- Eemshaven to serve as transshipment point for 45 foundations weighing on average 1,500 tonnes each – the equivalent of 1,000 small cars
- 1.6-gigawatt Nordseecluster to be built north of island of Juist; installation of foundations for first construction phase commencing in summer; turbines to be erected in 2026
- Nordseecluster A with 660 megawatts to be commissioned in 2027; Nordseecluster B with additional 900 megawatts to follow in 2029
RWE is taking an important step towards building the Nordseecluster offshore wind project in the German North Sea. The first eight foundations have arrived and been offloaded in the Dutch base port Eemshaven. These foundations are around 85 metres long on average and weigh approximately 1,500 tonnes each. This is the equivalent to the weight of around 1,000 small cars. This year, a total of 45 of these monopile foundations will pass through the Buss Terminal in Eemshaven; 44 of them are to carry the wind turbines, and one will support the transformer substation. The large-scale foundations were manufactured and delivered by Dajin Heavy Industry.
Thomas Michel, COO RWE Offshore Wind: 'With the delivery and safe unloading of the first foundations by Dajin, we have passed an important milestone on the way to building our Nordseecluster. With an overall capacity of around 1.6 gigawatts, it is the largest wind project currently being built off the German coast. We need an enormous amount of storage space and an excellent port infrastructure for the construction process – both of which are available at the Buss Terminal Eemshaven. We are currently creating synergies by also handling the foundations for our Danish offshore wind farm Thor at this port and will use it as the base for our Dutch OranjeWind project as well.'
Quay, storage and traffic areas totalling more than 260,000 square metres are available in Eemshaven for handling the foundations for the offshore wind projects from RWE.
The Nordseecluster will be built in two stages: Nordseecluster A will have a capacity of 660 megawatts (MW). Beginning in summer, the foundations will be shipped from the base port in Eemshaven out to the construction site at sea, which is located around 50 kilometres north of the island of Juist. The 44 wind turbines for Nordseecluster A will be erected next year and fully connected to the grid at the start of 2027. Nordseecluster B will contribute additional 900 MW from 60 wind turbines and commence commercial operation at the start of 2029.
With its overall capacity of around 1.6 gigawatts (GW), the Nordseecluster will generate enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of around 1.6 million households.
RWE is a global leader in offshore wind technology
RWE is one of the leading players worldwide in the field of offshore wind and has over 20 years of experience in developing, building and efficiently operating offshore wind farms. In addition to the Nordseecluster, the company is currently implementing three major offshore wind projects: Sofia in the UK (1.4 GW), Thor in Denmark (1.1 GW), and OranjeWind in the Netherlands (795 MW) in collaboration with TotalEnergies.
Further information on the Nordseecluster offshore wind project is available here.
Source: RWE
