Work Starts on Denmark's 400-MW Horns Rev 3 Offshore Windfarm

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Construction has started on the 400-megawatt (MW) Horns Rev 3 offshore wind project, the largest windfarm in Denmark.

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) said that it is set to install the first of 49 turbine foundations in the North Sea, located in an 88-square-kilometre (km) area, 34 km off the west coast of the Danish Jutland Peninsula. The project is valued at more than 1 billion euro ($1.13 billion) and will use 49 turbines from Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OMX:VWS) (Aarhus, Denmark) rated at 8.3 MW each--the largest commercial offshore turbine in the world. When commissioned, it will be capable of generating enough power for approximately 425,000 Danish homes.

"Horns Rev 3 is the first of three offshore farms that Vattenfall will construct in Denmark in the coming years," said Gunnar Groebler, head of Vattenfall´s Wind Business. "These wind farms will, in the highest degree, contribute to our strategy to have a fossil-free energy production within one generation."

The foundations consist of 40- to 50-metre 'monopiles' made of steel, with a diameter of 6.5 metres. These will be driven about 30 metres into the seabed to support the 8.3-MW wind turbines that are presently some of the world's most powerful turbines, which are 187 metres high and have a rotor diameter of 164 metres. Vattenfall confirmed that the first four monopiles were loaded onto a special vessel, the Innovation, in the Netherlands before being transported to the site and driven into the seabed. The next four monopiles are being loaded in the Danish Esbjerg Harbour.

Horns Rev 3 is among a number of offshore windfarms that have been awarded via competitive auctions this year, a process that has driven down the cost of wind energy projects significantly. At the start of the year, Vattenfall's aggressive bid beat rivals Dong Energy (Fredericia, Denmark), Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) (Stavangar, Norway) and E.ON AG (FWB:EOAN) (Dusseldorf, Germany) to the contract from the Danish government. It was hailed as Europe's cheapest offshore project by the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building, with lifetime running costs of slightly more 0.10 euro cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. That is 32% cheaper than Denmark's existing 400-MW Anholt offshore windfarm. The government said Horns Rev 3 will save approximately 295 million euro ($333 million) over the next 10-11 years.

This summer, Industrial Info reported on Vattenfall's financial decision to proceed with the project. For additional information, see June 13, 2016, article - Denmark's Largest Offshore Windfarm Gets Go-Ahead. Horns Rev 3 is the first of three Danish wind projects that Vattenfall aims to build. The others are Kriegers Flak and Vesterhav North and South.

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