Vattenfall and Munich utility intend to build joint offshore wind farm in the German North Sea

July 20, 2010

Vattenfall and the Munich municipal utility Stadtwerke München (SWM) have signed an agreement to form a joint venture for realisation of the offshore wind power project DanTysk.

DanTysk offshore wind farm will be constructed 70 kilometres west of the island of Sylt with 80 turbines on 70 square kilometres with water depths up to 30 metres. SWM takes a 49 per cent stake whereas Vattenfall remains majority owner.

Project plans and technical support for construction and operation of the wind farm have reached advanced status. Current negotiations with suppliers for turbines and other components will be closed this autumn. European-wide tenders for foundation and cabling are ongoing. According to the construction plan, the first turbines will be commissioned in 2013. DanTysk wind farm could deliver clean energy to a minimum of 500,000 households, depending on turbine capacity.

The final investment decision of both partners is planned for October 2010. Because of the distance to the coast, a final assessment of commercial feasibility will have to be carried out by then. Furthermore, grid access has to be secured in time and will be provided by the grid operator as part of the joint connection of the Sylt cluster.

“We are looking forward to successfully realising our DanTysk project together with Stadtwerke München,” says Anders Dahl, head of Vattenfall Wind Power. “Wind power is essential for Vattenfall to reach its ambitious target of climate neutral energy generation by 2050, and we want to promote wind power in Germany as well. Since German offshore industry is quite young, political support and clear regulations are very important.”

Dr. Kurt Mühlhäuser, CEO of Stadtwerke München, says that the city of Munich needs strong and reliable partners like Vattenfall to accomplish its overall mission, that Munich by 2025 will be supplied purely with renewable energy from its own generation plants.

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Source: vattenfall, July 20, 2010;