Today, each of the largest offshore wind turbines - with a wingspan of over 164 meters and a capacity of 8 MW - produce almost twice as much energy as the 11 small wind turbines of Vindeby – the world’s first offshore wind farm, built in 1991 – combined. In fact, just one rotation of the largest offshore wind turbines will produce enough power to cover a household's power consumption for 29 hours.
But technological advances and cost reductions are not just about the ongoing innovation of turbines and components by our suppliers – it’s also about us as a developer constantly improving installation methods, foundation designs, logistics and digitalization in the offshore wind industry.
All these things combined enable the construction of the large-scale offshore wind farms, such as Borssele 1 & 2 in the Netherlands or Walney Extension in the UK, which will supply clean electricity to millions of households and businesses for years to come.
All these things combined enable the construction of the large-scale offshore wind farms, such as Borssele 1 & 2 in the Netherlands or Walney Extension in the UK, which will supply clean electricity to millions of households and businesses for years to come.
Reducing offshore costs
Significant advances within offshore wind power technology, result in markedly lower costs.In 2012, we set an ambitious target of reaching a price of 100 EUR per MWh in new offshore wind projects awarded by 2020. This ambition was picked up by the whole industry, and in close cooperation with our suppliers we reached this goal four years ahead of time.
With the Borssele 1 & 2 offshore wind farm, awarded in 2016, and built by 2020, the costs of electricity will be 78 EUR per MWh. Borssele 1 & 2 will be the first time that electricity from an offshore wind farm crosses the 100 EUR per MWh mark. The cost of offshore wind energy has continued to come down and today offshore wind energy is cheaper than new generation capacity based on fossil fuels.
We will continue our cost leadership in the coming years to further accelerate the adoption of renewable energy from offshore wind.