Nordlicht 1 (N-7.2)
Germany's largest offshore wind project. BSH site N-7.2, 85 km north of Borkum, covers 52.63 km squared, water depth 37-39 m.
Status
Under Constructionlifecycle stage
DeliveringHafrok completion outlook
Ownership
Vattenfall — 100% ◆Location
GermanyNorth Sea
Technology
Capacity
980 MW ◆
Turbines
68 × 15 MW ◆
Model
Vestas V236 15-0 ◆
Foundation
Monopile ◆
Site & conditions
Site rights
Seabed rights held ∴
Origination
BNetzA Offshore Wind Auction 2022 (central model, site N-7.2) · 2022 ·
Water depth
37–39 m ◆
Distance from shore
96 km ◆
Wind speed
10.3 m/s @ 150 m ≈
Revenue & grid
Offtake
PPA ◆
Grid
Secured ◆
Connection
TenneT BorWin Kappa (NOR-7-2 grid connection system) ◆
Schedule
FID
Mar 2025 ◆
COD · announced
2028 ◆
COD · Hafrok
2028 expected
Delivery outlook modelled by Hafrok · calibrated on delivered projects
2028
expected year of commercial operation
Chance of delivery
≈98%
estimated chance this project reaches commercial operation
Under Construction projects complete ≈97% of the time on Hafrok's record. A secured offtake contract lifts this one slightly; its size and technical complexity pull a little the other way.
COD outlook
If it completes, when — Hafrok’s probability by year (teal) · the developer’s COD guidance, by date stated (ink)
| Year | Probability |
|---|---|
| 2028 (expected) | 86.7% |
| 2029 | 13.3% |
| Stated | Announced COD |
|---|---|
| 2024-08-29 | 2028 (held since 2023-12-05, 2 statements) |
| 2025-02-06 | 2029 |
| 2026-07-02 | 2028 (held since 2025-03-25, 3 statements) |
How Hafrok got this date
1
Starting point: the last dated milestone
Construction start in
2026. From there Hafrok adds how long similar projects (in established offshore-wind markets) took to reach commercial operation, measured on projects that have delivered.2
Typical timing
Starting point plus the typical remaining time gives a middle estimate of
2028; the faster quarter of similar projects would be done by 2027, the slower quarter not until 2029.3
Result
Expected commercial operation
2028, likely range 2027–2029 (the middle half of outcomes for similar projects). The developer's announced date falls inside that likely range, so the announced date is adopted.4
Year-by-year chart
The bars spread that estimate across years using how similar projects actually slipped against their dates — more often late than early, which is why the bars lean right.
5
Chance of delivery — separate from timing
Start from the share of Under Construction projects that went on to complete — ≈97%, measured on Hafrok's record of delivered and abandoned projects, with an allowance held back where that record cannot yet speak (projects still unresolved, changed market conditions). Based on the measured record — all 257 construction starts with a final outcome reached operation — adjusted down for projects still mid-build and for legal-challenge risk. Then adjust for this project's own evidence — offtake, market, size, technical complexity — to ≈98%, which rates it
Delivering on Hafrok's four-step delivery scale (Delivering · Expected · Prospective · Fragile).Project timeline & ownership verified milestones on the spine · ownership from Hafrok’s transactions record
Origination · 2022-09
BNetzA Offshore Wind Auction 2022 (central model, site N-7.2)
- Awarded to
- RWE Renewables Offshore HoldCo Four GmbH
- Basis
- integrated tender
From the auction results — the round that created the project.
Dashed tick marks today (9 Sep 2026). The ▲ below the spine is the developer-announced COD. The teal diamond on the spine is origination — the seabed award or round that created the project. Every other ownership event lives in the band below: one station per recorded deal, dated at its label, in deal order rather than to calendar scale. Secondary trades appear only at the interchanges; grey lines are parties whose entry or exit Hafrok’s record does not hold.
Announced COD: held (announced 2028, unchanged) · the full guidance history is in the delivery chart above
Revenue & offtake zero-bid award · bilateral offtake
Auction won at €0.00/MWh — no state price support
Award€0.00/MWh ◆
RoundBNetzA Offshore Wind Auction 2022 (central model, site N-7.2) · Sep 2022
Awarded capacity980 MW
The award carries no state price support — revenue rests on bilaterally contracted offtake. Corporate PPA contracts are not yet recorded as structured data; the Revenue & offtake rows carry what the record's sources state.
Installation how the build is going · from satellite counts and Hafrok’s registers
Satellite installation tracker
counted from satellite radar images · a structure standing in the sea on a given date, not a turbine producing power · a guide, not a sourced fact
Installation · counted from satellite
Foundations35 of 68≈51% · first seen 2026-03-08 · 33 seen recently, not yet confirmed
Turbinesnone yet≈0 of 68
Latest count2026-08-31from 129 satellite passes · 1 substation platform left out so the counts compare with the turbine number · anything first seen in the last 60 days is not yet confirmed
Hafrok counts foundations and turbines from satellite radar images (≈): a structure is counted once it is seen standing in the sea, which is not the same as producing power. A structure first seen in the last 60 days is not yet confirmed, because on a single image a freshly set foundation and a ship holding position look alike. Substation platforms are left out so the counts compare with the number of turbines. Rows marked with a dot (·) come from Hafrok’s own registers; a supplier or contract appears only where a source states it — everything else reads “not recorded”, never guessed.
