Denmark awards the 1 GW Thor offshore wind project to RWE

The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) has selected RWE to build the 1,000 MW Thor offshore wind project in the North Sea by drawing lots, after the Agency received several bids with the maximum capacity of 1,000 MW and the minimum price of DKK0.1/MWh (€0.01/MWh) for the project. Since RWE offered the minimum price (nearly 0), the group will have to support grid connection costs (offshore transformer substation, onshore substation onshore and cables up to the transmission grid in Idomlund). In addition, with the anticipatd electricity prices, RWE is expected to have to pay the Danish state DKK 2.8 bn (€376m) between 2025 and 2028. For the first time ever, the state must be paid for authorization to establish an offshore wind project. After 2028, there will be no financial transaction between the state and RWE and the group will operate the project on purely commercial terms, without support, for the rest of its 30-year concession.

The DKK15.5bn (€2.1bn) Thor project is the first of the three offshore wind projects planned in the Danish Energy Agreement from 2018 and it will be the largest offshore wind park in Denmark. The first wind turbine is expected to be connected to the grid as of January 2025 and the entire project must be fully commissioned and connected to the grid by 2027 at the latest. The licence for power generation is given for 30 years with the possibility of extension for 5 years.

The Danish Energy Agency launched the tendering process for the Thor offshore wind project in September 2020 and pre-qualified a total of six consortia and companies in January 2021, namely Ørsted, RWE (Thor Wind Farm project subsidiary), Vattenfall, Swan Wind (owned by Eneco and European Energy), a consortium of Total and Iberdrola, and a consortium of SSE and Thor OFW (owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure IV and Andel Holding).