DONG Energy Leading European Offshore Wind Market, Targets 6.5 GW by 2020

The European Wind Energy Association, EWEA, has just published its half-yearly offshore statistics, showing a total of 277 offshore turbines installed in the first six months of this year, compared to the 132 turbines installed in the first six months of 2012. A total of 1,045 MW has been installed offshore.

“The offshore wind market is growing and I’m satisfied to see that the installations in the first six months of this year mark another record-breaking six months in terms of new installations coming online,” said Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President of DONG Energy Wind Power.

Of the total additional 1,045 MW coming online in the first half of 2013, DONG Energy has a share of 39 per cent. The latest projects coming online include London Array in the UK, which was officially inaugurated as the world’s largest wind farm last week. DONG Energy has a 50 per cent stake in the project. DONG Energy also has a 50 per cent stake in the 400 MW Anholt offshore wind farm in Denmark. Both projects are built by DONG Energy with partners and the company is also providing operations and maintenance services for them.

Offshore wind farm projects also include DONG Energy’s demonstration project at Gunfleet Sands, where DONG Energy is testing Siemens’ 6 MW turbine. The testing of new, larger turbines is just one part of DONG Energy’s aim to bring down the cost of offshore wind to 100 EUR per megawatt hour for projects that are sanctioned in 2020. The 6 MW turbine will be deployed at the Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm that the company is already building in the North Sea on the British east coast.

DONG Energy will build 6.5 GW by 2020

“Offshore wind is one of our core activities in DONG Energy. We have built more wind turbines offshore than any other developer. And with the pace the company is taking, this is a record we’ll stick to at least in the next couple of years,” said Samuel Leupold, continuing:

“The job hasn’t been finished yet. We have a target to build 6.5 GW of offshore wind power capacity by 2020. This will power more than 6.3 million households with renewable electricity. As well as the benefits to the consumers and the environment, it will also be a sound investment for DONG Energy.”

To date DONG Energy has built 17 offshore wind farms in Denmark and the UK. By 2015, the company will have built wind farms in Denmark, the UK and Germany, where DONG Energy is building its first wind farm, Borkum Riffgrund 1. This 277 MW wind farm is being constructed with 3.6 MW turbines from Siemens Energy and will be completed in 2015.

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Press release, July 12, 2013; Image: DONG Energy