Vattenfall has made the final investment decision on the Nordlicht 1 and 2 offshore wind farms. Construction is planned to begin in 2026, with the 1.6 GW Nordlicht 1 set to become Germany’s largest offshore wind project. The wind farms are expected to be operational in 2028.
“The Nordlicht offshore wind cluster makes a significant milestone in the path to enabling fossil freedom. By accelerating Germany’s energy transition and supporting industrial decarbonisation, it will provide clean, reliable energy while driving innovation and sustainability in the sector,” said Helene Biström, head of Business Area Wind at Vattenfall.
Vattenfall will repurchase the shares in the Nordlicht cluster that BASF acquired in 2024. At the same time, but BASF has continued the collaboration by securing access to a long-term supply of renewable electricity for its chemical production in Europe at a time when such additional supply will be needed.
As part of Vattenfall’s sustainability efforts, both wind farms will feature wind turbines towers partially made with low-emission steel, reducing their overall carbon footprint by 16 %.
The final investment decision for Nordlicht 2 has been made on a conditional basis, pending receipt of the necessary permit. The cluster will be located 85 km north of the island of Borkum in the German North Sea, and consist of two separate sites: Nordlicht 1 with a capacity of around 980 MW and Nordlicht 2 with around 630 MW. Once fully operational, electricity production is expected to total around 6 TWh annually.
