RWE wins tender for Hollandse Kust (west) wind farm at sea

The winner of the permit for one of the two wind farms in the Hollandse Kust (west) zone is Oranje Wind Power II, a subsidiary of RWE AG. The permit is for the construction and operation of the Hollandse Kust (west) Site VII wind farm, one of two new wind farms in the North Sea that is due to be operational in 2026 and involves various innovations. The new wind farm is crucial for the energy transition and offers opportunities for the offshore sector in the North Sea Canal region due to its favourable location.

“Innovation was a major focal point when awarding this site for wind energy at sea,” says Rob Jetten, Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy. “RWE made an interesting proposal. In addition to building wind turbines at sea, it will also be implementing significant innovations such as battery storage and preparing the site for hydrogen production and the application of solar energy on the water. This makes it the kind of intriguing combination of wind turbines and new technologies which is required for the energy transition.”

The Hollandse Kust (west) – HKW – wind energy zone is located over 50 kilometres off the Dutch coast and comprises two sites: HKW VI and HKW VII. The government issued a call for tenders for construction and operation permits in the spring of 2022. The HKW VII wind farm will be realised without subsidies. A new aspect of the tender is that parties had to submit a financial proposal and include innovative plans in the field of system integration.

Minister Rob Jetten: “This wind farm will supply approximately six percent of the current electricity consumption in the Netherlands – around one million households. In addition, wind energy is very relevant to companies and industry, which is increasingly replacing fossil fuels and resources by electrical applications. It therefore represented a concrete step enroute to the goal of reaching 21 GW by 2030.”

System integration

In addition to the production of offshore wind energy, the government has requested that parties come up with new solutions for fully integrating all the electricity generated into the Dutch energy system. This means, among other things, that any surplus electricity generated by the wind farm – such as when there are strong winds – can still be used. Oranje Wind Power II CV has various plans, including 600 MW of onshore electrolysers (producing green hydrogen), 225 MW of e-boilers for district heating and industrial applications, batteries and floating offshore solar energy.

Ambitions for 2030

Taken as a whole, the planned wind farms at sea should together supply around 75% of the current electricity demand by 2030. The government has raised the goal for offshore wind energy to 21 GW by around 2030. Approximately 2.5 GW of offshore wind capacity has been fully commissioned to date and a number of wind farms are under construction or have been granted a permit. The next wind farm to be licensed will be IJmuiden Ver (4 GW). The Additional Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030 describes how and when designated wind farm zones will be developed for the period 2024 to 2030.

Other parties that responded to the tender included Eneco, Vattenfall, Shell and TotalEnergies. They are still eligible for the permit for Hollandse Kust (west) Site VI which will be announced by 15 December 2022 at the latest.

Source: Dutch Government