Denmark looks for new offshore wind sites after halting tender

The Danish Energy Agency is searching for alternative areas for offshore wind development, having suspended the tender for a planned project in the Kattegat off the country’s east coast.

These alternative sites include reduced versions of the site in which the planned 1200MW Hesselø Hesselø (1200MW) OffshoreHesselø Bay, Denmark, Europe Click to see full details wind farm could be built and could each support about 1GW of offshore wind capacity.

The agency had suspended the contracts for difference-style tender for Hesselø in June, having discovered soft clay formations at the planned site that may have jeopardised wind farm installation.

It has now started initial assessments for five alternative sites, and is considering what their costs, planning conditions and impacts on the grid and the surrounding environment will be for them.

These sites could be tendered instead of Hesselø if the planned site is deemed to be unsuitable for offshore wind development and if the government approves of the decision.

Denmark is considering:

• A scaled-down Hesselø area plus the area to the south of the current Hesselø site;
• A scaled-down Hesselø area plus the area to the west of the current Hesselø site;
• The sites earmarked for Kriegers Flak 2 in the Baltic Sea;
• A scaled-down Hesselø area plus the northernmost site of the two sites that make up Kriegers Flak 2;
• And the areas south of the planned 1000MW Thor Thor (1000MW) Offshoreoff Central Jutland, Denmark, Europe Click to see full details offshore wind farm, off the country’s west coast, which is currently being tendered.

The Danish Energy Agency expects to announce the results of the Thor tender in early December.