The last wind turbine has been installed at the 913MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany.
The project, owned equally by Ørsted and Nuveen Infrastructure, breaks new ground for the country’s offshore wind industry in terms of capacity and business model.
For around six months, Ørsted, together with Cadeler and Seaway7, installed a total of 83 systems around 72km off the coast of Lower Saxony.
Once commissioned, the record project will be the largest wind farm in Germany to date.
Ørsted’s managing director in Germany Jörg Kubitza said: “The installation of the last turbine in what is by far the largest offshore wind farm in Germany is a great success – thanks in particular to our colleagues for their commitment in the North Sea.
“With the installed capacity of Borkum Riffgrund 3, we now reach a total of almost 2.5 gigawatts and underline our role as the largest operator of offshore wind energy.
“Once commissioned, the project will make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of our industrial customers – on a scale that only offshore wind energy can achieve.
“The necessary business model, based on long-term power purchase agreements, will be used in this form for offshore wind for the first time in Germany.”
Managing director of renewable energy investments at Nuveen Infrastructure Jordi Francesch added: “This groundbreaking project represents Nuveen Infrastructure’s ongoing commitment to decarbonising the energy sector.
“It also underlines our ability to implement complex renewable energy projects that drive the global energy transition. In collaboration with Ørsted, we want to promote long-term, sustainable growth and make an important contribution to the green transformation in Germany.”
Project director of Borkum Riffgrund 3 Felix Gschnell hailed the implementation of the project as an outstanding achievement.
He added: “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our partners, Siemens Gamesa, Cadeler and Seaway7, for the excellent cooperation that made this milestone possible.”
Borkum Riffgrund 3 is the first offshore wind farm in the world to be awarded a contract without subsidies.
Ørsted was awarded the contract in the 2017 and 2018 offshore wind tenders at a price of zero euros feed-in tariff per MWh – the first time for offshore wind.
The realisation of the project is made possible primarily by long-term power purchase agreements.