The He Dreiht North Sea wind farm at a glance
The Low German name for EnBW’s third wind farm in the North Sea – He Dreiht or “It Spins” – could hardly be a more apt description: From the end of 2025, the 64 wind turbines with an installed output of 960 MW around 90 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Helgoland will be connected to the grid. As one of the first offshore wind farms to be built without state funding, it will instantly double EnBW’s offshore portfolio of 976 MW.
Following the commissioning of the EnBW Hohe See and Albatros wind farms in the North Sea, the He Dreiht wind farm is taking things into completely different dimensions, with the Vestas V236-15 turbines, each capable of generating an output of 15 MW, being used commercially for the first time. EnBW is thus once again playing a pioneering role on the high seas. With a total installed output of 960 MW, He Dreiht is also currently one of Europe’s largest energy transition projects and will be able to supply 1.1 million households with renewable energy.
At a hub height of 142 meters, the rotor with a diameter of 236 meters sweeps through an area of 43,742 square meters per revolution – equivalent to the area of six football fields. The Dutch-German grid operator TenneT will connect the wind farm to the grid using an offshore converter station and two high-voltage DC export cables. The cables will be laid over a distance of 120 kilometers underwater and 110 kilometers on land.
Offshore technology made in Europe
A wind farm without state funding – how does it work?
As one of the first wind farms to be built without state funding, He Dreiht will receive no feed-in remuneration from the Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbaren-Energien-Gesetz or EEG). EnBW is focusing on PPAs – or power purchase agreements – as a kind of substitute for the classic EEG funding. These long-term purchase agreements between producers and often large-scale industrial customers are becoming a key instrument in the energy transition. The corporate PPAs enable the wind farm operator to generate calculable income, while the electricity users hedge against market price developments by getting their energy from renewable sources. Long-term power purchase agreements for the green energy generated by He Dreiht have already been signed with notable partners such as the operating company of Frankfurt Airport (Fraport), which is purchasing 85 MW, Evonik (150 MW), Salzgitter (50 MW), Bosch (50 MW), Deutsche Bahn (20MW), Telekom subsidiary PASM (100MW) and SHS-Stahl-Holding Saar (50MW).
Cooperation partners on board
A sum of around 2.4 billion euros is being invested in He Drehit. EnBW has secured long-term financing of 600 million euros for the project from the European Investment Bank, one of the world’s largest financial backers of climate change mitigation and environmental projects.
In addition, through the sale of a minority stake of 49.9 percent to a consortium of Allianz Capital Partners on behalf of the Allianz companies, AIP and Norges Bank, highly professional and experienced partners are already on board before construction begins.
Nature and environmental concerns
During the planning and implementation of an offshore wind farm, we feel a special commitment to the environment and nature to ensure that our projects are in harmony with their concerns. This is particularly important in a sensitive habitat such as the German North Sea. An environmental impact assessment was therefore carried out for the He Dreiht offshore wind farm as part of the approval process. A generally understandable, non-technical summary of the results can be found here.
The figures at a glance
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Installed output
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960 MW
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Annual yield
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3.6 billion kWh
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Turbines
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64 Vestas V236-15
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Foundations
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Monopiles
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Hub height
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142 meters
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Rotor diameter
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236 meters
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Swept area
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43,742 square meters = roughly 6 football fields
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Average wind speed
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10,4 m/s
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Water depth
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37.7–40.6 meters
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EnBW offshore wind farms compared
Work has been ongoing since May 2024 to build He Dreiht, Germany’s largest offshore wind farm, situated about 85 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum. At peak times, more than 500 people work on this large construction site in the middle of the sea. Over 60 vessels are involved.
27 August 2024: The final foundations are installed.
August 2024: The operator of the Thialf crane maneuvers the noise mitigation system into the water.
11 July 2024: We’re celebrating halftime: Half of all the foundations have been installed.
July 2024: Crew change: An EnBW colleague waiting for a new team member.
July 2024: The Thialf can only be accessed by helicopter.
July 2024: EnBW colleagues savor the offshore romanticism aboard the Thialf.
27 May 2024: Done: The first monopile and transition piece have been installed. 1 of 64 – the marathon has begun.
27 May 2024: The first monopile is driven into the seabed in the middle of the night. In addition to the noise mitigation system, a double bubble curtain reduces the noise produced by the work.
26 May 2024: The noise mitigation system hanging on the crane shortly before use. It significantly reduces the amount of noise created during the installation of the monopiles for the He Dreiht offshore wind farm.
May 2024: The first monopiles and transition pieces arriving at the He Dreiht construction site.
May 2024: Enjoying the offshore romanticism aboard the Thialf prior to the start of construction.
May 2024: The Thialf, one of the world’s largest floating cranes, has arrived at the construction site and will begin installing the first foundations in the seabed in the next few days.
May 2024: Transporting the transition pieces for the He Dreiht offshore wind farm.
May 2024: Three monopiles and three transition pieces are loaded onto a floating platform in Eemshaven, which is then towed to the construction site by a tugboat.
April 2024: EnBW employees Andrea Albers and Steffi Höper standing in a monopile with a view of the three transition pieces.
April 2024: Supporting role – various people involved in the He Dreiht project back in April 2024 in Bremerhaven. Also pictured: A monopile destined for He Dreiht with a diameter of nine meters and a length of 70 meters.
April 2024: Project manager Hartwig Schnöckel examines the metal, which is ten centimeters thick.
April 2024: The He Dreiht project team visits the site in Bremerhaven where the monopiles are produced.
Compliance
In order to protect the rights of employees, individuals, the public and other stakeholders, it is possible to directly report any incidents or observations to EnBW’s Group-wide office using the process set out here.
In order to be able to identify potential misconduct and avert any associated damage to EnBW, individuals and third parties at an early stage, EnBW has various channels for reporting compliance violations or suspected cases (e.g., white-collar crime and human rights and environmental violations).
Evidence of potential violations of laws and regulations within EnBW’s business field and along its supply chain can be reported via EnBW’s grievance process or whistleblower system.
Further information on compliance activities (including the Code of Conduct) and the existing reporting channels can be found here.