall length of 199 m, a beam of 32.2 m, DP2 dynamic positioning capability and a rock-carrying capacity of up to 35,000 t.
The engines will be capable of operating on biofuel and methanol. The vessel will also feature a DC-grid with large battery storage capacity, and an energy-efficient hull design and rock handling system, all said to reduce CO2 emissions.
Strategic Marine delivers second CTV to Taiwan
The vessel, co-developed with BMT, has controllable pitch propellers, bow thrusters and an active fender system.
ClassNK grants AiP for designs of Mitsui cable vessel
ClassNK issued Approval in Principle (AiP) to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines late last month for the designs for a cable jointing vessel and a cable burial vessel.
In Japan, wind power generation is expanding to offshore locations far from major electricity demand centers. According to ClassNK, long-distance subsea DC transmission installed using cable jointing and burial vessels is seen as a solution to this issue.
The classification society’s design review of the ship followed part O of its "Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships" and other relevant rules.
About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.