Wind energy will play a significant role in Germany’s transition into a greener future: The German Parliament adopted an Onshore Wind Law (WindLandG) to expand onshore wind by adding 10 GW a year, starting in 2025. Moreover, as per the Wind Energy at Sea Act 2022, the government plans to have 30GW of offshore wind capacity installed by 2030, 40GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045. In this article, we introduce the developers behind the largest wind farms in Germany. These companies will likely play a significant role in the transition.
1) 980MW Nordlicht I: Vattenfall from Solna, Sweden
Swedish utility provider Vattenfall develops various renewable projects including wind, solar, and biomass. It operates in numerous countries. For instance, Vattenfall has an extensive solar development portfolio in Germany, totaling 7 GW of cumulative capacity. A part of this development portfolio is the Nordlicht project in Germany. This offshore wind project will be situated in the North Sea, approximately 85km north of the island of Borkum. The project comprises two sites: the 980 MW Nordlicht I and 630 MW Nordlicht II. The wind farm Nordlicht I, with a capacity of 980 MW, could power one million German homes by 2027. Upon full operation, the total production of both sites will reach approximately 6 TWh per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1.6 million German households. BASF will likely acquire 49% of the project. Construction will begin in 2026 and the wind farms could be fully operational by 2028.
2) 960MW He Dreiht: EnBW from Karlsruhe, Germany
The EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG is an energy supply company headquartered in Karlsruhe. It ranks as the third-largest energy company in Germany by revenue, following Uniper and E.ON. The company develops several renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind farms, solar parks, but also hydro, biomass and geothermal projects. EnBW owns and develops one Germany’s largest wind projects: Offshore wind farm He Dreiht with a planned capacity of 960MW. Situated 85km northwest of Borkum and 110km west of Helgoland, it is planned to be operational by the end of 2025. EnBW also developed the largest operational wind farm in Germany, the joint project Hohe See and Albatros, which has a capacity of 639.45 MW.
3) 900MW Borkum Riffgrund 3: Ørsted from Frederica, Denmark
Ørsted, previously DONG Energy, is a Danish multinational power company. Headquartered in Fredericia, it is the largest energy company in Denmark. The company specialises in providing sustainable energy solutions worldwide, including offshore and onshore wind, solar, and storage. In Germany, Ørsted is developing the Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm, expected to be one of Germany’s largest wind farms once completed. It will have a capacity of 900MW. Located about 53 kilometers off the coast of Borkum Island, it will start construction in 2024 and could provide clean electricity to around 920,000 German households by 2025. Previously, Ørsted has already developed the first two sites of the Borkum Riffgrund offshore project: 420MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 240MW Borkum Riffgrund 2.
Image: Nicholas Doherty via Unsplash (22.02.2024)
