A majority in the Danish Parliament (Folketing) has approved the development of Danish Near Shore wind farms, enabling Vattenfall to proceed with plans to build the 350 MW project off Denmark’s west coast.
Near-shore projects are offshore wind farms built on a distance up to approximately 10 kilometers from the coast. In comparison, Vattenfall’s wind farm at Horns Rev 3, which is currently being built, is located 12 kilometers from the coast.
On Sept. 12, the Danish authorities announced that Vattenfall had won the tender to develop and build wind farms on two sites off the west coast of Jutland. The winning bid was EUR0.05/kWh.
“We are really pleased that the government and a majority in the Folketing has now confirmed that we can start building these near-shore wind farms. This means that Vattenfall will further strengthen its position as a leading wind power producer in Denmark. At the same time, it means more affordable renewable electricity for the Danish population and a quicker route to making Denmark independent of fossil fuels,” says Magnus Hall, CEO and president of Vattenfall.
Since the result of the tender was made public in September, there has been political debate in Denmark as to whether these near-shore projects should be approved. The main argument was that building wind farms so close to shore would disturb the view of the horizon.
The next step for Vattenfall will be to initiate the procurement of the main components and services, including wind turbines, foundations and cables, as well as agreements with installation ships, so that the construction phase can start as planned in 2019.
