German electric utility EnBW has commenced construction on the 960MW He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the North Sea.  

The project, which was awarded to EnBW in 2017, will entail an investment of €2.4bn. Upon completion, it is set to be Germany's largest offshore wind farm.

The He Dreiht offshore wind farm will be situated around 85km north-west of Borkum and 110km west of Helgoland.

The project will feature 64 of Vestas’ V236-15.0 MW wind turbines. The construction phase includes the installation of monopile foundations, each 70m in length, with a diameter of 9.2m and a weight of around 1,350 tonnes.

A transition piece will be mounted atop each foundation to connect the wind turbine towers.

During peak construction periods, the project will employ more than 500 workers and utilise more than 60 ships. EnBW's Hamburg office is overseeing the project.

The monopiles and transition pieces were transported to the site from Eemshaven in the Netherlands on floating platforms, guided by tugboats.

The foundation installation will continue into the summer, while the wind turbines and cables are being produced concurrently for installation in early 2025.

TenneT, the Dutch-German grid operator, is tasked with connecting the wind farm to the grid.

This involves an offshore converter station and two high-voltage DC export cables spanning 120km underwater and 110km on land.

The electricity will be transmitted from Hilgenriedesiel to the Garrel/Ost converter station in Cloppenburg via buried cables.

The He Dreiht offshore wind farm is expected to be operational by the end of 2025, with EnBW managing both technical and commercial aspects. Maintenance will be conducted from a service base in Emden.

Once operational, the wind farm will supply electricity to approximately 1.1 million households.

EnBW CEO Georg Stamatelopoulos said: “EnBW will play its part in further accelerating the energy transition in Germany, which is why it wants to invest a total of €40bn in the energy transition by 2030 – the lion’s share of it in Germany.

“We are investing around €13bn alone in constructing wind farms and solar parks as well as flexibly controllable and hydrogen-ready gas power plants.

“Our aim is to be a climate-neutral company by 2035. The He Dreiht offshore wind farm will play a significant role in helping us to achieve this aim.”

A consortium comprising Allianz Capital Partners, AIP and Norges Bank Investment Management holds a 49.9% stake in the project.