With the successful installation of all monopile foundations for the wind turbines and their accompanying secondary steel structures, a further significant milestone in the Nordseecluster A offshore project has been reached. The Nordseecluster is located around 50 kilometres north of the German island of Juist.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “The completion of the foundation installation marks a key step towards implementing our 1.6-gigawatts Nordseecluster, which is currently the largest offshore wind project off the German coast. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the RWE team, Van Oord, and all the other companies and partners who contributed to this success.”
Each of the 44 monopile foundations measures around 85 metres in length and weighs an average of 1,500 tonnes, which is about the weight of 1,000 small cars. Before installation, the foundations were in interim storage in Eemshaven in the Netherlands, from where they were then shipped on Van Oord’s offshore wind installation vessels “Boreas” (monopiles) and „Aeolus“ (secondary steel) to the construction site at sea and installed there.
Rather than using foundations topped with an overlapping separate transition piece, extended single monopiles were installed and secondary steel structures, which include the boat landing, the main access platform and the internal cassette, were fitted to them offshore. This design approach reduced the total amount of steel needed.
Construction of Nordseecluster A progressing well
The offshore works on Nordseecluster A are proceeding as scheduled. In addition to the wind turbine foundations, the foundation (monopile) for one of the two offshore substations located at the wind farm has already been laid. The second foundation (the jacket) is to be installed before the end of this year. The two substation topsides will follow in 2026.
In addition, preparatory soil investigations are underway for the laying of internal cabling for the wind farm. The approximately 70 kilometres of cable are to be laid at the beginning of next year. Installation of the 44 wind turbines is scheduled to begin in summer 2026.
After full commissioning in early 2027, Nordseecluster A will have a total capacity of 660 megawatts (MW). The second expansion stage, Nordseecluster B, will contribute an additional 900 MW through its 60 wind turbines, which will commence commercial operation in 2029.
With a total capacity of around 1.6 gigawatts (GW), Nordseecluster will be able to generate enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of around 1.6 million German households. Nordseecluster is a joint offshore wind project between RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49%). RWE is responsible for the construction and operation of the Nordseecluster offshore wind farms throughout their entire life cycle.
RWE is a leading global player in offshore wind
RWE is one of the world's leading players in the offshore wind sector and has more than 20 years of experience in the development, construction, and efficient operation of offshore wind farms. In addition to Nordseecluster, the company is currently implementing three large offshore wind projects: Sofia in the UK (1.4 GW), Thor in Denmark together with Norges Bank Investment Management (1.1 GW) and OranjeWind in the Netherlands together with TotalEnergies (795 MW).
Further information on the Nordseecluster offshore wind project can be found here.
Images for media use are available at the RWE Media Centre (Credit: RWE / Photographer: Matthias Ibeler)
