DONG Energy will build the German offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 2, the company informed today.
Borkum Riffgrund 2 will have a total export capacity of 450MW, and will feature the largest wind turbines in German waters: 56 units of MHI Vestas’ 8MW wind turbines with rotor spans of 164 meters.
The offshore wind farm, which will supply CO2-free power corresponding to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 460,000 German households, is expected to be fully commissioned in the first half of 2019.
DONG Energy is the sole owner of Borkum Riffgrund 2, but intends to divest up to 50% of the project at a later stage.
The offshore wind farm will be located 54km off the coast of Lower Saxony, next to Borkum Riffgrund 1. For the first approximately ten years of production from Borkum Riffgrund 2, the company will receive a fixed price per kWh of electricity produced.
DONG Energy was granted a consent for building Borkum Riffgrund 2 back in December 2011. The consent needs to be amended to accommodate the deployment of the larger 8MW turbines.
“We are awaiting the final approval of these amendments by the consenting authority, ‘Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie’ (BSH). At present, BSH has issued an administrative assurance (Zusicherung) under paragraph 38 of the German Administrative Procedure Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz) that gives DONG Energy a legally enforceable right to a new planning consent in respect of Borkum Riffgrund 2 subject to no significant changes in the applicable legal framework or relevant factual circumstances before the final consent is issued,” the company stated.