RWE signs lease agreements for four offshore wind farm extensions in UK

RWE Renewables and its project partners have been awarded lease agreements from the UK Crown Estate to develop four offshore wind farm extension projects in British waters.

As per the agreement, RWE Renewables and its partners will extend the Gwynt y Môr, Galloper, Rampion, and Greater Gabbard offshore wind farms, potentially adding around 1.8GW capacity. RWE Renewables’ pro-rata share of the portfolio will amount to around 900MW.

Awel y Môr will be a 576MW extension project of the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm built off the coast of North Wales in the Irish Sea. RWE Renewables holds a 60% share in the project.

The Galloper extension in the North Sea, which has been named as Five Estuaries will have a capacity of up to 353MW. RWE Renewables will hold a share of 25%.

North Falls, the Greater Gabbard extension will add up to 504MW of new capacity. RWE Renewables holds a 50% share in the project to be built in the southern North Sea.

The Rampion 2 development project to be located in the English Channel off the coast of Sussex, will add new capacity of up to 1.2GW with the German renewable firm holding a 50.01% share in the project.

RWE Renewables said that it will also look to obtain the approval of the Crown Estate for developing the remaining seabed option at the original Zone 6 of the Rampion offshore project. Once approved, the project will be combined with the Rampion 2 extension.

RWE Renewables and partners secure lease to develop extensions for four offshore wind farms in the UK. Photo courtesy of RWE.

Sven Utermöhlen – chief operating officer of RWE Renewables global offshore wind said: “As we want to further expand our offshore wind business, I am absolutely delighted to announce that we have prepared the ground for further growth.

“Together with our project partners, we have secured the Agreements for Lease with The Crown Estate for the development of four offshore wind farm extension projects in the UK. Furthermore, we decided to develop remaining seabed leases at our Rampion project site.

“With a combined RWE pro rata share amounting potentially to around 1.3 gigawatts, this brings a massive boost to our project pipeline and strengthens RWE’s position as being the second biggest player in offshore wind globally.”

According to RWE Renewables, all the extension projects are in very early stages and are targeted to be fully operational by the end of 2030.