Dong Energy is to go ahead with the 448MW Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.
The company said the project, which is expected to be fully commissioned in the first half of 2019, will consist of 56 MHI Vestas 8MW turbines with rotor spans of 164 metres.
Dong currently is the sole owner of the project, but said it intends to divest up to 50% at a later date. The project will push the company’s offshore portfolio to 6.7GW, above its 2020 target of 6.5GW.
Borkum Riffgrund 2 will be located 54km off the coast of Lower Saxony, next to 312MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 project.
It will receive a fixed price per kWh of electricity produced for the first 10 years of operation, Dong said.
The company was granted consent for Borkum Riffgrund 2 in December 2011, but the consent needs to be amended to accommodate the deployment of the larger 8MW turbines. The company said it is awaiting the final approval of these amendments from the German consenting authority BSH.
Dong executive vice president and head of wind power Samuel Leupold said: “The 8MW turbine takes offshore wind efficiency a further step forward, and the size of the Borkum Riffgrund 2 project is yet another indication of market maturity.”
Image: Borkum Riffgrund 1 (Dong Energy)
