Vattenfall steps in to develop 980-MW offshore wind project in Germany

Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB said today it is exercising its right of entry to the N-7.2 offshore wind power project in the German North Sea with an expected capacity of 980 MW.

The exercise of this option, which has been communicated to the German authorities, means Vattenfall obtains the right to develop and construct the wind farm.

The N-7.2 zone in the German North Sea was put out to tender, with a unit of RWE AG (ETR:RWE) announced as the winning contender earlier in September with a zero-subsidy bid.

The area, however, was originally developed by a consortium led by Strabag SE into a project called Global Tech II that was acquired by Vattenfall in 2016. The site was auctioned out again under the new offshore wind tendering system, with Vattenfall having the right of entry. The company had the opportunity to exercise it by the end of October by matching RWE’s offer.

Vattenfall expects that the project, located 85 km (52.8 miles) off the island of Borkum, could be connected to the German grid sometime in 2027.

"This is an important milestone for us in Germany as the government aims to increase generation of electricity from offshore wind to 30 GW by 2030,” said Catrin Jung, head of offshore wind at Vattenfall. “Rapid expansion of renewable energy is key to permanently reducing Germany’s dependence on fossil fuels," added Jung.

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