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Borkum Riffgrund 3 zero-subsidy offshore wind farm enters commercial operation in Germany

Borkum Riffgrund 3 zero-subsidy offshore wind farm enters commercial operation in Germany

Built World

Ørsted and Nuveen's 913 MW project, won with €0/MWh bids in 2017, now powers German industry under long-term corporate contracts.

August 31st, 2026: Commercial operation begins

Overview

Updated Sep 1

Borkum Riffgrund 3 began commercial operation on August 31, 2026, adding 913 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind to Germany's grid. The farm sits 72 kilometers off the North Sea coast and is one of Germany's largest operating offshore wind projects.

The milestone settles a bet placed nine years earlier. Ørsted won two of the three sites in Germany's 2017 offshore wind auction by bidding €0 per megawatt-hour — no government subsidy, just wholesale market prices. That was a first for offshore wind, and Borkum Riffgrund 3 is the proof it could work.

The farm connects to shore through TenneT's DolWin5 grid link, with no offshore substation of its own. Its output is already sold: Amazon, BASF, Covestro, REWE Group, and Google hold power purchase agreements (PPAs) covering 786 of the 913 MW, for terms of 10 to 25 years.

For Germany, the project is a working answer to the energy security question: domestic renewable power for industry and households. For Ørsted, it's the sixth operational German wind farm and a proof point for its 8.1 GW construction program.

Why it matters

913 MW of subsidy-free offshore power now flows to German industry; its performance will test whether zero-subsidy wind becomes the national standard.

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Key Indicators

913 MW
Installed capacity
One of Germany's largest operating offshore wind farms.
83
Turbines installed
Siemens Gamesa 11 MW turbines, all installed by January 2025.
786 MW
Capacity under corporate PPAs
Amazon (350), BASF (186), Covestro (100), REWE Group (100), Google (50); contracts run 10-25 years.
€0/MWh
Ørsted's winning bid, 2017 auction
Zero-subsidy bids for OWP West and Borkum Riffgrund West 2, two of the farm's three sites.
2.5 GW
Ørsted's German offshore wind capacity
Roughly 25% of Germany's installed offshore wind; enough for about 2.5 million households.

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People Involved

PH
Patrick Harnett
Chief Construction Officer, Ørsted
Oversees Ørsted's 8.1 GW construction pipeline
 Josche Muth
Josche Muth
Country Manager, Ørsted Germany
Leads Ørsted's German business, now about 2.5 GW of offshore wind
 Felix Gschnell
Felix Gschnell
Programme Director, Borkum Riffgrund 3, Ørsted
Delivered the project through construction and commissioning
 Jordi Francesch
Jordi Francesch
Global Head of Asset Management, Clean Energy, Nuveen Infrastructure
Represents co-owner Nuveen on Borkum Riffgrund 3

Organizations Involved

Ørsted A/S
Ørsted A/S
Renewable energy developer
Developer and co-owner of Borkum Riffgrund 3; Germany's largest offshore wind operator

Danish company that develops, builds, and operates offshore wind farms across Europe, North America, and Asia.
NI
Nuveen Infrastructure
Infrastructure investment manager
Co-owner of Borkum Riffgrund 3

One of the world's largest infrastructure investment managers, with more than $40 billion in assets under management.
TenneT TSO GmbH
TenneT TSO GmbH
Transmission system operator
Owns and operates the DolWin5 grid connection for Borkum Riffgrund 3

Dutch-German grid operator that builds and runs offshore connections in the North Sea.
Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)
Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)
German energy regulator
Ran the 2017-2018 auctions that awarded the farm's sites

Germany's federal network agency, which regulates energy markets and runs renewable energy auctions.
SG
Siemens Gamesa
Wind turbine manufacturer
Supplied the 83 turbines at Borkum Riffgrund 3

Wind turbine maker whose 11 MW machines power Borkum Riffgrund 3.

Timeline

April 2017 August 2026

7 events Latest: August 31st, 2026 · 1 week ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Commercial operation begins

    Latest Milestone

    Ørsted and Nuveen declare the 913 MW farm fully operational, one of Germany's largest offshore wind projects.

  2. First power delivered

    Milestone

    Borkum Riffgrund 3 sends its first electricity to the German grid.

