TORONTO, ON and HAMBURG, GERMANY--(Marketwired - December 16, 2015) - The first steel foundation, or monopile, for the 332MW Nordsee One offshore wind project was successfully installed ahead of schedule on December 15, 2015. The wind farm, located in German territorial waters in the North Sea, will consist of 54 Senvion turbines and is owned by Northland Power Inc. (85%) and RWE Innogy GmbH (15%).
"Today's accomplishment is very exciting for everyone involved," said Pierre Lestienne and Tim Kittelhake, the joint managing directors of the project. "Achieving this milestone reflects months of effort and progress, and was a result of the hard work and cooperation of our team and project partners."
Nordsee One has contracted installation of the monopiles from GeoSea, an international specialist in offshore marine engineering with experience on more than 30 offshore wind projects. Installation will continue through the remainder of 2015 and into 2016. The monopiles were produced by Ambau, an experienced manufacturer of towers and foundation structures for the offshore and onshore wind energy sector. They are being installed in water depths ranging between 25 and 29 meters.
Nordsee One is located 40 kilometers north of Juist Island, in an area with shallow water and high wind speeds -- ideal conditions for an offshore wind farm. It is expected to be operational in 2017, and to generate over 1,300 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to meet the needs of 400,000 German households.
"Thanks to the skill and effort of our project team, we reached this important milestone ahead of time and on budget," said John Brace, CEO of Northland. "We will continue to work closely with all of our partners in the coming months, and look forward to providing additional updates as we move further towards completion of the project."
"We are very pleased to announce this important milestone for the project. Additionally, this is another step to strengthen our position under the TOP5 in the European offshore-market," explained Peter Terium, CEO of RWE AG. "After completing and commissioning our first wind farm off the German coast -- Nordsee Ost -- we are now combining our expertise and experience with Northland to build the next large offshore project in the German North Sea. This is consistent with the RWE Group strategy of developing strong and reliable partnerships."
Offshore wind development is a key feature of Germany's 'Energiewende' program, the official policy supporting renewable power generation with a stated goal for offshore wind capacity of 6,500 MW of installed capacity by 2020 and 15 GW by 2030.
ABOUT NORDSEE ONE
The 332 MW Nordsee One offshore wind project is situated approximately 40km north of the Island of Juist, in German territorial waters. With a total area of approximately 41km², the project's 54 turbines will be located in one of the most favourable locations (high wind speed, < 30m water depth, travel times within one-day window) in the North Sea. The project is owned by Northland Power Inc. (85%), and RWE Innogy GmbH (15%).
ABOUT NORTHLAND
Northland is an independent power producer founded in 1987, and publicly traded since 1997. Northland develops, builds, owns and operates facilities that produce 'clean' (natural gas) and 'green' (wind, solar, and hydro) energy, providing sustainable long-term value to shareholders, stakeholders, and host communities.
The Company owns or has a net economic interest in 1,338 MW of operating generating capacity and 1,032 MW (692 MW net to Northland) of generating capacity under construction, including a 60% equity stake in Gemini, a 600 MW offshore wind project, and an 85% equity stake in Nordsee One, a 332 MW offshore wind project, both located in the North Sea; as well as a 100 MW onshore wind farm in Grand Bend, Ontario currently in construction.
Northland's cash flows are diversified over four geographically separate regions and regulatory jurisdictions in Canada and Europe.
Northland's common shares, Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3 preferred shares and Series B and Series C convertible debentures trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols
(TSX: NPI)
(TSX: NPI.PR.A)
(TSX: NPI.PR.B) (TSX: NPI.PR.C) (TSX: NPI.DB.B) (TSX: NPI.DB.C) respectively.
ABOUT RWE INNOGY
RWE Innogy pools the renewable energy expertise and power plants of the RWE Group. We plan, build and operate facilities generating power from renewable energies. Our goal is to vigorously grow renewable energies in Europe. To reach this goal partnerships play an important role. In this way we can realize the energy change together. We are especially strong in our home market in Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland.
We set a strong focus to expand the already strong core businesses of onshore and offshore wind power as well as to strengthen the generation from hydroelectric power. In these technologies we offer extensive high-class services along the entire value chain to third parties. We are also pushing ahead with the development of technologies for the future via our Research & Development activities. In addition, we support innovative companies in their start-up and growth phase by providing short-term finance. www.rweinnogy.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains certain forward-looking statements which are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans. Readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "intends," "targets," "projects," "forecasts" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would" and "could." These statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the construction, completion, attainment of commercial operations, cost and output of development projects, and the operations, and outlook of Northland and its subsidiaries. These statements are based upon certain material factors or assumptions that were applied in developing the forward-looking statements, including the design specifications of development projects, the provisions of contracts to which Northland or a subsidiary is a party, management's current plans, its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. Although these forward-looking statements are based upon management's current reasonable expectations and assumptions, they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Some of the factors that could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, but are not limited to, construction risks, counterparty risks, operational risks, regulatory risks, maritime risks for construction and operation, and the variability of revenues from generating facilities powered by intermittent renewable resources and the other factors described in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of Northland's 2014 Annual Report and Annual Information Form, both of which can be found at www.sedar.com under Northland's profile and on Northland's website www.northlandpower.ca. Northland's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur.
The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on assumptions that were considered reasonable on December 16, 2015. Other than as specifically required by law, Northland undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after such date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.
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