RWE has been given the green light for an offshore wind farm in the German North Sea: in mid-June, the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) issued the planning approvals for Nordseecluster A, consisting of NC 1 and NC 2.
This allows RWE to implement the first phase of its 1.6-gigawatt Nordseecluster. RWE recently made the investment decision for the entire cluster. Suppliers of the main components have already been selected.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “I am very pleased that the BSH’s approvals for Nordseecluster A means that we now have the green light to start offshore construction next year. We already have six wind farms off the German coast in our portfolio. With the Nordseecluster, we are forging ahead with the expansion of offshore wind energy. This is a good signal for the energy transition in Germany and for RWE.”
The Nordseecluster is being built around 46 kilometres north of the German island of Borkum and approximately 50 kilometres north of the German island of Juist. The first phase, which has now been approved, has a total capacity of 660 megawatts (MW). Production of some components has already started and offshore construction is scheduled to start next year. The 44 wind turbines of Nordseecluster A, each with a capacity of 15 MW, are expected to be fully connected to the grid in early 2027. The electricity generated will be transmitted via the DolWin Kappa converter platform.
The second phase, Nordseecluster B, will add a further 900 MW of capacity, with commercial operation expected to begin 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 operators of AI data centres.
RWE is one of the world’s leading players in offshore wind. The company operates 19 offshore wind farms, including six off the German coast. In addition to the Nordseecluster, RWE is currently building the Sofia offshore wind farm (1.4 GW) in the UK and the Thor offshore project (1.1 GW) in Denmark. RWE aims to triple its global offshore wind capacity from 3.3 GW today to 10 GW by 2030.
A map of the Nordseecluster is available in the RWE Media Centre (image credit: RWE).
