RWE has chosen Thyborøn Port (pictured) as the offshore construction base for its Thor offshore wind farm.
Thyborøn will be the home port for the project’s service vessels and the control centre for managing marine logistics and traffic throughout the offshore construction phase.
In addition, secondary steel structures will be handled from the Danish port during the foundation installation phase starting in spring 2025.
For this purpose, Buss Ports will lease and operate an area of approximately 100,000 square metres and the corresponding quay in the southern part of the port.
Mayor of Lemvig Kommune, Erik Flyvholm said: “RWE’s choice of the Port of Thyborøn as the base for Thor offshore wind farm is a clear signal that the Port of Thyborøn with its large water depths can service the offshore activities in the North Sea. We warmly welcome RWE and look forward to the cooperation.”
Project director for Thor at RWE, Günther Fenle said: “Thyborøn will play an important role in the successful delivery of our Thor project – Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date.
“Secondary steel structures, such as boat landings for the foundations, will be handled there. Thyborøn Port will provide us with the necessary facilities and port infrastructure, while Buss Ports will manage the port logistics.
“Thyborøn will be home to the Thor team for more than two years as they manage all construction activities.”
Chairman of the Board at Port of Thyborøn, Karl Kristian Bro said: “RWE selecting Thyborøn Port as base port for the installation of secondary steel structures and as construction base for Thor offshore wind farm is the approval of our strategic direction targeting to increase the port capacity for offshore wind components.
“Ensuring value creation with our investments has top priority, for this reason we plan and develop new port facilities in close collaboration with our customers.
“It is a sincere pleasure to welcome RWE in Thyborøn Port on the brand new heavy-duty quayside storage area for offshore wind components and with the tailor-made construction base facilities combining both offices and vessels into one cohesive unit.”
Buss Ports’ chief operating officer and managing director Morten Lund said: “We are both proud and excited that RWE again trusts Buss Ports to be part of the development of a major offshore wind farm project, and look forward to employing the expertise, experience and safety mindset gained through more than a decade of supporting the industry.”
Thor is located in the Danish part of the North Sea, approximately 22 kilometres off the west coast of Jutland.
RWE recently received the construction permit for the installation works at sea from the Danish Energy Agency. At the beginning of next year, RWE will prepare the seabed for the construction activities, which will kick off in spring when the foundations are installed.
The turbine installation works are scheduled to be carried out from the Port of Esbjerg in Denmark, starting in 2026. Thor will have 72 wind turbines. Half of the turbines will be equipped with CO2-reduced steel towers and 40 of them will feature recyclable rotor blades.
Once construction is finished in 2027, RWE will operate and maintain the wind farm from the Port of Thorsminde, creating 50 to 60 local jobs. The ground has been broken for RWE’s new service building. With more than one gigawatt of capacity, Thor will be able to produce enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of more than one million Danish households.
RWE already operates 19 offshore wind farms, including Rødsand 2 off the Danish coast. Besides Thor in Denmark, the company is currently building three large-scale offshore wind farms: the Sofia offshore wind farm (1.4GW) in the UK, the Nordseecluster (1.6GW) off the German coast and, together with TotalEnergies, the OranjeWind offshore wind farm (795MW) in the Netherlands.
RWE aims to triple its global offshore wind capacity from 3.3GW today to 10GW by 2030.