Wind farm
Vattenfall built the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm in the North Sea. In September 2023, the offshore wind farm was officially opened. You can find all information about the wind farm here.
Background: Climate agreements
The Dutch government wants to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. For this reason, they entered into a number of agreements. The Energy Agreement (2013), the Paris Climate Agreement (2015) and the National Climate Agreement (2019).
One of the agreements is that, by 2023, 16% of the energy consumed in the Netherlands would be generated in a sustainable way. In 2017, the amount of energy generated in a sustainable way was 6.6% (source: CBS).
In order to actually realise this transition in energy supply, the government regards wind energy generated offshore and on land as playing a key role. Offshore wind farms are important as the wind is at its most powerful there and the wind turbines create the greatest output. By 2023, offshore wind farms were to be supplying 4,500 megawatts (MW) of power.
Site
The government decides where wind farms will be built and who will build them. One of the locations is Hollandse Kust Zuid. This site is 18 kilometres off the coast, in the area between The Hague and Zandvoort. The government has chosen this site due to the suitability of the seabed, the ideal weather conditions, limited depth of water and the proximity of the port of IJmuiden.
The area is subdivided into four parcels. In March 2018, Vattenfall won the tender for the first two parcels (approximately 115 km²). In July 2019, Vattenfall won the tender for the other two parcels (approximately 110 km²).
Subsidy-free
Hollandse Kust Zuid Wind Farm is being built without any government subsidy. This is something special, as it will be the first subsidy-free wind farm in Europe. Vattenfall was able to complete the project without the financial help of the government as the government guaranteed the licence and network connections in their tender. This means that the risks involved, and thus the inherent costs, were reduced dramatically.
Wind turbines
Vattenfall installed wind turbines at the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm. Siemens Gamesa supplied these powerful 11MW wind turbine. Each wind turbine has a tip height of 225 metres and a rotor diameter of 200 metres. The blades are 97 metres long. By choosing larger turbines, fewer are needed. Larger turbines generate more electricity, increasing the efficiency of the wind farm and potentially reducing costs and environmental impact.
Job opportunities
The development of the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm creates employment opportunities, from soil investigations and the manufacturing of turbine parts, to installation and the Operations & Maintenance of the wind farm. On our career site, you will find an overview of current job openings.
Nature and the environment
The licence issued by the Dutch government to Vattenfall includes regulations and measures that have to be taken to ensure that local ecology suffers the least amount of disturbance from the wind farm. These measures apply to both the construction period as well as the operational phase of the wind farm.