The Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm, jointly owned by
Ørsted and
Nuveen Infrastructure, delivered its first power to the German grid at the beginning of December. With an installed capacity of 913MW, it now represents the largest offshore wind farm in Ørsted’s German portfolio, and demonstrates the strength of Europe’s offshore wind supply chain, with turbines and foundations from Germany and Denmark, cables from Germany and France, and installation vessels from the Netherlands and Belgium.
The renewable electricity now flowing into the German grid will support several long-term corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs), helping industrial and technology customers decarbonise their operations. Full commissioning is expected in the first quarter of 2026.
Patrick Harnett, chief construction officer at Ørsted, said: “Offshore wind will play a key role in securing European energy independence and manufacturing jobs — Borkum Riffgrund 3 is a prime example of both. The project has been constructed by European companies, creating local manufacturing jobs. Once completed, it will produce the same amount of electricity that a large city uses every year, supporting European industry with a significant amount of green energy through CPPAs. At Ørsted, we are proud to deliver the first electrons to the grid, and we look forward to having Borkum Riffgrund 3 fully up and running.”
Jordi Francesch, managing director renewable energy investments at Nuveen Infrastructure, added: “The generation of the first power at Borkum Riffgrund 3 is both a significant landmark for German offshore wind and our commitment to accelerating the EU energy transition. Our partnership with Ørsted will deliver 913 MW of clean energy to German households and European corporates, making this project a new benchmark for decarbonisation while also supporting long-term energy security for Germany and the European Union (EU).”
Continuous motivationFelix Gschnell, Ørsted’s programme director for Borkum Riffgrund 3, said: “With first power produced at Borkum Riffgrund 3, we are taking a major step towards completion of this large-scale project. Our team and suppliers did a tremendous job getting us to this point, and I am very grateful for their firm dedication and continuous motivation since we took the final investment decision. We are now focused on commissioning all remaining wind turbines — so we can start full commercial operation in Q1 2026, thereby contributing a significant amount of additional electricity from offshore wind to the German grid.”
Located about 72km off the German North Sea coast, Borkum Riffgrund 3 covers an area of approximately 75km
2 and comprises 83 wind turbines, each rated at 11MW. It is the first Ørsted offshore wind farm in Germany to be built without an offshore substation, using a new connection concept that links turbines via a 66kV system to the DolWin epsilon offshore converter platform operated by
TenneT. The project is backed by CPPAs totalling 786MW with Amazon (350MW), BASF (186MW), Covestro (100MW), Energie-Handels-Gesellschaft/REWE Group (100MW), and Google (50MW), with contract durations ranging from 10 to 25 years. These agreements provide long-term price security for both developer and customers.
Earlier this year, Ørsted and Nuveen Infrastructure’s other jointly owned offshore wind farm, Gode Wind 3, was fully commissioned. Together with Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2 and Gode Wind 1 and 2, Ørsted’s installed offshore wind capacity in Germany will reach around 2.5GW in early 2026, equivalent to powering 2.5 million homes. Ørsted remains the market leader in Germany, operating over 20% of the country’s total offshore wind capacity, with operations and maintenance managed from Norden-Norddeich and Emden in East Frisia.