Danish developers scout for brainpower for three nearshore wind projects

HOFOR and Lillebælt Vind have issued a few calls for tender prequalification over the past several days as part of their plans to build offshore/nearshore wind farms in the Øresund and Lillebælt areas in Denmark.

The two Danish companies are currently jointly prequalifying engineering consultancies and legal advisors through three calls published in October, with the deadline for applying set for 9 November and 2 November, respectively. The contracts to be awarded, valued at around € 88 million in total, will be signed for a period of eight years with the selected engineering consultancies and for six years with the legal advisor, according to the invitations to prequalify.

The procurement covers three wind farms being developed by HOFOR and Lillebælt Vind, including HOFOR’s Aflandshage and Nordre Flint wind farms in Øresund (the Sound) and Lillebælt Vind’s wind farm Lillebælt Syd in the Lillebælt strait.

Four engineering consultancies are sought to be prequalified to support the wind energy projects by performing commercial and strategy-oriented assignments targeting projects’ commercial conditions, including being the lead consultant on project progress. Just as many will be prequalified to provide wind turbine technical advice for the offshore and nearshore projects, including preparation of tender material for purchasing wind turbines.

Three companies will be prequalified for a tender under which a framework agreement for the provision of legal services will be awarded. The framework agreement will give HOFOR access to legal assistance for the Nordre Flint and Aflandshage offshore wind farms, with an option for Lillebælt Vind to join the framework agreement for the implementation of its nearshore project. The scope of work includes legal duties within the general areas of law: EU procurement law, construction law, financing, energy law (including the Renewable Energy Act), transport law and environmental law.

The Lillebælt Syd (Lillebælt South) wind farm is proposed to be built between the islands of Als and Funen.

In June 2017, the Danish Energy Agency granted a permit to Sønderborg Forsyningsservice A/S to carry out preliminary site investigations for the project in the area, after which the company issued a tender for the work to be done in 2018. At the end of 2018, the developer submitted a preliminary environmental impact assessment (EIA) to the Danish Energy Agency, prepared by COWI.

In mid-2019, Sønderborg Forsyning established the Lillebælt Vind project company, which filed an updated version of its draft EIA to the DEA that summer, following DEA’s comments as part of the ongoing approval process.

“The update did not change the report’s conclusions. The assessment is still that for almost all areas and sub-areas, the impacts are small or can be significantly reduced, or completely avoided with remedial measures”, the company stated on its website in August 2019, after which there were no further updates on the project’s progress through the state system.

The nearshore wind farm is planned to be built 4 kilometres off the Danish coast, at its closest point, and to comprise 4 MW or 8 MW wind turbines that will add up to a total capacity of up to 160 MW.

Lillebælt Syd’s wind turbines are planned not to be erected in a typical wind farm array layout, since the developer aims to avoid placing the turbines in rock reefs.

The wind farm was named Lillegrund in 2012, when the area was designated by the Danish government’s Offshore Wind Committee. The area was then significantly larger than the area now included in the feasibility study.

In October 2019, the Danish Energy Agency invited input from the public and relevant authorities on the EIA report for HOFOR’s Aflandshage and Nordre Flint offshore wind projects, after the company got the green light in March of the same year to perform preliminary investigations for feasibility studies.

HOFOR is expected to submit its EIA, including the results of the feasibility studies, to the DEA by the end of this year.

In connection with the feasibility studies, two public hearings are being held, with the first one held last year, while the second hearing is expected in early spring 2021.

Should all go according to plan and if the Danish authorities determine that the company can install wind turbines at one or both locations, HOFOR expects the construction to be underway in 2023-2024 and to put the wind farm(s) in operation by 2025.

HOFOR (The Greater Copenhagen Utility) expects to offer a part of the ownership to the public if the projects move forward to realisation.  

Namely, the offshore wind farms will be covered by the Purchase Rights Scheme in the Danish Renewable Energy Act, and at least 20 per cent of the ownership could be offered to local citizens and other interested parties. This would be done through a public tender that would be held in the 2023-2024 period, at the same time as the wind farms would be under construction.

It is worth mentioning that the purchase right scheme, which opens the possibility for the local residents to become co-owners, applies for wind turbines located less than 16 kilometres off the coast.

The Nordre Flint offshore wind farm will be located in an offshore area starting 12 kilometres east of Copenhagen.

The project is proposed to have a capacity of 160 MW with between 16 and 40 turbines installed. According to currently available information, HOFOR is considering using 4 MW to 10 MW wind turbines, where the latter option would allow for installing only 16 units.

The Aflandshage project, which would feature wind turbines of the same output range, is located 10 kilometres from the southern tip of Amager. The wind farm is expected to comprise between 25 and 63 units to make up its planned installed capacity of 250 MW.

According to HOFOR, the advantage of its coastal (nearshore) offshore wind farms, along with the option for the local citizens to buy project stakes, is also the possibility of integration with the energy infrastructure in Copenhagen. In this case, the nearshore wind turbine power can, for example, support green district heating via electrification of large heat pumps.