Germany's biggest offshore wind project delivers first power

Germany's biggest offshore wind project has delivered its first electricity after developer EnBW connected the first of 64 turbines at its 960-MW He Dreiht North Sea wind farm to the grid, it said Nov. 26.

The Eur2.4 billion project ($2.8 billion), which was awarded in a 2017 tender without subsidies, will become Germany's largest offshore wind project when fully commissioned by summer 2026, it said.

"The first kilowatt-hour produced by our He Dreiht offshore wind farm marks a significant milestone for EnBW," said Peter Heydecker, EnBW board member for Sustainable Generation Infrastructure.

EnBW has so far installed 27 wind turbines, with further turbines scheduled to follow over the coming weeks, it said.

The initial end-2025 target, when construction started in spring 2024, already slipped to spring 2026 with the company flagging a few months of delays in its third-quarter report.

According to a Nov. 26 note on EEX Transparency, start of commercial operations is planned for early 2026 with full COD estimated for middle/end-Q2 2026.

Bigger turbines

The project's use of Vestas' 15-MW turbines represents a technological leap that could reshape offshore wind economics in the North Sea, EnBW said, noting that these turbines generate more than six times the energy of EnBW's first offshore wind turbines, 2.3-MW units at its Baltic 1 project, which started in 2010.

Located 110 km west of Heligoland, He Dreiht's strategic positioning in German waters positions it to serve major industrial centers in Northwest Europe, it said.

EnBW has completed the internal wind farm cabling connecting all turbines to a converter platform managed by transmission system operator Tennet. The facility will convert alternating current to direct current for transmission to shore via two high-voltage DC cables, integrating the wind farm's output into Germany's power grid.

The investment includes participation from a consortium of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP and Norges Bank Investment Management, which holds a 49.9% stake in the project and is backed by power purchase agreements.

Orsted's 913-MW Borkum Riffgrund-3, which was also awarded without subsidies in the 2017 tender, has already completed turbine installation in January, but will only fully come online in early 2026 due to the late delivery of the offshore converter station, which is now installed.

First power is still planned for late 2025, according to an Orsted note on EEX Transparency.

The two projects will lift installed offshore wind capacity in Germany to 11 GW after a growth hiatus over recent years, following the switch to tenders.

Since 2023, Germany has awarded development rights to a further 17 GW of projects, with most paying fees for the right to develop the projects, which benefit from a free grid connection.

However, the latest tender in August attracted no bids amid major changes to Germany's offshore wind auction design planned from 2027.

The energy ministry is currently consulting on a reform of the offshore wind law, WindSeeG.

German offshore wind capture prices average about Eur84/MWh in the first three quarters of 2025 compared to a Eur71.43/MWh volume-weighted average in 2024, according to the Platts assessments from S&P Global Energy.

NORTH SEA WIND CONSTRUCTION TRACKER:

(projects with turbines installed)

Source: Compiled by S&P Global Energy (as of November 2025)