Two units of German utility RWE have submitted a proposal to the Dutch authorities to build one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms.
RWE Innogy and RWE Energy Nederland have jointly submitted plans to construct two major offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 2000 MW in Netherlands coastal waters. The project would make a significant contribution to the Dutch government’s plans to rapidly expand wind farm capacity.
The proposed wind farms would be spread over two locations, one of which is Tromp, 64 km off the coast of Ijmuiden. They are part of RWE Innogy’s plans to grow RWE’s renewable energy portfolio in Europe.
The Tromp wind farm would have a capacity of 1150 MW, with turbines located in a water depth of 26 m. Details of the second location have not been released.
RWE Innogy has signed an agreement with REpower Systems Group, a manufacturer of wind turbines, to negotiate on the purchase of up to 1900 MW of wind turbine units. The recently-formed company plans to invest EUR1 billion/year in renewable energy projects, such as the development of a commercial-scale tidal energy scheme in North Wales.
RWE’s agreement with REpower calls for the delivery of 250 offshore wind turbines of the 5M/6M series plus around 200 onshore 2 MW turbines. RWE says it is also negotiating similar contracts with other suppliers to meet its expansion plans.
RWE Innogy is headed by Prof. Dr Fritz Varenholt, who is also a member of REpower Systems’ supervisory board.
“Wind power plays a decisive role on our path towards positioning RWE Innogy as the driving force behind tomorrow’s technology in Germany and Europe. Offshore wind farms especially place the highest demands on the technology implemented” said Kevin McCullough, COO of RWE Innogy.
The Netherlands currently has 108 MW in offshore wind farm capacity. The government has a target of increasing wind capacity to 6000 MW by 2020.
Under its deal with REpower, RWE hopes to conclude negotiations by the end of 2008 at the latest. The turbines will then be delivered by REpower over a 4-6 year period from 2010.
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