RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm, situated around 35 kilometres north of the island of Heligoland in the German North Sea, has officially started regular operation. With a 342 MW installed capacity, Kaskasi can generate enough green electricity to power more than 400,000 homes. Kaskasi’s 38 wind turbines underwent sequential commissioning over four months. All turbines have been supplying the grid with green electricity since the end of 2022.
The wind farm is now starting regular operation after completing all necessary tests. The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie) approved the wind farm in the spring of 2019. It gave the go-ahead for construction at the end of 2020.
The entire offshore construction process took nine months. As a result, Kaskasi’s investment costs came to about EUR 800 million. Over 100 people from RWE alone worked on putting this project into action. This is together with employees from more than 70 suppliers.
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Kaskasi offshore wind farm in Germany
“Our Kaskasi offshore wind farm was the only one built and connected to the grid in Germany last year,” said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG. “Many more must do the same for Germany to meet its climate goals in the upcoming years. RWE can significantly contribute to achieving these objectives as one of the top offshore wind companies in the world. Our partner and I have just decided on the preferred turbine supplier for the upcoming offshore wind cluster off the German coast. The cluster’s overall power can reach 1.6 gigawatts. We will, of course, also participate in this year’s large German offshore auctions in the summer.”
Three turbines at the Kaskasi wind farm are fitted with the first rotor blades that can be recycled at the end of their usefulness. The materials used to make the Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlade can now be separated again for the first time. This has been made possible by a new resin type with a unique chemical structure. The individual materials’ properties are preserved through this process to be reused. The Sofia wind farm will also have recyclable rotor blades installed. RWE is building it off the northeast coast of the UK.
