The first of 72 monopile foundations has been successfully installed at RWE’s 1.1 GW Thor offshore wind farm in the Danish North Sea. The monopiles were shipped from the heavy-lift terminal in Eemshaven, the Netherlands, to the Thor construction site located approximately 22 km off the west coast of Jutland, and installed by the specialised service vessel ‘Les Alizés’. Five monopiles can be loaded in one shipment. They are around 100 m long and weigh up to 1500 metric tons each.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind: “With Thor we are constructing Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date. The installation of the first monopile is a highly symbolic moment and a great achievement for the entire RWE team after years of planning and preparation.”
Secondary steel structures for the foundations are being handled via the Danish Port of Thyborøn, the offshore construction base for Thor and home port for the project’s service vessels. The control centre for managing marine logistics and traffic throughout the offshore construction phase is also based in Thyborøn.
To protect the monopiles from the harsh conditions at sea until the turbine towers are mounted, innovative re-usable hard covers will be installed. As a further sustainable feature, 36 of the turbines will be equipped with CO2-reduced steel towers and 40 turbines will use recyclable rotor blades.
Delivery of Thor well underway
The turbine installation works are scheduled to be carried out from the Port of Esbjerg in Denmark, starting in 2026. Once fully operational in 2027, the wind farm’s operations and maintenance functions will be managed from a new service building at the Port of Thorsminde. Construction of the new building is already underway, and is expected to be finalised by the end of 2025.