  3. Grid link commissioning begins

    Infrastructure

    Commissioning of the DolWin5 connection starts; its earlier delays pushed the farm past its original schedule.

  4. Grid platform installed

    Infrastructure

    TenneT completes installation of the DolWin epsilon converter platform, the heart of the DolWin5 grid connection.

  5. All 83 turbines installed

    Construction

    Installation of the 83 Siemens Gamesa turbines, each rated 11 MW, wraps up.

  6. Third site secured

    Auction

    Ørsted wins Borkum Riffgrund West 1 in Germany's second offshore wind auction, completing the portfolio that becomes Borkum Riffgrund 3.

  7. Ørsted bids zero for German offshore sites

    Auction

    In Germany's first offshore wind auction, Ørsted wins OWP West and Borkum Riffgrund West 2 with €0/MWh bids — a world first for offshore wind.

Scenarios

1

Borkum Riffgrund 3 hits first-year output targets

Likely Resolves by Q1 2028

Discussed by: Ørsted's annual reporting; Deutsche WindGuard offshore wind statistics

The farm is generating, and its first full-year numbers will test the zero-subsidy economics. North Sea offshore wind farms typically run at capacity factors of 40-50%. If Borkum Riffgrund 3 lands in that range, its 10-to-25-year corporate contracts should cover costs with no subsidy.

2

Zero-subsidy bidding becomes the German offshore wind default

Likely Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Bundesnetzagentur auction results; Recharge News coverage of German offshore auctions

Borkum Riffgrund 3 is the largest demonstration that German offshore wind can be built without subsidies. German auctions have already moved past zero: in 2023, developers paid the state for the right to build. Germany's target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 means more auctions, and the results will show whether the zero-subsidy model extends.

3

Grid congestion curtails Borkum Riffgrund 3 output

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: TenneT grid reports; BNetzA monitoring of offshore curtailment

The farm's own delay traced to the DolWin5 grid connection, and German offshore wind faces a broader constraint: moving North Sea power to industrial demand in the south. If congestion forces TenneT to curtail the farm, its contracted output and Ørsted's revenue fall short of plan.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2002

Horns Rev 1, the first large-scale offshore wind farm (2002)

Denmark's Horns Rev 1 put 80 turbines and 160 MW in the North Sea, the world's first large-scale offshore wind farm. Danish utility Elsam, later absorbed into what is now Ørsted, built it.

Then

Early gearbox failures forced months of repairs and raised doubts about offshore wind reliability.

Now

The fixes worked, and Horns Rev helped seed the European offshore wind industry.

Why this matters now

The company that proved offshore wind at Horns Rev went on to bid zero for Borkum Riffgrund 3, moving from proving a technology to selling its power at market price.

April 2010

Alpha Ventus, Germany's first offshore wind farm (2010)

Twelve turbines with 60 MW of capacity stood 45 kilometers north of Borkum island. Built as a government-supported test bed, Alpha Ventus proved German North Sea conditions could support commercial wind power.

Then

The farm demonstrated the technology and trained the supply chain that later built Germany's offshore fleet.

Now

Its success helped justify Germany's shift from feed-in tariffs to competitive auctions, the system that produced Borkum Riffgrund 3.

Why this matters now

Borkum Riffgrund 3 sits in the same waters where Germany's offshore wind industry began. The path runs from a subsidized 60 MW pilot to an unsubsidized 913 MW farm.

2018–2023

Hollandse Kust Zuid, first subsidy-free offshore wind farm (2023)

Vattenfall won the Dutch sites with zero-subsidy bids in 2018 and built a 1.5 GW farm in the North Sea. When fully commissioned in 2023, it was widely described as the world's first subsidy-free offshore wind farm.

Then

The farm proved zero-subsidy offshore wind could be financed and built at scale.

Now

It became the template for the model, confirming that Ørsted's 2017 German zero bids were not an outlier.

Why this matters now

Borkum Riffgrund 3 was bid first but commissioned later. Together the two farms show the zero-subsidy model can be repeated.

Sources

(6)
Ørsted A/S (official press release) Investegate GreentechLead Power Technology IndexBox EQS News