RWE has reached a significant milestone in the development of its Nordseecluster offshore wind project in the German North Sea.
The first eight monopile foundations have arrived and been unloaded at the Dutch base port of Eemshaven. Each foundation measures approximately 85 meters in length and weighs around 1,500 tonnes — the equivalent of about 1,000 small cars.
A total of 45 monopile foundations, manufactured and delivered by Dajin Heavy Industry, will pass through the Buss Terminal in Eemshaven this year. Of these, 44 will support wind turbines, while one will serve as the foundation for the transformer substation.
“As the largest offshore wind project currently under construction off the German coast, with an overall capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, we require substantial storage capacity and an efficient port infrastructure. Eemshaven provides both, allowing us to streamline operations alongside our Danish Thor offshore wind project and our Dutch OranjeWind project,” Thomas Michel, COO of RWE Offshore Wind, said.
Eemshaven offers extensive facilities, including more than 260,000 square meters of quay, storage, and traffic areas, making it a critical logistics hub for RWE’s offshore wind developments.
Nordseecluster is being developed in two phases. Nordseecluster A, with a capacity of 660 megawatts (MW), will see its foundations transported from Eemshaven to the offshore construction site — 50 kilometers north of the island of Juist — starting this summer.
The 44 wind turbines for Nordseecluster A are set to be installed next year, with full grid connection expected by early 2027. Nordseecluster B will add an additional 900 MW from 60 wind turbines and is scheduled to commence commercial operations at the start of 2029. Once fully operational, the Nordseecluster will generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately 1.6 million households.
RWE has over two decades of expertise in developing, constructing, and operating offshore wind farms efficiently. In addition to Nordseecluster, the company is currently executing three major offshore wind projects: the 1.4 GW Sofia project in the UK, the 1.1 GW Thor project in Denmark, and the 795 MW OranjeWind project in the Netherlands, in collaboration with TotalEnergies.