RWE is to acquire the consented 4200MW Norfolk offshore wind zone from Vattenfall for £963m.

The deal for the three phases, Vanguard East, Vanguard West and Boreas, is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2024.

It is subject to regulatory and Crown Estate approval.

RWE said it will resume development of the 1.4GW Boreas as part of the transaction. The project was shelved by Vattenfall earlier this year over cost increases.

The three projects are located 50 to 80 kilometres off the coast of Norfolk in East Anglia.

After 13 years of development, the three development projects have already secured seabed rights, grid connections, Development Consent Orders and all other key permits.

The Norfolk Vanguard West and Norfolk Vanguard East projects are most advanced, having secured the procurement of most key components.

The next milestone in the development of these two projects is to secure a Contract for Difference (CfD) in one of the upcoming auction rounds.

All three Norfolk projects are expected to be commissioned in this decade. 

Sven Utermöhlen (pictured), CEO of RWE Offshore Wind: “With the acquisition of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone portfolio, we are taking over three well-advanced offshore wind projects from Vattenfall.

“I am very happy that we will work with Vattenfall towards facilitating team continuity to ensure the successful handover and further development of the projects. Equally I am looking forward to continuing the work with the supply chain companies. We will deliver these as part of our Growing Green investment and growth programme.“ 

Tom Glover, RWE’s UK Country Chair, added: “The UK has been one of our most important core markets for decades.

“We are delighted that we can now further contribute to achieving the UK’s ambitious build-out targets for offshore wind.

“The timely and efficient deployment of offshore wind is essential to ensure the UK’s domestic energy security, as well as achieving our net zero targets. We very much welcome the UK government’s recent decisions on future offshore wind auctions which provides us with the confidence to invest and represents a positive step in maximising the UK’s clean energy potential, ensuring sustained and lowest prices for consumers and creating good quality jobs.”

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