RWE has installed half of the monopile foundations for its 1 gigawatt (GW) Thor offshore wind farm located in the Danish North Sea, marking a significant milestone in the €3 billion project, the company said on Tuesday.
RWE reported that 36 of the 72 monopiles required for the project have been placed. When completed, Thor will be Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm, situated approximately 22 kilometres off the west coast of Jutland.
“With Thor we are constructing Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date. Reaching halfway in the safe installation of the monopiles is a great achievement,” said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind. “My thanks go to all colleagues and partners involved for their contribution.”
Each monopile measures roughly 100 metres in length and weighs up to 1,500 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of about 1,000 small cars, according to RWE.
The foundations are being transported from the Dutch port of Eemshaven, while secondary steel components such as boat landings and platforms are handled via the Danish Port of Thyboron, home to RWE’s construction logistics centre.
The Thor project incorporates several sustainability features, including reused monopile hard covers, CO2-reduced steel towers for 36 turbines, and recyclable rotor blades fitted to half of the turbines.
Wind turbine installation is expected to begin in 2026 from the Port of Esbjerg. The wind farm is slated to be fully operational in 2027 and will generate enough electricity to power over one million Danish homes.
RWE also anticipates the operations and maintenance phase will create between 50 and 60 local jobs at a new service hub currently under construction at the Port of Thorsminde, with completion scheduled by the end of 2025.
The 1,080 megawatt (MW) project is a joint venture between RWE and Norges Bank Investment Management, which hold stakes of 51% and 49% respectively. RWE is leading construction and will operate the wind farm over its lifespan.
RWE currently operates 19 offshore wind farms globally, including the 207MW Rodsand 2 project in Denmark. The company is also building three other large-scale offshore wind projects: the 1.4GW Sofia in the UK, 1.6GW Nordseecluster in Germany, and the 795MW OranjeWind in the Netherlands.