Germany has taken another step toward connecting future North Sea offshore wind power to its electricity grid. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has granted planning approval to BalWin4 and BalWin Delta , the infrastructure that will allow the electricity produced by the Waterekke offshore wind farm, among other things, to be transmitted to land.
The authorization, granted to TenneT Offshore GmbH , covers the BalWin delta converter platform and the BalWin4 high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cable. Together, the system will have a transmission capacity of 2000 MW and will also evacuate the generation from the N-10.2 zone.
The advance is especially relevant for Waterekke because it solves one of the essential pieces for incorporating its future production into the system: the infrastructure needed to collect the electricity generated offshore and transfer it to the onshore grid.
“With the urban planning approval of BalWin4 and BalWin Delta, BSH is laying the foundation for ensuring the reliable transmission to land of offshore wind energy,” said Helge Heegewaldt, Chairman of BSH.
The official also highlighted that these types of high-capacity connections are crucial for the expansion of offshore wind power to contribute to both climate protection and security of supply, as well as providing greater legal certainty for investors.
A 2 GW connection for offshore generation
The BalWin Delta platform will be installed at the northeastern end of the Waterekke offshore wind farm, approximately 117 kilometers from the islands of Borkum and Juist . The facility will also include a helipad for easier access.
The system will allow the alternating current generated by the wind turbines to reach the converter platform via submarine cables. There, it will be transformed into direct current and then transported through BalWin4.
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The use of HVDC technology allows large volumes of electricity to be moved over long distances with lower losses, a feature especially relevant for wind farms located far from the coast.
The cable will have a total length of approximately 272 kilometers between the offshore and onshore converters. Of that length, about 130 kilometers will cross the German Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Sea , under the responsibility of BSH.
Offshore construction will begin in 2026
The schedule already includes the first preparatory work offshore by the end of summer 2026 , while the laying of the HVDC cable is planned to begin in early 2027.
Installation of the converter platform would begin in September 2027 and the full offshore connection is scheduled to become operational during the fourth quarter of 2029 .
If these deadlines are met, Germany will have another 2 GW infrastructure ready to transport new offshore wind generation from the North Sea to land by the end of the decade.
The project will also have to offset its environmental impacts. TenneT Offshore will implement a measure called “Restoration of geogenic reefs in the German North Sea EEZ,” which involves deploying natural stone blocks to restore these ecosystems.
The authorization of BalWin4 and BalWin delta thus clears a critical piece for Waterekke: it is not the approval of the wind farm itself, but the infrastructure that will allow its production and that of the N-10.2 zone to be evacuated to the German electrical system from 2029 onwards.