RWE celebrated the halfway point on the high seas as the 22nd wind turbine was installed around 50 kilometres north of the German island of Juist and half of the turbines for the first construction phase of the Nordseecluster are now in place. Each of the Vestas turbines has a capacity of up to 15 megawatts (MW). They are transported on DEME's installation vessel Norse Wind and then installed at sea.
Tobias Keitel, CTO RWE Offshore Wind: “Unlike in sports, halftime does not mean that our teams are taking a break. They are working relentlessly every day to install and commission further wind turbines. With a total of 1.6 gigawatts, the Nordseecluster is currently our largest offshore wind project under construction. Once it is in full operation, it will strengthen Germany's energy security and at the same time contribute towards the decarbonisation of the industry.”
By the end of 2026 it is expected that all 44 Vestas turbines of the first construction phase, Nordseecluster A, will be in place. Testing and commissioning of the individual turbines will take place step by step. The first turbine began to produce electricity and feed it into the grid at the end of July. Nordseecluster A, with a total capacity of 660 MW, will be fully connected to the grid at the beginning of 2027.
The second expansion phase – Nordseecluster B – will add a further 900 MW of capacity. Production of the foundations has already begun and they are scheduled to be installed next year, followed by the installation of the 60 Vestas turbines in 2028. Nordseecluster B is scheduled to commence commercial operations in early 2029.
Together, the Nordseecluster wind farms will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of climate-friendly electricity annually. RWE will use this 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 signed a Power Purchase Agreement earlier this year for 110 MW from Nordseecluster B.
Nordseecluster is a joint project between RWE (51% share) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49% share). RWE is responsible for the construction and subsequent operation of the Nordseecluster.
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. Besides the Nordseecluster, RWE is currently implementing three large offshore wind projects: Sofia in the UK (1.4 GW), Thor in Denmark (1.1 GW) in collaboration with Norges Bank Investment Management, and OranjeWind in the Netherlands (795 MW) in collaboration with TotalEnergies. Once completed, these wind farms will have a total generation capacity of 4.8 GW (RWE's share: 3.1 GW). In addition, RWE has a large pipeline of attractive development projects. Overall, the company intends to expand its offshore wind capacity by a net 5 GW by 2031.
Further information on the Nordseecluster offshore wind project can be found here.
Images for media use are available at the RWE Media Centre.
