The Danish Energy Agency has extended the electricity production permit for the Samsø offshore wind farm by 10 years.
This is the first time in the country’s history that an older offshore wind farm has had its lifetime extended. The EU’s emergency regulations were applied to shorten the permit process.
The Samsø wind farm was established in 2002 with an electricity production permit of 25 years. If the plant owner, Wind Estate, did not apply for an extension, the turbines would have to be decommissioned.
Following this permit extension, the offshore wind farm will produce electricity for another 10 years until 2037. The wind park has 10 turbines with a total capacity of 23MW, which can produce enough electricity to power between 20,000 and 25,000 households.
Since the Samsø farm is almost 25 years old, it was important to ensure that the plant’s structures could withstand continued production.
With that in mind, Wind Estate provided an independent analysis of the remaining service life. The company must also carry out an extended service inspection annually when the farm is more than 20 years old.
The Danish Energy Agency is currently processing electricity production permit extension applications for the Middelgrunden, Rønland, Nysted, and Horns Rev 1 offshore wind farms.
“This is the first time that the Danish Energy Agency has taken a position on whether an existing offshore wind farm can have its electricity production permit extended, and it provides perspectives for similar projects with offshore wind in Denmark,” said Stig Uffe Pedersen, deputy director of the Danish Energy Agency.
Denmark is considered a pioneer in the offshore wind world as its Vindeby offshore wind farm was the world’s first such project, constructed back in 1991. It was decommissioned in 2016,
The country is also the home to the oldest still-operating commercial offshore wind farm, Tunø Knob, completed in 1995. The wind farm celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025.
