Norwegian owner Havfram Wind is continuing to rack up offshore wind farm contracts, meaning more newbuildings will be needed.
The latest deal comes from RWE and Northland Power, which have made the company their preferred supplier to ship turbines for the Nordseecluster project off Germany.
This will involve transport and installation support for 104 15MW Vestas systems for the 1.6-GW plant from 2026.
At the end of March, the company clinched work for two of its new wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) with major renewable energy players.
The Oslo-based shipowner said contracts will begin with Orsted in 2026 and Vattenfall in 2027 off eastern England.
The company has an NG20000X jack-up WTIV on order at CIMC Raffles in China, with three options attached.
The design comes with a 3,200-tonne crane and the latest battery hybrid drive-train technology designed to reduce carbon emissions per MW installed by more than 70% compared with previous designs.
The Nordseecluster is expected to supply green electricity to the equivalent of 1.6m German households every year as of 2029.
Benjamin Miethling, Northland Power’s managing director for the Nordseecluster, said: “We expect to achieve substantial economies of scale and leverage synergies during the development, construction and operation of the four wind farms.”
Efficient procurement
“Our preferred supplier agreement with Havfram Wind, which encompasses all four projects, attests to the efficiency of concentrating activities such as procurement,” he said.
US private equity player Sandbrook Capital, together with Canada’s PSP Investments, has pumped $500m into Havfram in recent months to help finance the newbuilding programme.
Even Larsen, chief executive of Havfram Wind, said: “Signing the preferred supplier agreement for the transport and installation support of the entire lot of wind turbines for a gigantic project like Nordseecluster is proof of our growing position in the market.
“I am proud of the trust RWE and Northland Power have in the Havfram Wind team. Participating in such a project of scale is a milestone for our development as a pure-play offshore wind company.”
