Vestas signs conditional agreement for Nordlicht projects

Denmark-based Vestas has secured a conditional agreement to supply 112 V236-15.0MW wind turbines for Vattenfall’s and BASF’s Nordlicht 1 and 2 offshore wind projects. Within the scope of the contract is a five-year service and warranty agreement and an operational support agreement whihch is due to run until 2030.

The companies are also underlining their ambitions to reduce their CO₂e emissions along the entire value chain. The top sections of 56 out of 112 towers will be made with low-emission steel, accounting for 24% of the mass of the heavy steel plates used for the wind farm area and leading to a 16% reduction in the towers’ overall carbon footprint.

The low-emission steel is fabricated using 100% steel scrap melted in an electric arc furnace powered by 100% wind energy, reducing the carbon footprint by 66% compared to heavy steel plates made via a conventional steelmaking route.

Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern and Central Europe, said: “We are pleased to have signed this conditional agreement to deliver our ‘state of the art’ V236-15.0MW offshore wind turbine for the Nordlicht projects. Vattenfall, BASF and Vestas share the ambition to rapidly expand wind projects and to decarbonise the energy market in Europe, and Nordlicht will play a crucial role in delivering Germany’s energy transition targets. Vattenfall and BASF have a lot of experience in offshore wind projects, and we are looking forward to build this project together with our partners.”

Path to fossil freedom
Catrin Jung, head of offshore wind at Vattenfall, commented: “Wind energy is an essential cornerstone on the path to fossil freedom, which moves society forward. With Vestas, we now have a partner for our Nordlicht projects at our side, with whom we share the same values in terms of sustainable energy solutions. The wind turbine supply and service contracts are an important milestone for us and we look forward to continuing to work with Vestas as one of the leading wind turbine manufacturers.”

Horatio Evers, managing director at BASF Renewable Energy GmbH, added: “Renewable energies play a key role in our efforts to achieve ‘net zero’ CO₂ emissions as soon as possible. This agreement is another important milestone in the Nordlicht 1 and 2 offshore wind projects and shows our clear commitment to the European wind power supply chain. Sustainability is an integral part of our strategy, and I am delighted that by using low-emission steel, we are also demonstrating that sustainable products are the future.”

The Nordlicht wind farm area is located 85km north off the island of Borkum in the German North Sea and consists of two separate locations: Nordlicht 1 and Nordlicht 2. Once fully operational, electricity production is expected to total around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) per year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1.6 million German households.

The construction of Nordlicht 1 and 2 is scheduled to start in 2026 and the wind turbines are scheduled to be installed in 2027 (Nordlicht 1) and 2028 (Nordlicht 2). Both wind farms are expected to be fully operational in 2028.