Canada's Northland Power and Germany's RWE on Thursday said they'd jointly develop a cluster of offshore wind projects in the German North Sea, with a total combined capacity of 1.3 gigawatts (GW).
The duo has signed a deal to form a joint venture firm that will develop, construct and operate the cluster of three offshore wind projects.
The cluster will include the 433 MW N-3.8 (Nordsee 2) site, the 420 MW N-3.5 (Nordsee 3) site and the 480 MW N-3.6 (Delta Nordsee) site.
Northland will hold a 49 percent interest in the new joint venture with RWE holding 51 percent. The projects will be developed and managed on a joint basis by both parties and are expected to achieve commercial operations between 2026 and 2028.
"In addition to its position in the N-3.8 (Nordsee 2) and N-3.5 (Nordsee 3) sites, Northland will also gain access to the N-3.6 (Delta Nordsee) site, which RWE has step-in rights for 100% of the lease, while at the same time, RWE will increase its position in the N-3.8 (Nordsee 2) and N-3.5 (Nordsee 3) sites," Northland said.
The cluster will be in close proximity to the existing 332 MW Nordsee One wind facility in which Northland and RWE are partners already.
"The formation of the cluster aligns with our offshore wind ambitions and strategy of growing our position as a global leader in offshore wind,” said Mike Crawley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northland. “We are proud to enhance our partnership with RWE to form the cluster to further strengthen our position in the North Sea. This cluster will provide us with significant size and scale and allows us to support the decarbonization efforts in Germany.”
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Wind Offshore, RWE Renewables: “Germany has set itself ambitious climate targets, thereby establishing a significant growth potential for renewable energies. Offshore wind power plays a central role in this and is indispensable for supporting the decarbonization of industry in particular. RWE is making its contribution to this and is significantly stepping up the pace here. This includes the collaborative delivery of the 1.3 GW offshore cluster with Northland Power, through which we can achieve considerable synergies to deploy at our new wind farms, while at the same time actively supporting the energy transition in our home market Germany.”