Denmark launches tender for Thor offshore wind farm

Danish Energy Agency (Energistyrelsen) has invited offshore wind developers to pre-qualify for the tender to build and operate the Thor offshore wind farm.

The pre-qualification period is open until noon on 1 December, with the invitation to selected candidates to bid at the tender expected to be issued on 14 January 2021.

The shortlisted developers will then be able to submit their preliminary bids until mid-March 2021, and the negotiation process is set for the following month.

In August next year, Danish Energy Agency will publish revised tendering conditions and call for final bids. The period for final bids will be open until November 2021 and the winner will be announced in early December.

Denmark plans to have the grid connection for the Thor offshore wind farm ready by 1 January 2025.

The offshore wind farm must be fully built and connected to grid until 31 December 2027.

The Thor offshore wind farm, located in the North Sea west of Thorsminde by Nissum Fjord, will have a minimum capacity of 800 MW and a maximum capacity of 1,000 MW.

The Thor concession winner will carry out the installation of the offshore wind farm, including the offshore substation and the grid connection from the offshore substation to the substation on land. A license for the electricity production and authorisation will be granted for 30 years with the possibility of a five-year extension, if allowed under the applicable regulation. 

The financing of the installation of the Thor offshore wind farm, including Energinet’s part of the onshore facilities (approximately DKK 625 million/EUR 83.7 million) is to be provided by the successful bidder.

The estimated contract values are DKK 13.3 billion (EUR 1.8 billion) for an 800MW project, DKK 15.5 billion (EUR 2.1 billion) for a 900MW wind farm, and DKK 17.7 billion (EUR 2.4 billion) for a 1,000MW project.

As reported in March, the concession owner of the Thor offshore wind farm will receive subsidies in the form of a price premium for a 20-year period. The subsidies will be granted in accordance with a Contracts for Difference-scheme designed for this tender.

Thor is the first project to be tendered of the three large-scale offshore wind farms that the Danish government decided to establish before 2030, as part of the Energy Agreement signed in 2018.

The second is the Hesselø project in Kattegat, an up to 1.2 GW offshore wind farm which is also expected to be commissioned by 2027.

The three offshore wind farms will expand the supply of energy from offshore wind in Denmark by at least 2,400 MW.