RWE to build wind farms with capacity of 1.6 GW off German coast

RWE has made the investment decision for its Nordseecluster, involving offshore wind projects with a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW). The wind farms will be built in the North Sea, about 50 kilometres north of the island of Juist. Suppliers of the main components have already been selected for the cluster as a whole.

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “Our portfolio already includes six offshore wind farms off Germany’s coastlines. The Nordseecluster will add two more. This sends out a good signal for the energy transition in Germany and for RWE. With a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, these wind farms will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of green electricity per year. This will contribute in particular to the decarbonisation of industry in our home market.”

The Nordseecluster is being implemented in two phases – Nordseecluster A and B. Nordseecluster A has a total capacity of 660 MW. Manufacturing of some key components has already started. Construction at sea is scheduled to begin next year. By the beginning of 2027, all 44 wind turbines shall be connected to the grid. Nordseecluster B will add a further 900 MW of capacity. The 60 turbines are scheduled to start commercial operation from the beginning of 2029.

RWE does not have to make any lease payments to the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) for the Nordseecluster sites. The size of the cluster will provide synergy effects for RWE in the construction and subsequent operation of the wind farms. 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 operators of AI data centres.

Globally, RWE is one of the leading players in offshore wind. In the past 20 years, the company has put 19 offshore wind farms into operation, including six off the German coast. RWE has set itself the goal of tripling its global offshore wind capacity from the current 3.3 GW to 10 GW in 2030.

Source: RWE & BalticWind.EU