The first milestone has now been reached in the “North Sea Cluster” offshore wind project: as the offshore energy group RWE announced, the installation vessel “Boreas” from the Dutch specialist shipping company Van Oord was deployed around 50 km north of the island of Juist to install the first monopile foundation.
The “North Sea Cluster” is being built in two phases. In the first phase, “North Sea Cluster A”, a total of 44 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 660 MW are to be installed and commissioned by the beginning of 2027. “North Sea Cluster B” is scheduled to follow from 2029 with a further 60 turbines and an additional 900 MW. According to RWE, the combined output of 1.6 GW is enough to supply around 1.6 million households with climate-friendly energy.
Each monopile foundation is around 85 meters long and weighs an average of around 1,500 tons. Instead of separate transition pieces, extended individual monopiles are used. Secondary steel structures will be added at sea. According to project information, this design significantly reduces the amount of steel required.
The project is being realized jointly by RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49%). RWE is responsible for construction and operation over the entire life cycle of the parks.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind, described the first installation as a “significant milestone” and thanked all those involved for the many years of planning and preparatory work. In addition to the “North Sea Cluster”, RWE is currently working on other major projects in Europe, including “Sofia” (1.4 GW) in the UK, “Thor” (1.1 GW) in Denmark and “OranjeWind” (795 MW) off the Dutch coast.
