Eneco Wind is, together with European Energy A/S in the Swan Wind P/S consortia, among the contenders to bid for the right to build the Danish Thor Offshore Wind Farm. In total, six consortia and companies were qualified by the Danish Energy Agency to participate in the tender for Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date.
Thor Offshore Wind Farm is the first of the three offshore wind farms agreed to be established in the Danish Energy Agreement from 2018. The development zone is located in the Norwegian part of the North Sea, some 20 km off the coast at Thorsminde, allows for the development of a wind farm with an installed capacity of 800-1000 MW. This should be enough to supply electricity to the equivalent of around 800,000 Danish households. The total investment costs for Thor are estimated at a total of DKK 15.5 billion.
By 1 December 2020, the Danish Energy Agency received a total of six applications from a broad field of consortia and companies wishing to bid for the task of building the wind farm. All six consortia and companies meet the criteria for financial and technical capacity, and the Agency has prequalified all six of them.
“It is a strong set of players that has applied to be prequalified to bid for building Thor Offshore Wind Farm. This confirms that Denmark remains an attractive country when it comes to investments in offshore wind. Furthermore, the great interest is crucial for a cost-effective green transition” says Deputy Director of the Danish Energy Agency Janni Torp Kjærgaard.”
The other selected applicants are:
- SSE Renewables Offshore Windfarm Holdings Limited and Thor OFW K/S (owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure IV Thor OFW ApS and Andel Holding A/S) on behalf of a not yet established subsidiary
- Thor Wind Farm I/S (owned by RWE Wind Holding A/S and RWE Offshore Wind A/S)
- Total Renewables S.A.S and Iberdrola Renovables Internacional S.A.U on behalf of a not yet established entity)
- Vattenfall Vindkraft A/S on behalf of a not yet established entity
- Ørsted Wind Power A/S
Ready in 2027
The Danish Energy Agency will complete the tender during 2021. The decision on the winner of the tender is expected to be announced at the end of 2021.
The grid connection of the first turbine can take place from 1 January 2025, and Thor must be fully established and connected to the grid by the end of 2027 at the latest. The licence for electricity production is given for 30 years with the possibility of an extension for 5 years. New in this tender is that the grid connection from the wind farm to the shore is included.
