RWE said on Monday it has completed installation of all turbine foundations for its 660-megawatt (MW) Nordseecluster A offshore wind project in the German North Sea, marking a key milestone in the development of the 1.6-gigawatt (GW) Nordseecluster.
The company confirmed that all 44 monopile foundations and accompanying secondary steel structures are now in place. Each foundation measures around 85 metres in length and weighs approximately 1,500 tonnes — the equivalent of about 1,000 small cars.
RWE’s offshore wind chief executive Sven Utermöhlen said the achievement represents a significant step forward for what will be the largest offshore wind project off the German coast. “The completion of the foundation installation marks a key step towards implementing our 1.6-gigawatt Nordseecluster, which is currently the largest offshore wind project off the German coast,” Utermöhlen said. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the RWE team, Van Oord, and all the other companies and partners who contributed to this success.”
The company said the foundations were stored at Eemshaven in the Netherlands before being transported and installed offshore by Van Oord’s installation vessels Boreas and Aeolus.
RWE noted that, instead of using separate transition pieces, extended monopiles were equipped offshore with secondary steel structures — a design approach that reduces the total amount of steel required.
Offshore construction for the Nordseecluster A is proceeding as planned, with one of two offshore substation foundations already installed and the second expected to follow before the end of 2025.
The company said that around 70 kilometres of inter-array cables will be laid early next year, with wind turbine installation scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026. Nordseecluster A is due to enter operation in early 2027, while the 900MW Nordseecluster B phase is planned for completion in 2029.
Together, the two sites will provide 1.6GW of capacity — enough to supply electricity to around 1.6 million German households.
Nordseecluster is a joint venture between RWE, which holds a 51% stake, and Norges Bank Investment Management with 49%. RWE is responsible for both the construction and operation of the project.
