RWE signs agreement for monopile foundations
RWE has signed a capacity reservation agreement with Steelwind Nordenham GmbH (Steelwind), a Dillinger Group company, for up to 300 monopile foundations for its future offshore wind projects in Europe. Through this contract, RWE has secured production capacities in a tight market.
Holger Himmel, CFO RWE Offshore Wind, stated: “Europe needs more offshore wind power to reach its ambitious climate targets. We are making our contribution and resolutely driving forward the expansion of offshore wind in Europe and globally. By signing an agreement with Steelwind, RWE has taken a big step towards securing the necessary production capacity for monopile foundations and delivering our European offshore wind development projects. This type of framework agreement is exactly what we need given the challenging market conditions.”
Steelwind will reserve capacity at its German monopile production plant in Nordenham for 320 000 t of steel, equivalent to approximately 200 monopiles, over a 24 month period starting in 2027. The contract has an option to be extended for a further 12 months and provides an additional capacity of 160 000 t of steel, the equivalent of around 100 monopiles. The monopiles made by Steelwind are to be used at offshore wind farms which RWE plans to commission in Europe from the end of 2029 onwards. In addition, the agreement gives RWE the option to take up additional services from Steelwind, such as secondary steel structure delivery, and the provision of storage and marshalling support.
Jost Backhaus, Managing Director of Steelwind Nordenham, commented: “This framework agreement is yet another forward-looking step – for us as well as for Germany and Europe, whose ambitious climate targets can only be achieved with a major contribution from offshore wind. This large-scale cooperation with RWE also highlights our leading role in the production of offshore monopiles made from Dillinger quality steel.”
Experienced partners in the offshore sector
With the capacity reservation agreement, RWE, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of renewable energies, and Dillinger, Europe’s leading manufacturer of heavy plate steel, are continuing their long-standing collaboration.
RWE is one of the leading players in offshore wind globally. In the past 20 years, the company has put 19 offshore wind farms into operation, including six off the German coast. RWE has set itself the goal of tripling its global offshore wind capacity from 3.3 GW today to 10 GW in 2030.
Steelwind has been manufacturing monopiles and single-piece monopile foundations with unit weights of up to 2400 t for offshore wind farms since 2014. The steel for these highly advanced monopile foundations comes from Dillinger. Together, the companies are driving the expansion of green energy with their products.
Both partners have agreed not to disclose financial details.
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