REpower & RWE Innogy Reach 295-MW Offshore Wind Deal

The turbines will be installed at the Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm, which is expected to be built in the German Bight between 2011 and 2013. The first wind turbines should start running mid-year 2012.

Nordsee Ost is the first project under the 250 turbine framework agreement concluded between REpower and RWE Innogy in February 2009. REpower will supply the nacelles and hubs, after manufacturing them at the company's offshore production facility in Bremerhaven, as well as the rotor blades and towers for the project.

REpower will also be responsible for the start-up of the wind farm and for servicing. Nordsee Ost will be co-funded by the European Commission under the EEPR-program.

"With Nordsee Ost we are realizing a German offshore project that has already received all the required permits. The framework agreement with REpower gives us the flexibility to change our original plans and to start installation somewhat ear- lier, before we receive planning permission for our second German North Sea Project, Innogy Nordsee 1. We'll be investing about a billion Euros in Nordsee Ost. We've already gathered some positive initial operational experience with the REpower 5M turbines at our Belgian offshore project Thornton Bank," said Paul Coffey, member of the management board at RWE Innogy.

With a rated capacity of respectively 5 and 6.15 megawatts, and a rotor diameter of 126 meters, the 5M and 6M are among the biggest and most powerful wind turbines in the world. Since 2004 REpower has set up a total of 26 5Ms and 6Ms both onshore and offshore.