Vesterhav Nord

Location

The Vesterhav Nord wind farm is located in the Danish waters of the North Sea, approximately 5.5 to 8.4 kilometers off the West Jutland coast, south of Thyboron.

Developer and Ownership

The Vesterhav Nord wind farm is developed by Vattenfall, a Swedish multinational power company.

Capacity and Turbines

• The Vesterhav Nord wind farm has an installed capacity of 176 MW.
• It consists of 21 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 8.4 MW. The turbines are Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD models.

Turbine Specifications

• Each turbine has a rotor diameter of 167 meters and a swept area of 21,900 square meters.
• The nacelle height of each turbine is 109 meters, and the height of the wingtip can reach up to 193 meters.
• Each turbine blade is 81.4 meters long.

Foundations and Infrastructure

• The wind turbines are installed on monopile foundations, each 77 meters long and weighing around 622 tonnes, at water depths of up to 20 meters.
• The monopiles are topped by transition pieces (TPs), each weighing 260 tonnes and having a height of 22.5 meters.

Grid Connection

• The power generated by Vesterhav Nord is transmitted onshore via 60kV cables.
• The electricity is collected at an onshore substation and then transmitted to the high-voltage substation at Idomlund, where it feeds into the Danish grid. The electricity transmission network is operated by Energinet, the Danish national transmission system operator.

Construction and Timeline

• The permit to commence construction was awarded by the Danish Energy Agency in December 2020.
• The final investment decision was made in December 2021.
• Fabrication work on the transition pieces started in early 2022, and the last transition piece was delivered in April 2023.
• Offshore construction work began in January 2023, with the installation of the first monopile in February 2023 and the completion of the foundations in April 2023.
• Turbine installation for Vesterhav Nord took place in late 2023, and the first power was produced in February 2024. The wind farm commenced full operation in March 2024.

Contractors Involved

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy supplied the wind turbines.
• EEW Special Pipe Constructions fabricated the monopiles.
• Bladt Industries manufactured and supplied the transition pieces.
• DEME installed the foundations.
• Jan De Nul Group was responsible for the transportation and installation of the turbines using the Vole au vent jack-up installation vessel.
• Hellenic Cables designed, manufactured, and supplied the inter-array cables.

Operations and Maintenance

• Operations and maintenance of the wind farm will be carried out from Vattenfall’s service facility at Hvide Sande Port.

Environmental and Community Impact

• The wind farm is expected to generate 1.57 TWh of green power annually, sufficient to meet the energy needs of approximately 380,000 households in Denmark.
• The project involved close cooperation with local residents and authorities, and local residents were given the opportunity to buy shares and become co-owners of the project.

Inauguration

• The Vesterhav Nord and Vesterhav Syd wind farms were officially inaugurated in September 2024 by Danish Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke, Vattenfall’s Head of Wind Helene Biström, and Country Manager for Vattenfall Denmark Anne Mette Traberg.