The inaugural turbine at the Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm, boasting a capacity of 913MW and located off the coast of Germany, has been successfully installed. Jointly owned by Orsted and Nuveen Infrastructure, the wind farm is slated for full commissioning in 2025.
Installed by the Seaway Ventus vessel from Seaway 7, with additional installation support from Wind Osprey by Cadeler, the project marks a significant advancement in Germany's renewable energy sector. A total of 83 Siemens Gamesa turbines, each capable of producing 11MW, will be erected at the site.
In a statement, Peter Obling, Head of Continental Europe at Orsted, commented on the project's pioneering nature: “Borkum Riffgrund 3 is an icebreaker in offshore wind. It was the first offshore wind project in the world to be awarded on a merchant basis, and it's the first offshore wind farm in Germany to break the 900MW-mark. I'm proud to see that the first turbine is now installed, and we look forward to completing this milestone project.”
This offshore wind farm represents a departure from traditional subsidy-reliant projects, as it relies on long-term corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs) with various industrial and technology clients to achieve financial viability.
Moreover, Borkum Riffgrund 3 introduces an innovative connection concept by directly linking turbines to the DolWin Epsilon offshore converter platform via 66 kV connection cables, operated by TenneT, without the need for an offshore substation (OSS).
Concurrently, construction is progressing on Gode Wind 3, another project owned by Orsted and Nuveen, signaling a robust expansion of offshore wind capacity in the region.
Operations and maintenance for Borkum Riffgrund 3, as with Orsted's existing offshore wind farms, will be managed from strategic bases in Norden-Norddeich and Emden, Germany, and Eemshaven, Netherlands.
