Glennmont Partners, in collaboration with renewables developer Orsted, has embarked on the installation phase of the Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm, signaling a major milestone in Germany’s clean energy expansion.
Key highlights
Project Details: Located 70km off the North Sea coast, Borkum Riffgrund 3, with a 913MW capacity, is currently undergoing installation. Upon completion in 2025, it will stand as Germany’s largest wind farm in terms of export capacity.
Project Components: The construction phase involves the placement of 83 monopile foundations by the Jan De Nul Group. These massive steel foundations, up to 100 meters long and weighing up to 1,500 tons each, will support state-of-the-art SG 11.0-200 DD offshore wind turbines, slated for installation next year. With an impressive 11-megawatt capacity and 200-meter rotor diameter, these turbines rank among the largest in the German North Sea to date.
Joost Bergsma, CEO and Managing Partner at Glennmont Partners, expressed excitement about the project’s progress and its role in driving Europe’s decarbonization and energy security goals:
Project Significance: Bergsma emphasized the importance of Borkum Riffgrund 3, highlighting its potential to provide reliable, clean, and cost-efficient energy, significantly contributing to Europe’s decarbonization agenda.
Upon acquiring a 50 percent stake in the project, Glennmont spearheaded a consortium of investors, including Nuveen’s parent company TIAA, Kansai Electric Power Company from Japan, and institutional investors from the USA and Germany.
Orsted retains the remaining 50 percent ownership and will oversee the wind farm’s construction under a comprehensive Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract. Additionally, Orsted will manage operations and maintenance services for 20 years and facilitate the power route to market along with green certificates.
The initiation of Borkum Riffgrund 3’s construction marks a significant stride towards bolstering Germany’s renewable energy landscape and underscores the commitment of industry leaders to advancing clean energy solutions in the region.