Danish Dong Energy has signed a conditional contract with MHI Vestas Offshore Wind for the delivery of V164-8.0 MW turbines for the 450MW Borkum Riffgrund 2 project in Germany.
Located in the North Sea around 57km away from the north-west coast, the completed project is expected to meet the power requirements of nearly 460,000 German households.
MHI Vestas Offshore Wind had been selected as the preferred bidder for the project in June.
The agreement, which has been signed after successful negotiations between the two firms, acts as confirmation of the deal; however, it is conditional upon Dong making a final investment decision.
Dong Energy senior vice-president Mats Vikholm said: "Using larger and more efficient wind turbines is an integral step on our way to reducing the cost of electricity, thereby making offshore wind even more competitive."
The project is expected to start generating power by the end of the year.
It is located next to the 312MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm, which will be commissioned later in the year.
Dong Energy Wind Power executive vice-president Samuel Leupold had earlier said: "If we should decide to build Borkum Riffgrund 2, it would be our fourth wind farm project in Germany underlining our big commitment to that market."
The firm has already installed 3GW of offshore wind equipment, and intends to install around 6.5GW in total by 2020.
Dong Energy has recently also acquired the Hornsea zone in the UK and the project rights to offshore Hornsea Project Two and Three, which have a potential 3GW wind capacity.
Image: The German offshore wind facility is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year. Photo: courtesy of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S.
