Offshore Wind Farms
At this moment there are two offshore wind farms in the Netherlands:
- Offshore wind park Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ). During the preparation period it was called Near Shore Wind farm (NSW)
- Princess Amalia Wind Farm (formerly known as Q7)
Every year the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) publishes a review of all offshore wind activities in Europe. In this review, among other things, the capacity and the number of installed turbines in every European country is given.
OWEZ
The OWEZ was initiated in order to gain the necessary knowledge and experience to make it possible to realise large-scale offshore projects. It is a demonstration project built by the consortium NoordzeeWind (Nuon and Shell) in 2006. The total investment amounts to approximately € 200 million. The Dutch national government supported the project with a subsidy of € 27 million from the CO2 reduction policy and subsidy scheme. To avoid technical-economic risks as much as possible at the time, the wind farm was built rather close to shore opposite Castricum and Egmond aan Zee.
The OWEZ wind farm is situated 10 to 18 km off the Dutch coast at Egmond aan Zee, in water depths of 17 to 21 m. It consists of 36 Vestas V90 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 108 MW. Technical, economic and ecological aspects are monitored. The results of this monitoring and evaluation programme are presented on the OWEZ website.
Princess Amalia Wind Farm
The Princess Amalia wind farm is located in sector Q7 of the Dutch continental shelf, 23 kilometres offshore west of IJmuiden. The 120 MW wind farm will generate about 435 GWh annually. This offshore wind farm is a project of ENECO and Q7 Holding.
New initiatives
Beside the existing wind farms, there have been many new initiatives for offshore wind farms resulting in permit applications. An overview of the construction licenses granted can be found under ‘Related internet links’. By the end of 2009, a total of twelve building permits for a total of 3,250 MW were granted to initiators. The parties which acquired a permit were able to submit a bid for the requested level of production subsidy. ZeeEnergie C.V. and Buitengaats C.V. have been granted subsidies and signed realisation contracts with the government for two wind farm locations north of Schiermonnikoog (1 July 2010). In November 2011, a windfarm in block Q10 on the North Sea has been granted a subsidy. This farm will also demonstrate new technologies to stimulate innovative building techniques.
New subsidy scheme
The Dutch government is working on a new scheme for future wind farms for the period from 2010 onwards. The Government wants to allocate (new) locations for the further development of wind energy offshore. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture an Innovation has been investigating how to relate the issuing of rights for developing the location and applying for permits. In the Green Deal Offshore Wind (see Policy Offshore Wind Energy), The Netherlands Wind Energy Association and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture an Innovation have set goals and made agreements to stimulate the development and create a better environment for Offshore Wind farms.
More information
- Website Status of projected wind farms (Dutch only)
- Website The Offshore Wind Park Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ)
- Website The Princess Amalia Wind Farm
- Website European Wind Energy Association
- Website Netherlands Wind Energy Association
