Half of the monopile foundations are now in place at the Thor offshore wind farm site, as Jan De Nul’s heavy-lift vessel Les Alizés installed the 36th of the project’s total 72 monopiles on 15 July.
“With Thor we are constructing Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date. Reaching halfway in the safe installation of the monopiles is a great achievement. My thanks go to all colleagues and partners involved for their contribution. Building a project of this size and scale is a great opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in delivering valuable offshore wind farms around the globe”, said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind.
Once complete in 2027, the 1.1 GW Thor will become Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm and is expected to produce enough renewable energy to supply the equivalent of more than one million Danish households.
The first monopile was installed at the project site in the Danish North Sea, located approximately 22 kilometres off the west coast of Jutland, in April this year.
The monopiles are shipped from the heavy-lift terminal in Eemshaven, the Netherlands, to the Thor site, with five monopiles loaded in one shipment. The secondary steel structures, which include boat landings and internal and external platforms for the foundations, are being transported from the Danish Port of Thyborøn, which is the offshore construction base for Thor.
The 72 monopiles, measuring around 100 metres in length and weighing up to 1,500 tonnes each, and the secondary steel structures are being delivered by Dajin Offshore and EEW SPC.
Until the wind turbines are installed on top of the foundations, the monopiles standing at the offshore site will be protected from the harsh conditions at sea with innovative reused hard covers, according to RWE.
Wind turbine installation is scheduled to start in 2026 and will be carried out from the Port of Esbjerg in Denmark.
Thor will feature 72 Siemens Gamesa’s SG 14-236 DD turbines that will be installed using a jack-up vessel from Fred. Olsen Windcarrier. Of the 72 turbines, 40 will feature recyclable rotor blades, and 36 turbine towers will be manufactured with a significantly lower carbon footprint than usual, according to the developer.
When fully operational in 2027, Thor offshore wind farm will be capable of producing enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of more than one million Danish households. The wind farm’s operations and maintenance plan expects to create 50 to 60 local jobs in a new service building at the Port of Thorsminde. Construction of the new RWE service building is already underway, and is expected to be finalised by the end of 2025.
The Thor offshore wind farm is owned by RWE (51 per cent) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49 per cent), with RWE in charge of the construction and operations throughout the lifecycle of the offshore wind farm.
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