The projects are located 40 kilometres north of Juist Island in the German North Sea, in an area of around 100 square kilometres with shallow water and high wind speeds.
Northland is an independent power producer with long term experience in project development, construction, operation and financing. The two companies are cooperating in order to ensure the effective completion of the Nordsee One project which is well advanced, having received the required permits. A tender process for the supply, installation and maintenance of the wind turbines for Nordsee One is ongoing with closure expected soon. All other major supply and construction contracts are nearing completion. Nordsee One is entitled to a fixed feed-in tariff subsidy for around ten years under the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG). The partners expect to reach a final investment decision and financial close in the first half of 2015 with construction anticipated to begin in 2016. Completion is expected by the end of 2017.
Nordsee Two and Three are still in the early stages of development and jointly total 670 MW of capacity. They are included in the agreement and will be developed over the next decade as offshore wind tariffs are extended and the grid infrastructure is made available.
The total estimated project cost of Nordsee One is 1.2 billion euros. Once operational, it is expected to generate over 1,300 gigawatt hours of electricity per year from 54 wind turbines. This will be enough to power 400,000 German households.
“We are excited to announce this next stage of Northland's offshore wind development programme” said Sean Durfy, President and Chief Development Officer of Northland Power. “The Nordsee One project is well advanced and increases Northland's offshore wind portfolio to 642 MW with further growth potential in subsequent phases. We are very pleased to have partnered with a world class utility in RWE, who will provide expertise and manpower to support the development and construction of Nordsee One alongside Northland.”
Offshore wind development is a key component of Germany’s ‘energy transition’ (Energiewende) programme which has a stated objective of 6,500 MW of installed capacity for offshore wind by 2020 and 15 GW by 2030.
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