Nordsee Cluster - German Offshore Wind

 Overview

Nordsee Two GmbH and Nordsee Three GmbH are special purpose companies owned 49% by Northland Power and 51% by RWE Renewables GmbH (RWE) aiming to develop, construct and operate two offshore wind farms in the German North Sea,  Nordsee Two (N2) and Nordsee Three (N3). Both shareholders  worked together on the Nordsee One (N1) project, which has been operating since 2017.

N2 and N3 combined will have an allowed grid capacity of approximately 800-900 MW which, once combined, will make it the largest German project to be constructed in 2026 (N2) and 2028 (N3), respectively. The projects will be auctioned by the German federal state in 2021 (N2) and 2023 (N3).

Nordsee Two GmbH and Nordsee Three GmbH have been allocated step-in rights for their respective project areas, labelled N-3.8 and N-3.5. This means that Northland can step-in based on the lowest bid of any other bidder in the public auctions for these  areas and acquire the right to construct and operate the projects. These rights give Northland and RWE an outstanding position in the market as it makes them independent in the auctions. Northland is currently preparing to exercise these step-in rights.

 Features

• Both sites are far enough from land to ensure stable wind conditions but close enough to allow maintenance technicians to operate from a mainland location and transfer via a crew transfer vessel.
• Located close to Northland’s other German offshore wind projects, Deutsche Bucht and Nordsee One.
• The ground conditions are well-understood, with several locations already investigated and deemed suitable for monopile foundations.
• With water depths between 29-36m, the projects are within the operational limits to choose from the wide variety of offshore construction vessels on the market.
• According to the BSH, up to 433 MW can be fed into the grid for N2 and up to 420 MW for N3. The number of turbines will depend on the power of the turbines the project uses.
• N2 and N3 are preparing to exercise their step-in rights in the auctions on September 1, 2021 and September 1, 2023. These are expected to result in non-subsidy bids (merchant market price).
• After all three Nordsee projects are constructed, they will form one of the biggest project clusters in the German North Sea at approximately 1,185 MW.

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