Less risk for offshore wind farm developers due to smaller sites

Published on:
3 September 2024

A new permit tender round for the construction and operation of wind farms in the North Sea will start in autumn 2025. At the beginning of September the sites for the IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I wind farms were split into sites for 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind energy capacity. 4 smaller sites were chosen to reduce the financial risks for wind farm developers applying for a permit from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) in the tender.

De haven van Ijmuiden

Developers need to invest less

During the previous tender round for the construction and operation of 2 GW offshore wind farms, RVO received multiple bids from wind farm developers. But there were less than expected. This is partly due to the changed market situation: costs have increased and returns are less certain. That is why the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth is splitting the planned 2 GW sites into 1 GW sites. This means developers need to invest less and the financial risks are reduced.

Designated Win Farm Zones IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I

Location of Wind Farm Sites IJmuiden Ver Gamma-A, Gamma-B, Nederwiek I-A and I-B.

New sites

The IJmuiden Ver Gamma Site has been split into:

  • IJmuiden Ver Gamma-A (eastern site) - 1 GW
  • IJmuiden Ver Gamma-B (western site) - 1 GW

Nederwiek Site I has been split into:

  • Nederwiek I-A (southern site) - 1 GW
  • Nederwiek I-B (northern site) - 1 GW

In total, this still involves 4 GW of offshore wind energy capacity. Grid operator TenneT is installing the offshore grid, which connects the wind farms to the high-voltage grid on land. This is how the wind-generated energy ends up in our electricity grid. The wind farms are connected to a TenneT substation platform for this purpose.

The platforms have a 2 GW high voltage direct current (HVDC)  connection to an onshore station. This means that two 1 GW wind farms can be connected to one platform. The HVDC connection ensures that the voltage on the electricity grid remains constant.

Apply for a permit

RVO expects to be able to announce the details of this permit tender round in the 4th quarter of 2024.

Want to know more?

Visit the page Permits for wind farms at IJmuiden Ver Gamma-A, Gamma-B and Nederwiek I-A and I-B

Commissioned by:
  • Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth

Find out more

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