RWE granted permission for Kaskasi offshore wind farm

• Kaskasi is the first offshore wind farm to be approved by the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) based on the new Wind Energy at Sea Act
• Offshore construction work to start in Q3 2021
• Planned to be fully operational in 2022

“We naturally have a special connection to our home market Germany. In the period from 2020 to the end of 2022, we will be investing around one billion euros net in the expansion of renewables in Germany alone. A large part of that will be allocated to our Kaskasi offshore wind farm. I’m delighted that the BSH has now given the green light by granting planning permission to build our sixth wind farm off the German coast,” said Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Operating Officer Wind Offshore Global at RWE Renewables.

The RWE Kaskasi offshore wind farm is finally given the green light: at the beginning of December the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency granted planning permission for the 342 megawatt wind farm. This makes Kaskasi (official name: Kaskasi II) the first offshore wind farm in Germany to be approved under the new Wind Energy at Sea Act, following successful participation in the auction held under the so called “transition system”. A component of the approval are so-called pilot wind turbines which will be used to test innovative technologies. The wind farm is set to be connected to the grid in summer 2022. After the 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 the spring of 2020. Suppliers for the main components have already been chosen and some have already started production. The Kaskasi offshore wind farm will consist of a total of 38 wind turbines (type:&60; SG 8.0-167 DD). Each turbine will have an installed capacity of up to 9 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” method to install the foundations. This optimised installation method is an efficient alternative to the conventional hammer pile driving and has the potential to reduce both the construction time and noise emissions.

Moreover, innovative steel collars will be mounted on three selected foundations at the Kaskasi wind farm. The so-called “collared monopile” was designed on the basis of a patent developed by RWE and is used to improve the load bearing capacity of the overall structure. This underscores RWE’s aspiration of taking a leading role in the promotion of innovation and technology.

RWE plans future growth in the offshore wind sector

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. The RWE portfolio also includes 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 Nordsee One and Alpha Ventus wind farms.

RWE Renewables is the world’s second-largest operator of offshore wind farms and the foundation for further growth has already 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 options of more than 7 gigawatts – not including central tenders that the company is also considering.