DNV GL has officially issued the project certificate to Vattenfall for its Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm. The certificate proves a safe and cost-efficient operation of the largest offshore wind farm in Denmark.

The 412 MW Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm is the third phase of offshore wind development at the Horns Rev site, 20 - 30 km off the Danish Jutland coast. With 49 of the 8.3 MW MHI Vestas Offshore Wind V164 turbines, it is capable of powering approximately 425 000 Danish households and will provide some of the cheapest offshore wind electricity in Europe.

With an annual capacity of 1700 GWh per year, Horns Rev 3 is a significant contribution to our vision for fossil free living within a generation. We are very pleased that we have now been awarded this certificate for Horns Rev 3 confirming that the wind farm is fit to perform for 25 years. We have had a good collaboration with DNV GL, where the evaluation included assessment on the maturity of the turbine design, its manufacturing, installation and commissioning processes as well as assessment of related documentation,” said Belén Fernández Montes, Certification Engineer at Vattenfall.

Project certification is a process of technical evaluation of various components individually and the project as a whole. The independent certification provides reliable proof that a project has taken measures to ensure quality, stable operation and proper risk management, thereby maximising the chances of a successful project outcome.

The certification of the Horns Rev 3 project was carried out according to the Danish Executive Order No. 73 (BEK 73) and covered the wind turbines including their support structure plus all the cabling connecting the wind turbines to the offshore substation. Inspections were carried out over a three-year period and included surveillance of manufacturing, transportation and installation of the various components and witnessing the commissioning of the complete wind farm.