Dutch "Non-Subsidy" Offshore Wind Tender Attracts Bidders

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Wind energy companies are lining up to compete for the first non-subsidy offshore windfarm tenders in the Netherlands.

Sweden's Vattenfall (Stockholm) has affirmed that it will compete for the first two phases of the Hollandse Kust Zuid scheme in the Dutch part of the North Sea. Each phase will have a potential generating capacity of up to 350 megawatts (MW), with the goal of the Dutch government to have each phase up and running between 2020 and 2022. The announcement follows on from news that the world's largest offshore wind energy company Ørsted (Fredericia, Denmark), formerly DONG Energy, will also be competing for the tenders. The tender window will shut on December 21.

"As an energy company with a strong presence in the Dutch market and with a firm view on the developments in the Dutch power market, we are very committed to taking a leading role in the green transformation of the Dutch economy," said Magnus Hall, chief executive officer (CEO) of Vattenfall. "Hollandse Kust Zuid would be an important milestone."

The windfarms mark a new direction for offshore windfarms, which typically rely on government aid or subsidies to be built. Hollandse Kust Zuid joins three projects in Germany that will be paid for completely by the winning bidders, something that has become possible through the rapidly falling costs associated with wind technology. Earlier this year, Industrial Info reported on the proposed building of the world's first offshore windfarms without government financial aid. In Germany's first wind power auction, three of the four windfarms accepted--known as 'zero-sum' windfarms--will be built with no financial help. Ørsted will build the 240-megawatt (MW) OWP West and the 240-MW Borkum Riffgrund West 2 offshore windfarms, while EnBW (FWB:EBK) (Karlsruhe, Germany) will build the 900-MW He Dreiht offshore windfarm without subsidies. For additional information, see April 20, 2017, article - World's First 'Subsidy-Free' Windfarms Get German OK.

The Dutch government is planning for a total of 2,100 MW of offshore wind at the Hollandse Kust zones. Roughly 1,400 MW is planned for the Hollandse Kust Zuid area, with four windfarms of around 350 MW planned in four phases. Another tender for 700 MW will be offered in 2019 for the Hollandse Kust Noord zone.

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