Vestas and European Energy are planning to make the Danish city of Frederikshavn a focal point in the future of offshore wind technology

The joint venture will aim at developing and constructing three of Vestas’ newest V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbine at three of the five test positions that are currently under development by European Energy approximately four kilometers off the coast near the city of Frederikshavn.

European Energy has been developing the project for several years, and the Chief Executive Officer Knud Erik Andersen is pleased with the prospects of cooperating with Vestas and the opportunity to develop a Danish test and demonstration site for new offshore wind technology.

– We look forward to our cooperation with Vestas in turning the city of Frederikshavn into a focal point of future offshore wind turbine technology. If we succeed in constructing these wind turbines off the coast of Frederikshavn, Denmark will position itself as the global center not only of wind turbine development, but also regarding the testing of future offshore wind turbine technology, Knud Erik Andersen said.

In February of last year, Vestas revealed its latest offshore wind turbine the V236-15.0 MW, and the company is currently producing the first prototype that is expected to be constructed in the Danish onshore test center Østerild later this year. Vestas sees it as an important milestone in the roll-out of the latest wind turbine technology to be able to construct and test the wind turbines in an offshore environment near the city of Frederikshavn.

– We are working on getting our flagship offshore wind turbine constructed here in Denmark and look forward to the joint efforts with European Energy to achieve the construction of the offshore wind turbines at the test site outside the city of Frederikshavn. The position will provide us with a unique opportunity to test the offshore wind turbines close to our factories and research facilities in Denmark prior to the serial production and export to the global market.  If the project at Frederikshavn is successfully realized, it will play a key role in our future offshore wind business, Christian Gjerløv, Head of Offshore Wind Technology at Vestas, said.

Vestas aims at using the offshore wind test turbines to prove the viability of the technology in an offshore environment and also provide early know-how with the installation methods and training of technicians as a means to ensuring that the installation and management of the offshore wind turbines can be done as safely and effectively as possible.

In 2018, the city council of Frederikshavn greenlit the further development of the offshore wind power project. Since then, European Energy has worked to complete the required environment impact assessments that have now been approved by the Danish Energy Agency and are submitted for public consultation later this month. The CEO of European Energy Knud Erik Andersen is pleased that the project is taking another important step forward with the aim of realization by 2024:

– We have been looking forward to moving ahead with the project in Frederikshavn not only because the development of new green technology is crucial in our fight against climate change, but also because we see a great potential for turning the city of Frederikshavn into a center of renewable energy in Northern Denmark. If we are successful in constructing the offshore wind turbines, we are planning to move forward with a Power-to-X-facility on the port of Frederikshavn, where we will turn the green power into green fuels that can help the shipping industry run on renewable energy, said Knud Erik Andersen.