Horns Rev is a Danish wind farm project in 3 phases (Horns Rev 1, 2, and 3) located in the Horns Rev reserved area, between the West coast of Jutland, Denmark, and Doggerbank. The 3 phases of the Horns Rev have achieved milestones for Denmark and offshore wind farms globally.
The first phase was the first to apply the learnings from the Tunø Knob wind farm at Bay of Aarhus, Denmark, on an industrial scale–no less in the North sea. In 2002, there was no other wind farm in the North sea.
It innovated on the foundation of large turbines as the first project to use monopile foundations and install transformers offshore rather than onshore.
The second phase was also the first to build quarters for its workers on an offshore platform. Maintenance staff can walk straight to the transformer platform via a walkway for easier maintenance and lesser costs.
Where is the Horns Rev Offshore Wind farm?
The three phases of Horns rev are located in the Horns Rev reserved area, west of Jutland, Denmark, and also a shallow site of sand reef sitting in the North sea.
The sandy reef of Horns Rev is ideal for fixed bottom turbines, as the foundations can reach the seabed between 6 to 19 meters across the area.
The first phase is only 20 kilometers away from the coast, while the third phase is only 25 to 40 kilometers away from the coast of Jutland, Denmark. The second phase, which is 60 km away from Esbjerg harbour, constructed offshore living quarters for less maintenance cost.
Who owns the Horns Rev wind project?
The first phase is a joint venture between Orvsted (formerly Dong energy) and Vattenfall, with Orvsted owning 40% of the venture and the majority 60% with Vattenfall.
The second wind farm phase is owned 100% by Orvsted, and the last phase is 100% owned by Vattenfall.
When was the first power of Horns Rev Farm?
Horns Rev 1 installed the first turbines offshore at an industrial scale. The turbines of this phase were all installed by December 2002.
The second phase was operational in September 2009. Seven years after, considered the biggest offshore wind farm in the world before Thanet offshore wind farm went online in 2010. The last phase generated its first power in December 2018 and got commissioned for entire operations in August 2019.
Is it a fixed or floating foundation?
The project used fixed bottom turbine technology, a milestone for the industry, as the first phase commissioned the first-ever monopile foundations for offshore wind farms.
How much total energy does the project produce?
After the third Horns Rev phase was commissioned, the wind energy generation reached 775 MW in 2019. The three phases of Horns Rev each have 160, 209, and 406.7 MW installed capacity, respectively.
As of February 2021, the second phase had already delivered ten terawatt-hours of power to the grid for millions of households.
For Horns Rev 1, it passed the 100 gigawatt-hour milestone in 2015, which is 13 years after it started operations.
Horns Rev 3, meanwhile, can generate an estimate of 1,700 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually for 425,000 Danish homes.
How many turbines?
The total number of turbines in the Horns Rev is 220. Each phase has a specific number of turbines installed, unique specifications, and capacity.
The first phase of Horns Rev installed 80 turbines; the second phase 91, and the new wind farm in 2019, the third phase, 49 turbines.
| Phase | Capacity | Turbines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 160 MW | 80 |
| 2 | 209 MW | 91 |
| 3 | 406 MW | 49 |
Who makes the turbines?
Vestas is the turbine supplier for the first and third phases, Horns Rev 1 and 3. As the first phase was a significant step for the Danish government and Europe for offshore wind farms, it is substantial that a Danish manufacturer also produced the turbines for the first phase.
Vestas A/S was also the manufacturer for the industry-first Tunø Knob wind farm in Denmark, a small-scale application of grid-connected offshore wind farm commissioned in 1995.
Siemens produced the turbines for Horns Rev 2.
What are the turbine models in Horns Rev?
Vestas A/S designed and manufactured the turbines for the first and third phases. The wind turbines for the first phase were 80 Vestas V80 with a 2MW capacity, while the second phase had a wind power capacity of 2.3 MW. Siemens used 91 SWP2.3-93 wind turbines in the Horns Rev 2.
Lastly, the third phase installed 49 V164-8MW turbines from Vestas, which are optimized to have an 8.3 MW capacity.