Vattenfall Approves Construction of Germany’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm

Swedish offshore wind developer Vattenfall announced that it has taken the final investment decision to proceed with the construction of Germany’s largest offshore wind farm. The announcement was seen as a vote of confidence for the sector and comes as Germany is embroiled in a political debate about its offshore wind policy.

The final investment decision for the Nordlicht 1 and 2 offshore wind farms signals that construction will begin on the first phase in 2026 with a capacity of 980 MW. The wind farm will be located approximately 53 miles north of Borkum in the German North Sea. The final investment decision for the second phase was made on a conditional basis pending the receipt of permits.

As part of the decision, Vattenfall has also agreed to re-acquire 49 percent ownership in the project from German chemical company BASF. It acquired the portion of the project in April 2024 but says it has decided to streamline its current portfolio of renewable power projects. BASF however secured an agreement for long-term supply of renewable electricity from the project.

“The Nordlicht offshore wind cluster makes a significant milestone in the path to enabling fossil freedom,” said Helene Biström, Head of Business Area Wind at Vattenfall. “By accelerating Germany’s energy transition and supporting industrial decarbonization, it will provide clean, reliable energy while driving innovation and sustainability in the sector.”

Vattenfall also said it would use low-emission steel for the wind turbine towers at both wind farms to lower their carbon footprint by 16 percent. When completed the full project will produce more than 1.6 GW with the first phase expected to be operational in 2028.

Last week, however, RWE’s CEO Markus Krebber called for Germany to lower its total target for offshore wind due to concerns about efficiency and rising grid connection costs. He expressed concerns about crowding and its impact on maximizing wind yields.

Germany currently has approximately 9 MW installed but the government mapped out an ambitious plan to grow to 70GW by 2045 to ensure its economy achieves climate neutrality. Krebber called for a more realistic target of just over 50 GW but others in the industry quickly rejected his suggestions. It comes as Germany is looking to reinvigorate offshore development and drive the growth of the sector after years of slow growth.