RWE, a German utility, plans to use GreenerTower from Spanish wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa for its 1 GW Thor offshore wind farm off the coast of Denmark. The new wind turbine tower is said to be made of sustainable steel. Steel plates make up over 80 per cent of the towers. The fabrication of the plates uses 63 per cent less carbon than the production of conventional steel. A maximum of 0.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per tonne is permitted while maintaining the steel’s quality and properties.
To decarbonise the steel-making process, the electric furnaces will be fed with green power generated from renewable sources. Other measures include lowering the process’ overall energy intensity and substituting scrap steel for iron ore. These towers made of lower-carbon steel will be used in half of the 72 wind turbines that will power the Thor wind farm. The towers are anticipated to be installed offshore in 2026. Thor offshore wind farm will be located 22km from Thorsminde on the west coast of Jutland in the Danish North Sea. Anticipated to be fully operational by the end of 2027, it will generate enough clean electricity to power more than a million Danish households.
Earlier this month, RWE and Northland Power, the owners of Nordseecluster, chose Hellenic Cables as the preferred provider for the cluster of four offshore wind farms. Nordseecluster would be erected in two parts, Nordseecluster A and B, with RWE and Northland owning 51 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. Phase One has two wind farms with a combined capacity of 660 MW and is currently applying for permits.
