RWE has signed a capacity reservation agreement with Steelwind, a Dillinger Group company, for up to 300 monopile foundations for its future offshore wind projects in Europe.
Steelwind will reserve capacity at its German monopile production plant in Nordenham for 320,000 metric tonnes of steel, equivalent to approximately 200 monopiles, over a 24-month period starting in 2027.
The contract has an option to be extended for a further 12 months and provides an additional capacity of 160,000 metric tonnes of steel, the equivalent of around 100 monopiles.
The monopiles made by Steelwind are to be used at offshore wind farms which RWE plans to commission in Europe from the end of 2029 onwards.
In addition, the agreement gives RWE the option to take up additional services from Steelwind, such as secondary steel structure delivery, and the provision of storage and marshalling support.
“By signing an agreement with Steelwind, RWE has taken a big step towards securing the necessary production capacity for monopile foundations and delivering our European offshore wind development projects. This type of framework agreement is exactly what we need given the challenging market conditions,” said Holger Himmel, CFO RWE Offshore Wind.
“This framework agreement is yet another forward-looking step – for us as well as for Germany and Europe, whose ambitious climate targets can only be achieved with a major contribution from offshore wind,” added Jost Backhaus, Managing Director of Steelwind Nordenham.