DONG Energy will reach 6.7 GW of installed offshore wind capacity having made this decision, exceeding the company’s 2020 target of 6.5 GW. The wind farm will have a total export capacity of 450 MW and will feature the largest wind turbines in German waters, totalling 56 MHI Vestas 8 MW turbines with rotor spans of 164 metres. It will supply clean renewable energy corresponding to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 460,000 German households.
“Offshore wind is a significant contribution to the German energy transition, and Borkum Riffgrund 2 confirms DONG Energy’s position as one of the major investors in the renewable energy infrastructure in Germany” said Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President and Head of Wind Power, DONG Energy. “The 8MW turbine takes offshore wind efficiency a further step forward, and the size of the Borkum Riffgrund 2 project is yet another indication of market maturity. We’ll continue our relentless efforts to drive down the cost of electricity from offshore wind.”
Trine Borum Bojsen, Country Manager of DONG Energy Wind Power Germany, added that with Borkum Riffgrund 2 the company is going to start the construction of its fourth offshore wind farm in Germany. After its completion, DONG Energy will have installed approximately 1.35 GW of offshore wind in German waters supplying power to 1.4 million households. The company will be its sole owner but, in accordance with its partnership model, it will divest up to 50 percent of the project at a later date.
The wind farm will be located 54 kilometres off the coast of Lower Saxony, next to one of DONG Energy’s other wind farms, Borkum Riffgrund 1. For the first ten years of production, DONG Energy will receive a fixed price per kWh of electricity generated.
DONG Energy was granted a consent for building Borkum Riffgrund 2 back in December 2011. This needs to be amended to accommodate the deployment of the larger 8 MW turbines. The company is currently awaiting the final approval of these amendments by the consenting authority, Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie’ (BSH), which has issued an administrative assurance under paragraph 38 of the German Administrative Procedure Act. This gives DONG Energy a legally enforceable right to a new planning consent in respect of Borkum Riffgrund 2, subject to no significant changes in the applicable legal framework or relevant factual circumstances before the final consent is issued.
Image: Walney offshore wind farm, UK
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