For RWE’s offshore wind farm Kaskasi the green light has been confirmed: Beginning of December, the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) granted planning permission for the 342-megawatt wind farm. This makes Kaskasi (official name: Kaskasi II) the first offshore wind farm in Germany receiving planning permission under the new wind at sea law, following a successful participation in the auction held under the so called interim system.
A component of the permit are pilot wind turbines at which innovative technologies will be tested. The wind farm is set to go online in summer 2022. After full start of commercial operation in Q4 2022, Kaskasi will be able to supply the equivalent of around 400,000 households per year with green electricity.
The decision to invest in the Kaskasi offshore wind farm, which will be built 35 kilometres north of the island of Heligoland, was made in early 2020. Suppliers for the main components have already been selected and some have already started fabrication. The wind farm will comprise of a total of 38 wind turbines (type: SG 8.0-167 DD). Each turbine will have an installed capacity of up to nine megawatts (MW). The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations. The offshore work is set to start in Q3 2021. RWE will use the “vibro pile driving” installation method, which is an efficient alternative to the conventional method of hammering monopiles into the seabed. This improved installation method could reduce installation time and noise emissions during construction.
In addition, innovative collars will be mounted at three selected foundations. The “Collared Monopile” was designed based on a patent developed by RWE and will be installed to improve the structural integrity of the entire foundation. This underlines RWE’s vision of taking a leading role in promoting innovation and technology.
RWE plans further growth in offshore wind
Kaskasi is RWE’s sixth wind farm off the German coast: The company operates the offshore wind farms Nordsee Ost (295 MW) and Amrumbank West (302 MW), also off the coast of Heligoland, as well as Arkona, which has an installed capacity of 385 MW (RWE share 50%) and is the largest offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. In addition, RWE holds shares in the wind farms Nordsee One and Alpha Ventus.
RWE Renewables is the world’s second-largest operator of offshore wind farms and the foundation for further growth has also been laid: In addition to Kaskasi in Germany, the company is currently constructing the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm off the British coast, with an installed capacity of 857 MW (RWE share: 509 MW). This wind farm is set to start commercial operations in Q1 2022. Overall, the company has a development pipeline of offshore projects of over seven gigawatts – not including tenders the company is considering on top.