Vattenfall has begun offshore construction at the Nordlicht offshore wind cluster in the German North Sea, installing the first monopile for the Nordlicht I wind farm on 1 July 2026.
The installation starts the offshore construction phase for the Nordlicht cluster, which includes the Nordlicht I and Nordlicht II offshore wind projects. DEME carried out the work and is responsible for transporting and installing the foundations and transition pieces for both projects.
The monopiles are being manufactured by EEW Special Pipe Constructions in Rostock. CSWind is producing the transition pieces in Aalborg. Nordlicht I will have 68 monopile and transition piece foundations. Each monopile is up to 80.5 m long and weighs up to 1,290 tonnes.
Vattenfall tested key offshore work steps on land earlier this year to prepare interfaces, processes and safety measures before construction at sea. Nordlicht II is planned to follow about one year later.
The Nordlicht offshore wind cluster is located about 85 kilometers north of Borkum in the German North Sea. Nordlicht I has a capacity of around 980 MW, while Nordlicht II has around 630 MW.
When fully commissioned, the cluster is expected to generate around 6 TWh of electricity per year. Both wind farms are scheduled to become operational in 2028.
The wind farms will use turbine towers partially made with low-emission steel. Vattenfall said this will reduce their overall carbon footprint by around 16%.
