RWE has been given the green light for a further offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. In late March, the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) granted planning permission for Nordseecluster B (comprising NC 3 and NC 4). This allows RWE to implement the second phase of its 1.6-gigawatt Nordseecluster.
Tobias Keitel, Chief Technology Officer RWE Offshore Wind: “Now that the BSH has granted approval for Nordseecluster B, we can begin construction at sea next year. Our portfolio already includes six offshore wind farms located off the German coasts. With the Nordseecluster, we are continuing to drive forward the expansion of offshore wind energy. This is a positive development for both the energy transition in Germany and for RWE.”
The Nordseecluster is being built 46 kilometres north of the German island of Borkum and 50 kilometres north of the German island of Juist. The first phase, which is already under construction, will have total capacity of 660 megawatts (MW). All the foundations have already been installed, and work on setting up the 44 wind turbines is due to begin this summer. Nordseecluster A will be fully connected to the grid by early 2027.
With the second expansion phase – Nordseecluster B – a further 900 MW of capacity will be added. Production of some components has already begun. Installation of the foundations is scheduled to start next year, followed by the installation of the 60 turbines in 2028. Nordseecluster B is scheduled to commence commercial operations in early 2029.
Together, the wind farms in the Nordseecluster will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of climate-friendly electricity annually. RWE will use the green electricity generated from the wind farms to support its industrial customers on the path to decarbonisation with customised energy solutions. These customers increasingly include technology companies such as Amazon, with whom RWE recently signed a Power Purchase Agreement for 110 MW from Nordseecluster B.
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, RWE 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.
Pictures of Nordseecluster for media use are available at the RWE Media Centre (credit: RWE/ Photographer: Matthias Ibeler)
