The German Parliament passed a new Onshore Wind Law which set the goal to install 10 GW of onshore wind a year, starting from 2025. Moreover, the government plans to have 70 GW of offshore wind capacity installed by 2045. In this article, we introduce the three largest wind projects in Germany that will become operational soon. All of them are a significant step towards Germany’s transition into a greener future.
1) 980MW wind farm Nordlicht I
The 980 MW wind project Nordlicht I, previously called “N-7.2”, will produce fossil-free wind energy for one million German homes by the end of 2027. Swedish utility provider Vattenfall will develop Nordlicht I without government subsidies. Located in the North Sea, the offshore wind project will be set approximately 85km north of the island of Borkum.
Location: about 85km north of Borkum
Developer: Vattenfall
2) 960MW offshore project He Dreiht
One of Germany’s largest wind projects is He Dreiht with a planned capacity of 960MW. The wind farm will be situated about 85km northwest of the island of Borkum and about 110 km west of Heligoland. It is expected to become operational by the end of 2025. Project owner and developer is German energy company EnBW. Also developed by EnBW was Germany’s currently biggest operational wind farm, the 639.45MW joint project Hohe See and Albatros.
Location: 85km northwest of Borkum and 110km west of Helgoland
Developer/Owner: EnBW
3) 900MW offshore park Borkum Riffgrund 3
The 900MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm is expected to become Germany’s largest offshore wind farm once it becomes operational. It is situated in the North Sea, about 53 kilometers off the coast of Borkum Island. Danish energy giant Ørsted, which already developed the 420MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 and the 240MW Borkum Riffgrund 2, is the developer and owner of the project. Construction of the offshore farm is scheduled to start in 2024, with commissioning expected by 2025. When operational, it will provide clean electricity to about 920,000 German households while cutting up to three million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
Location: about 53km off the coast of Borkum Island
Developer/Owner: Ørsted
Image: Nicholas Doherty via Unsplash (14.09.2023)
