Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB has exercised its right of entry to develop a wind project in a tender zone off the German North Sea coast, proposing to build a 630-MW offshore park.
The project will be developed within the N-6.6 area, Vattenfall said on Thursday. The specific location was secured by German energy major RWE AG (ETR:RWE) in a government tender in August, while Vattenfall was awarded a step-in right, allowing it to accept the bid on the same terms as RWE until September 14.
Vattenfall will install the Nordlicht II wind farm 85 km (52.8 miles) off the island of Borkum, in proximity to Nordlicht I within site N-7.2 in the same area. The two wind farms will have a combined capacity of 1.6 GW and will generate electricity for more than 1.7 million German homes.
Areas N-7.2 and N-6.6 were auctioned out twice by the Federal Network Agency due to a change in tendering procedures for offshore wind energy. Vattenfall had the right of entry for both of them to match RWE’s zero-subsidy bid.
Depending on the timing of the final investment decision for the schemes, Nordlicht I can be brought online in 2027, while Nordlicht II can be commissioned in the following year.
