RWE, Northland Power Select Vestas for 1.6 GW Offshore Wind Cluster

Global wind energy developers RWE and Northland Power have announced that they are making significant progress on the deployment of their Nordseecluster. The companies have selected Vestas as the preferred supplier for their up to 1.6-gigawatt (GW) cluster consisting of four offshore wind farm sites in the German North Sea.

RWE said that a minimum of 104 Vestas offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 15 megawatts (MW) each are planned to be installed north of the island of Juist. The model of the turbines has been revealed as V236-15.0 MW.

A service contract for the wind turbines with Vestas will be also included. RWE mentioned in its official statement that all deliverables are subject to the final investment decision for the individual phases of Nordseecluster.

Last year, RWE (51%) and Northland Power (49%) established a joint venture to develop the Nordseecluster. The preferred supplier agreement (PSA) recently signed with Vestas encompasses all four projects of the players.

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind, said on the Vestas deal, “Faster offshore expansion is particularly important to simultaneously achieve climate targets and to create more energy independence. RWE is making its contribution to this. This includes the collaborative delivery of the 1.6-gigawatt Nordseecluster with Northland Power, through which we can achieve considerable synergies at our new wind farms, while at the same time actively supporting the energy transition in our home market Germany.”

David Povall, Executive VP, Northland Power, “This is an important milestone for the Nordseecluster and we appreciate all the OEM participation throughout procurement process. Having clarity on the market and the cost of delivering an offshore wind farm is crucial.”

The Nordseecluster will be constructed in two phases. Turbine installation at sea is expected to start in 2026, with commercial operation in early 2027. Of the 104 Vestas turbines in total, 44 are reserved for this initial stage. The two wind farms of the second phase will add a further 900 MW of capacity. Offshore construction works for first phase are scheduled to begin in 2028 with commercial operation to start beginning of 2029.

Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe, stated, “Once completed, the Nordseecluster will contribute significantly to add clean electricity to the German grid. This agreement also shows the competitiveness of the V236-15.0 MW wind turbine for projects scheduled in the second half of this decade.”

The Nordseecluster will be in close proximity to the existing 332 MW Nordsee One wind farm which RWE and Northland Power co-developed and continue to operate jointly. In order to deploy the cluster, the partners will rely on experienced suppliers, like Vestas, and on their own expertise in offshore wind.