Vattenfall’s 980MW offshore wind project in the German North Sea has been renamed Nordlicht 1.
By the end of 2027 the project formerly known as N-7.2 will produce fossil-free wind power for one million German households, the Swedish developer said.
Vattenfall intends to build Nordlicht 1, which translates as Northern Lights in English, without government subsidies.
Subject to the company’s final investment decision, Nordlicht 1 can go online by the end of 2027.
In continuous operation, the wind farm can then produce an amount of electricity per year that corresponds to the annual consumption of more than one million average German households.
The construction area for Nordlicht I is around 85km north of the island of Borkum.
As part of the bidding process for the area, Vattenfall asserted its so-called right of entry in autumn 2022.
This provides the developer with the right to develop and construct the wind farm despite RWE Renewables securing the site with a zero-subsidy bid in the auction.
Vattenfall’s Matthias Buko said: “The name N-7.2 was a standardized identifier for the project area.
“Traditionally, offshore wind projects have been given individual names.
“Accordingly, the project team decided early on that the wind farm to be built on this area needed a new and more personal name.
“The new name refers to the location of the wind farm in the North Sea.
“Also the fossil-free electricity produced there is symbolically in harmony with the generation of light.”