Massive XXL foundations set for Orsted North Sea 'dream scenario' wind debut
Danish utility to use 100-metre monopiles for Gode Wind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 3 arrays in German waters
Orsted has ordered extra-large offshore wind monopiles measuring up to 100 metres from Steelwind Nordenham and Bladt Industries for two projects in the German North Sea that combined will have more than 1.1GW in capacity.
Steelwind will supply 66 and Bladt 41 monopiles for the 242MW Gode Wind 3 (including for the foundation of the project’s offshore substation) and the 900MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 arrays, respectively.
Orsted has also secured call-off rights with Bladt and Steelwind for further volume for other projects in and increasingly tight market for offshore wind components.
Rising steel prices have put an increasing pressure on wind turbine and foundation manufacturers at a time the global offshore wind sector is expanding rapidly.
"Orsted has secured call-off rights with Bladt and Steelwind for foundations at future projects to ensure access to a vital component for its growing pipeline of offshore wind farms," analysts at Clarkson Platou said in a comment.
"To our knowledge, this is a new type of agreement that is emerging due to fears of scarcity or rising prices amidst offshore wind's rapid growth and the commensurate pressure on manufacturing capacity, which requires significant investment and years of development to deliver additional volumes.
Anders Søe-Jensen, CEO of Bladt said: “The decision to make a large investment in expanding our production facilities was the right move. It’s a dream scenario for us to win the orders and start full production when our facilities are up and running in 2022.”
“The cooperation with Orsted for the construction of Borkum Riffgrund 3 and Gode Wind 3 proves that Steelwind Nordenham has established itself in the market as a reliable manufacturer of high-quality XL monopiles,” said Steelwind Nordenham managing director Andreas Liessem. The company is a unit of German steelmaker Dillinger Hüttenwerke.
To carry increasingly large offshore wind turbines, monopile foundations have grown significantly in size over the past decade, and now have a diameter of almost 10 metres, and weigh 1,200 tonnes or more.
Both projects will feature Siemens Gamesa 11MW offshore wind turbines. Subject to Orsted’s final investment decisions, Gode Wind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 3 are slated to be operational by 2024 and 2025 respectively.
"Our global pipeline of offshore wind projects allows us to sign strategic volume contracts with the supply chain to ensure that key components are available to us when we need them,” Orsted chief operating officer Richard Hunter said.
“At the same time, by placing large volume orders, we can give suppliers the visibility they need to invest in their manufacturing facilities and build long-term capacity, which will benefit the whole industry and thereby benefit the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy."