German Nordseecluster takes shape

The Nordseecluster of RWE and Northland Power will be built in two phases: Two wind farms (N-3.8, N-3.7) with a total capacity of 660 megawatts (MW) are currently in the approval phase. Turbine installation for these two projects (Nordseecluster A) is expected to begin in 2026, with commercial operation in early 2027.

It has now been announced that Danish company Vestas will supply at least 104 of its V236-15.0 MW turbines, each with a capacity of 15 megawatts, for the two wind farms. Of these turbines, 44 are reserved for this first phase of construction.

The two wind farms (N-3.6, N-3.5) in the second phase (Nordseecluster B) will add another 900 MW of capacity to the cluster. For both sites, the partners plan to participate in the federal government's offshore wind auctions this year and exercise their rights of entry - as the partners did for sites N-3.8 and N-3.7 in 2021. Offshore construction for Nordseecluster B is scheduled to begin in 2028, with commercial operations expected to start in early 2029.

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “The expansion of renewable energies must be rigorously driven forward. Faster offshore expansion is particularly important to simultaneously achieve climate targets and to create more energy independence. RWE is making its contribution to this. This includes the collaborative delivery of the 1.6-gigawatt Nordseecluster with Northland Power, through which we can achieve considerable synergies at our new wind farms, while at the same time actively supporting the energy transition in our home market Germany.”

Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe: “We are proud to announce this preferred supplier agreement with RWE and Northland Power, two important partners, to jointly support the German energy targets and increase the security of energy supply. Once completed, the Nordseecluster will contribute significantly to add clean electricity to the German grid. This agreement also shows the competitiveness of the V236-15.0 MW wind turbine for projects scheduled in the second half of this decade.”

All deliverables are subject to final investment decisions for the individual implementation phases of the Nordseeecluster (A and B).