TotalEnergies joins RWE in German offshore wind push

Acquisition of half of two North Sea sites brings French oil giant's capacity in Germany to 5.5GW

Sven Utermöhlen, RWE offshore wind chief.
Sven Utermöhlen, RWE offshore wind chief.Photo: RWE

RWE will sell a 50% stake in two recently won offshore wind areas with a capacity for 2GW each to TotalEnergies – boosting the French oil major’s capacity in the German North Sea to 5.5GW.

The companies have agreed to jointly develop the North Sea two areas (N-9.1 and N-9.2), which the German utility had been awarded at the country’s most recent mega offshore wind tender in early August.

“As a trusted partner in our Dutch offshore wind project OranjeWind, TotalEnergies shares our ambition to further drive the growth of offshore wind energy to accelerate the energy transition in Germany and beyond,” RWE Offshore CEO Sven Utermöhlen said.

“Our RWE teams will bring their many years of experience and in-depth knowledge of the offshore wind industry to successfully develop and build the two wind farms.”

Olivier Jouny, senior vice president for renewables at TotalEnergies, added: “This new partnership contributes to our integrated development in the German electricity market, the largest in Europe, and will enable TotalEnergies to provide green electrons to decarbonise the country’s electricity and industry.”

TotalEnergies earlier this year in June had already been awarded the 1.5GW N-11.2 zone in the German North Sea, although RWE pulled out of a consortium for that area, saying it was economically ‘unviable’. The French oil company last year had secured a further 2GW of German offshore wind areas, after the latest deal bringing its total acreage for wind in the German North Sea to 5.5GW, which should allow for economies of scale.

The N-9.1 and N-9.2 sites RWE and TotalEnergies now plan to develop together are located at some 110 to 115 kilometres north-west of the island of Borkum. The companies expect to take a final investment decision on N-9.1 in 2027 and on N-9.2 in 2028.

Subject to the necessary permits and confirmation of grid connection, offshore construction could start in 2029 and 2030, with full commissioning planned for 2031 and 2032 respectively.

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Published 7 October 2024, 08:44Updated 7 October 2024, 10:37
TotalEnergiesRWEMarketsEuropeGermany