A frame agreement with the German wind farm developer Butendiek confirms DNV's strong position in the offshore wind farm sector.

The contract covers project certification for Butendieks offshore wind farm located west of the German island of Sylt. This is DNVs second offshore wind energy contract in Germany and it is also the second offshore wind farm in the country.

The wind farm will consist of eighty 3 MW wind turbines, costing a total of 550 million Euro. It is planned to be installed in 2005 and located close to the recently installed Danish Horns Rev offshore wind farm, which consists of eighty 2 MW wind turbines. Horns Rev is going into production shortly.

The contract with Butendiek is a frame agreement covering the projects life cycle. The first part of the contract covers design verification of the integrated wind-turbine and support structure as well as the transformer platform. Later on, a manufacturing survey and marine verification will come into the picture. The contract includes the in-service phase, during which the German authorities have stipulated third-party verification requirements similar to those that are well known from the oil and gas sector.

DNV Wind Turbine Activities, located in Denmark, will be handling the contract.