RWE Wins Contract for One-Gigawatt Wind Farm Off Denmark

Germany energy company RWE has won a $2.3 billion contract to build the Thor offshore wind farm in Denmark, which will have a capacity to generate 1.0 GW of power. It will be built without any subsidies, and it marks the first time that an offshore wind farm will generate concession revenue for the Danish government. 

The company, which has committed to invest a staggering $57 billion over the next decade in clean energy projects, won the concession to construct and operate the facility in the North Sea, west of Nissum Fjord. The contract covers a project period of 30 years.

Thor will be able to supply the electricity used by more than one million households, and it is set to be Danish largest offshore wind farm to date. It is a key part of the country’s plans to add up to 7.2 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

“Scandinavia, and Denmark in particular, are important strategic growth markets for us. Denmark not only has very favorable wind conditions, the country also has ambitions to deploy even more offshore wind power,” said Pål Coldevin, RWE EVP for Offshore Development Nordics, Poland and Baltics.

With Thor, the company has two projects off the Danish coast, he said, making it a major contributor to the country’s green energy transition.

RWE is already involved in Denmark's Rødsand 2 offshore wind farm, which is located south of the island of Lolland. RWE controls a 20 percent stake in the wind farm, which has an installed capacity of 207 MW and has been in operation since 2010.

Thor is the first wind farm in the country being built without state financing and is expected to generate $425 million for the Danish government when the first turbines start turning and producing power in 2027.

It is the first of three large offshore wind farms to be built in Denmark before 2030. Other projects include a 3 GW offshore farm in the North Sea energy island, 2 GW at the Bornholm "energy island" in the Baltic Sea and 1.2 GW at the Hesselø zone in the Baltic Sea.

“Wind power is not only good for the climate, it can also be really good business,” said Dan Jørgensen, Denmark Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities.

The Thor project will support RWE’s goal to triple its global offshore wind capacity from 2.4 GW to 8 GW by 2030. Winning the tender is a major milestone for RWE, which intends to invest $5.7 billion annually in clean energy with a target of expanding its portfolio by 25 GW. Unusually, it intends to finance the new investments itself using the cash flow from its current operating activities.