Tunø Knob

Tunø Knob Offshore Wind Farm is a small, early demonstration-scale park sited on the Tunø Knob sandbar in the Bay of Aarhus, Denmark. Commissioned in 1995, it comprises ten Vestas V39 machines (500 kW each) giving a nominal 5 MW nameplate capacity and is located roughly 5–6 km offshore in shallow (circa 3–7 m) water. The project is historically significant as one of the world’s first operational offshore wind farms and as Vestas’s earliest offshore deployment. Built as a demonstration to study environmental and operational aspects of offshore turbines, early monitoring showed production above expectations in the first months of operation, and the installation helped establish practical approaches to foundations, cabling and remote monitoring for subsequent Danish projects. Construction employed concrete/box-caisson style foundations suited to the shallow sandbar site. Over its operational life the asset has passed through different corporate lists (historical sources cite DONG/Ørsted and Midtkraft in developer/owner roles) and has been locally operated in recent records by Eurowind; however, detailed corporate transfer documentation is not present in the sources consulted. The wind farm’s modest scale and longevity make it a reference case in industry discussions about early offshore design choices, long-term availability, and the value of demonstration projects for maturing offshore wind logistics and maintenance practices.