UPDATED: When the Thor Offshore Wind Farm, which will be Denmark's largest of its kind to date, is completed in 2027, it will be able to produce enough electricity to cover the consumption of one million households.
The preparatory work has been underway since 2021, when the German energy company RWE won the tender. After years of environmental reports and hearings, the company has now received the final establishment permit from the Danish Energy Agency. The agency announced this in a press release.
- Thor makes a significant contribution to achieving the goal of multiplying Denmark's production of green electricity, says the Energy Agency's director, Kristoffer Böttzauw, in the release.
The history of German RWE stretches back more than 100 years and started with coal mining. Nuclear power is also part of the history. But like other energy companies, the production of green energy has begun to take up much more of the strategy.
More offshore wind on the way
With its 72 wind turbines, the offshore wind farm will have a capacity of one GW. In comparison, Denmark currently has 17 established offshore wind farms with a total capacity of approximately 2.7 GW.
- It's not over yet, says the Danish Energy Agency's director, referring to Thor.
- We have already launched a tender that will enable an additional minimum of six GW of offshore wind by 2030.
The Thor Offshore Wind Farm will be located in the North Sea off Nissum Fjord in West Jutland. It is named after Thorsminde, which is the nearest land mark.
When the tender was to stand the test of time, there was such great demand that the Danish state will also end up earning a handsome sum from the project. According to the Danish Energy Agency, the state will receive payment of up to DKK 2.8 billion as electricity is produced, the announcement says.
However, the current tender with the possibility of an additional six gigawatts is in a completely different place, as the world has changed significantly since 2021.
Poorer prospects for income
The prospects for making money from the construction of offshore wind have worsened as a direct consequence of rising interest rates. The higher interest rates have hit companies such as Ørsted, among others.
The Danish Chamber of Commerce has been concerned about whether the historic tender for six gigawatts will end up as a failure. The announcement came after Andel and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners earlier this year dropped a bid to bid for the tender.
The trade organization saw it as part of a trend where the conditions for investments in offshore wind turbines are becoming increasingly worse.
- We can note that there are several developers who have expressed skepticism about the business case within the framework presented in the tender, said Ulrich Bang, the organization's deputy director for climate, energy and environment.
/ritzau/
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