Orsted announced today the installation of the first turbine at the 913-MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany. Expected to be commissioned in 2025, the project represents a significant milestone in the offshore wind industry.
The wind farm, which secured 786 MW of offtake agreements with major companies including Amazon, BASF, Covestro, Energie-Handels-Gesellschaft/REWE Group, and Google, is the world's first offshore wind farm to be awarded without subsidies in the German offshore wind auctions in 2017 and 2018. Although the Netherlands' Hollandse Kust Zuid became the first offshore wind park in Europe without subsidies, Borkum Riffgrund 3 stands out for its size and scope.
Peter Obling, head of Continental Europe at Orsted, commented on the milestone, stating: “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 900 MW-mark.”
The wind farm will feature 83 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines of 11 MW each. The first turbine was installed by Seaway 7's vessel Seaway Ventus, while Cadeler's Wind Osprey will handle the rest of the installation.
Notably, Borkum Riffgrund 3 will be Orsted's first German offshore wind farm built without an offshore substation. It will utilize a new connection concept, linking into the DolWin epsilon offshore converter platform operated by transmission system operator TenneT.
Orsted, together with Nuveen Infrastructure, owns Borkum Riffgrund 3. Concurrently with the construction of Borkum Riffgrund 3, the partners are also developing the 253-MW Gode Wind 3 offshore wind farm, which recently delivered its first power.
