Innogy has given the go-ahead to its third German offshore wind farm having taken a final investment decision (FID) for the construction of the 342MW Kaskasi project in the North Sea.
The company said that all the contracts have been signed for major components for the project, which will be located 35km north of the island of Heligoland.
Innogy said the contract value for turbines and foundations, the offshore transformer substation and the cabling is in the region of €500m.
Kaskasi will comprise 38 Siemens Gamesa 8.0-167 DD flex turbines, with each unit having a capacity of close to 9MW and a rotor diameter of 167 metres.
Total height of the turbines will be 191 metres.
The turbines as well as the substation will be installed on monopile foundations built by Bladt Industries, which will also construct, deliver and commission the offshore transformer substation.
Seaway 7 will start installation of the foundations using a new installation method in third quarter of 2021 in water depths of 18 to 25 metres.
Innogy said the so called ‘vibro pile driving’ method is an efficient alternative to the conventional method of hammering monopiles into the seabed.
Kaskasi will be the first wind farm in the world using the vibro driving technique, the company added.
The wind farm will connect to the existing HelWin2 converter platform closer to the coast.
Installation of approximately 50km of cable will also be carried out by Seaway 7. The cables will be manufactured by the Dutch company Twentsche Kabel Fabriek.
Innogy said it is expected that the wind farm will start operations in summer 2022.
Innogy chief operating officer for renewables Christoph Radke said: “Offshore wind is an important pillar to reach Germany’s climate protection goals by supplying green electricity from a reliable source.
“I am delighted to announce that we have paved the way for the construction of our Kaskasi offshore wind project, which will become our third offshore wind farm off the German coast.
“Our investment in this project underlines our ambitions to further grow in offshore wind in Europe and around the globe.”
Innogy senior vice president renewables operations offshore Sven Utermohlen said: “Following our success in the German offshore auction in 2018, we have now taken the next important step in realising Kaskasi offshore wind farm.
“With Siemens Gamesa, Bladt Industries and Seaway 7 we have brought extremely experienced contractors and suppliers on board for all key components and their installation, which is expected to start next year.”