Vattenfall/BASF tie-up with Vestas for wind turbines in Germany
Energy firm Vattenfall and German materials firm BASF have signed supply and service contracts with Danish wind turbine maker Vestas for 112 wind turbines of the type V236-15.0 MW. The turbines will be used in the Nordlicht 1 and 2 offshore wind projects owned by Vattenfall and BASF in the German North Sea off the island of Borkum. From 2028, they will be able to produce electricity for the equivalent of 1.6 million households. Parts of the wind turbine towers will be fabricated with low-emission steel, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the towers.
The turbines are to be erected in the Nordlicht wind farm area – 68 wind turbines for Nordlicht 1 and 44 wind turbines for Nordlicht 2. With a nominal output of 15 MW, the V236 is currently the most powerful wind turbine available on the offshore wind turbine market.
The companies are also underlining their ambitions to reduce their CO2 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’ carbon footprint.
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.
The Nordlicht wind farm area is located 85 km north off the island of Borkum in the German North Sea and consists of two separate locations: Nordlicht 1 with a capacity of around 980 megawatts and Nordlicht 2 with around 630 megawatts.
Once fully operational, electricity production is expected to total around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) per year. Subject to the final investment decision, the construction of Nordlicht 1 and 2 is scheduled to start in 2026. According to the current state of planning, the wind turbines are to be erected in 2027 (Nordlicht 1) and 2028 (Nordlicht 2). The wind farms are expected to be fully operational in 2028.
BASF holds a 49% stake in the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farm projects. The Nordlicht wind project is being built in the German North Sea without state subsidies and, with a total installed capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, is the largest offshore wind farm project that Vattenfall has implemented to date.
Vattenfall is developing and building the Nordlicht sites and intends to use its share of future electricity generation to supply customers in Germany with fossil-free electricity. BASF will use almost half of the electricity to supply its chemical production sites in Europe, especially in Ludwigshafen.