Structures standing over time · count
strong line = confirmed · light line = seen in the last 60 days, not yet confirmed · the chart counts every structure (68 turbines + 1 platform); the table counts turbines only
foundationsturbines up (a substation top being set in place counts here too)
Installation contracts
Foundationsvessel not yet named◇2026-07 → · Underway
Turbinesvessel not yet named◇ContractedSatellite image
Image taken2026-09-06≈Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar satellite, southbound pass
Farm covered100%≈the whole farm lies inside the image
Structures ringed3 confirmed · 33 not yet confirmed≈as counted on 2026-08-31 · the image is newer than the count, so a bright spot without a ring may be a structure not yet counted
Construction ports
PortEemshaven ◆·om · quay 5000 m · crane 50 t · draft 14 m
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026, processed by ESA and by Microsoft Planetary Computer.
Latest satellite radar image · 2026-09-06
a radar picture, not a photograph: the sea is dark, steel is bright · black is beyond the edge of the image
confirmed structure (3)seen recently, not yet confirmed (33)probably a substation platform (a larger structure than a turbine; the register above has the facts)farm boundary
Grid connection
from Hafrok’s substation, converter and cable registers
Offshore platforms · 1
HVDC systemBorWin6·980 MW · ±320 kV · under construction, expected 2027
Export & onshore
Export cableBorWin6 Export Cable·HVDC subsea · 235 km · Nexans · under construction · to Buttel (onshore converter)
Converter supplierOther·BorWin6 · McDermott (Jebel Ali, Dubai + Batam, Indonesia) · for TenneT
Grid connection · ready in time?
when each part of the grid connection is due, against the start date the developer states (black line) and the year Hafrok expects (teal band) · a bar spans the whole year, quarter or month the source gives
installed or in serviceexpected deliveryearlier date that was later moved
Sources & verification
18/19 fields verified · rests on 16 sources (14 primary) · ◆ 12 documents held
◆Verified≈Modelled◇Sourced∴Inferred⌁Convention○Unverified∅No source·Derived
Numbers are stable citation ids — grouped by source class, so they are not consecutive.
Regulator1
[1]
Bundesamt fuer Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH)2024-12◆ Planfeststellungsbeschluss Offshore-Wind…
“Der Planfeststellungsbeschluss umfasst 68 Windenergieanlagen. Rotordurchmesser: 236 m. Nennleistung je WEA: 15 MW. Gruendungsstruktur: Monopile. Traegerin des Vorhabens: Nordlicht Offshore Wind GmbH, …”
supportsConsentTurbinesUnit capacityTotal capacityFoundation+4 more
Operator6
[2]
Vattenfall2023-02-14◆ New German offshore wind farm renamed No…
“The German 980 MW wind project "N-7.2" located in the North Sea has been renamed Nordlicht I. Surface: 52.63 km². Distance to shore: 96 km. Water depth: 37-39 m.”
supportsTotal capacityWater depthDistance from shore
[3]
Vattenfall2025-03-25◆ Vattenfall builds Germany’s largest offs…
“Vattenfall has made the final investment decision on the Nordlicht I and II offshore wind farms. Vattenfall will repurchase the shares in the Nordlicht cluster that BASF acquired in 2024. At the same …”
supportsFinal investment decision
[5]
Vattenfall2026-01-14◆ Germany’s largest wind project is moving…
“Nordlicht I had already reached full FID back in March 2025. Both wind farms are expected to be operational in 2028. Monopile installation for Nordlicht I is scheduled to start in the third quarter of…”
supportsCommercial operationTotal capacity
[8]
Vattenfall2025-01-31◆ Vattenfall and BASF award key contracts …
“Vattenfall and BASF have awarded four major contracts for the Nordlicht 1 and 2 offshore wind farms. BASF holds a 49 percent stake in the projects. The Nordlicht wind farm area is located 85 kilometre…”
supportsBackground
[12]
Vattenfall2024-09-26◆ Havfram contracted for transport and ins…
“BASF holds a 49 per cent stake in the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farm projects. The Nordlicht wind project is being built without state subsidies and, with a total installed capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, rep…”
supportsBackground
[20]
Vattenfall2026-07-02◆ Vattenfall starts offshore construction …
“Both wind farms are scheduled to become operational in 2028. ... Nordlicht II is planned to follow around one year later.”
supportsCOD history
Record source2
[24]
Vattenfall2026-07-02◆ vattenfall-nordlicht-construction-start-…
on July 1st, the first monopile for the Nordlicht I offshore wind farm was installed in the German North Sea... The installation was carried out by DEME, which is responsible for the transport and ins…
supportsVessel — foundation installation
[25]
Vattenfall2024-09-26◆ vattenfall-nordlicht-havfram-2024-09
Havfram will deploy one of its state-of-the-art, low-emission wind turbine installation vessels for the construction of the two wind farms. Havfram's new installation vessels, which are still under co…
supportsVessel — turbine installation
Trade press7
[6]
offshoreWIND.biz2026-01-13
Press report — cited, not quoted; read it at the source link.
supportsTurbinesModelUnit capacity
[9]
[10]
[13]
[14]
Windtech International2026-07-02
Press report — cited, not quoted; read it at the source link.
supportsOffshore construction
[15]
EnergyWatch2026-07-02
“Vattenfall starts offshore construction of Germany's largest wind project ... the first monopile for the Nordlicht I offshore wind farm in the German North Sea [was installed]. 'It's an important step…”
supportsOffshore construction
[16]