Vattenfall Greenlights Construction of Germany’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm

Swedish utility Vattenfall has greenlit construction of the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farms off the northern coast of Germany. Together the two projects will become the country’s largest off-shore wind park. With construction to begin in 2026 the project is expected to be operational by 2028.

The wind park will consist of 112 Vestas V236 wind turbines with a capacity of 15 MW each for a combined capacity of 1.61 GW, with 980 MW from Nordlicht 1 and 630 MW from Nordlicht 2. Total annual electricity production is estimated in the range of 6 TWh, roughly equal to that of one nuclear power plant. 

The project will be constructed around 50 miles offshore off the island of Borkum. 

“The Nordlicht offshore wind cluster makes a significant milestone in the path to enabling fossil freedom. By accelerating Germany’s energy transition and supporting industrial decarbonisation, it will provide clean, reliable energy while driving innovation and sustainability in the sector. We look forward to realizing this important project in close collaboration with our supply chain partners,” says Helene Biström, Head of Business Area Wind at Vattenfall.

Some of the steel used in the project’s construction will be sourced through low-carbon production methods, reducing emissions per ton of steel from 2.6 tons of CO₂ to 0.9 tons of CO₂. 

Germany currently operates around 1,600 offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 9.2 GW, making it number three in the world behind China and the UK. Together the three countries account for more than 75 percent of installed capacity around the globe.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 109,148 members