Hofor awaits DEA decision for Denmark's 1st offshore wind repowering

Danish utility Hofor is awaiting a decision by the authorities before it can launch Denmark's first offshore wind repowering project.

The company is seeking to extend the life of the 10 turbines it owns at the 40-MW Middelgrunden wind farm near Copenhagen. It has been operational for 20 years.

Yesterday, Hofor announced that R&D Engineering has completed an initial analysis, which showed the towers and foundations are in good shape. With minor efforts, it would be possible to extend the operating life by at least 10 years for the towers and 20 years for the foundations. Replacing or revamping the nacelles would thus be the main focus of the repowering project.

The wind farm has a generation license for 25 years, or until 2026. The repowering project can happen only if the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) approves an extension of this license for a sufficiently long period. Hofor said that getting five to 10 years may not justify the repowering expense.

If all goes well, the utility could start works on the project in 2022.

The 20-turbine Middelgrunden wind farm was built in 2001 by Copenhagen Energy, now Hofor, and local wind cooperative Middelgrundens Vindmøllelaug. Copenhagen Energy in 2003 sold its 10 turbines to Energie E2, which later became part of Ørsted. In 2018, Hofor bought the 10 Bonus76 turbines back.

Middelgrunden currently produces about 90 million kWh of power annually, or as much as 30,000 local households consume.

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