3 sites have been designated in the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone: Alpha (formerly I-II), Beta (formerly III-IV) and Gamma (formerly V-VI). The Dutch Government will start 2 tender procedures for the permits to develop projects in this wind farm zone: Sites Alpha and Beta in 2023 and Site Gamma in 2025.
The IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone (IJVWFZ) is located 33.4 nautical miles (62 km) off the west coast of the Netherlands in the Dutch North Sea. The total surface area of the sites within the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone (including the maintenance and safety zones) is approximately 650 km². Approximately 6 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be installed in IJVWFZ, with the power generated supplied to the Dutch electricity grid.
Schedule
Developers of offshore wind farms can apply for a permit for the development and operation of IJmuiden Wind Farm Sites Alpha and Beta. The current schedule aims to publish the final Ministerial Orders in the Government Gazette no later than the 3rd quarter of 2023. The application period will then close in the fourth 4th of 2023. Depending on the development of the Wind Farm Site Decisions, this schedule could be adjusted. Should that be necessary, this will be communicated via this website and in the final legislative documents. An application period is planned in 2025 for the development of Site Gamma.
View the complete schedule of the Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030/2031 in the Offshore Wind Energy Development Framework.
Tender information
On 31 March 2023, the Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, Rob Jetten, published two draft Ministerial Orders for granting permits for the construction and operation of wind farms at Sites Alpha and Beta (formerly Sites I to IV) of the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone. 2 permits will be issued: a permit for Site Alpha (approx. 2 GW, formerly Sites I and II) and a permit for Site Beta (approx. 2 GW, formerly Sites III and IV).
Downloads
The following documents are in Dutch. An English translation will be published as soon as possible.
In the draft Ministerial Orders of Friday 31 March, the limit values for Harbour Porpoises disturbance days are based on 4 GW (the combined installed capacity of the Alpha and Beta sites). This is not correct. The limit values have therefore been adjusted to Harbour Porpoises disturbance days per site of 2 GW. This was amended in the draft Ministerial Orders of 6 April 2023.
We have published shortened English versions of the Draft Ministerial Orders. The explanatory notes are missing in these versions. A full translation will be published as soon as possible.
These documents have been produced for information purposes only and are not intended to replace any legal or formally communicated rules, regulations or requirements.
Market consultation
These draft Ministerial Orders will be open to public consultation for questions and comments from interested parties from 31 March 2023 to 30 April 2023. You can submit comments by e-mail to woz@rvo.nl, stating the relevant Order(s).
Do you have points of attention that require far-reaching changes to the draft Orders? For example regarding the certainty of realisation or the inclusion of certain components in the various criteria? We ask you to bring these matters to our attention before 14 April 2023, if possible. You can also do this by e-mail to woz@rvo.nl, stating the relevant Order(s).
After consulting with stakeholders, it was decided – subject to the publication of the (draft) Wind Farm Site Decisions – to publish the draft Orders and to start the public consultation. This entails the risk that – based on the publication of the (draft) Wind Farm Site Decisions – the Orders and schedules may change.
Wind Farm Site Decisions
The decision-making process for the draft Wind Farm Site Decisions had not yet been completed when the draft Ministerial Orders were published. The Minister for Climate and Energy intends to publish two draft Wind Farm Site Decisions before summer 2023. Sites I and II are being combined to become Site Alpha and Sites III and IV are being merged into Site Beta. The decision to do this is based on a number of factors:
- Economies of scale and synergy
- The mutual dependencies between TenneT and the wind farm operator(s)
- International developments towards permitting sites larger than 1 GW
- Less pressure on the supply chain
- Less regulatory pressure for both the applicants and the assessors of the applications
Pending publication of the draft Wind Farm Site Decisions, the adopted Memorandum on the scope and level of detail of Environmental Impact Assessment reports for the IJmuiden Ver I-IV Wind Farm Site Decisions can be consulted (information in Dutch). Table 4.1 in the Memorandum contains a provisional list of the bandwidth to be used per original (approx. 1 GW) site. Please note: this bandwidth may be different in the draft Wind Farm Site Decisions. Based on this provisional bandwidth, a maximum amount for total rotor surface per original (approx. 1 GW) site also applies. This is based on 50 wind turbines with a rotor diameter of 280 metres.
As indicated in the Letter to Parliament of 4 November 2022 on the Tender Procedure for Offshore Wind Energy at IJmuiden Ver (4 GW), it is essential to adequately protect the continuity of vital energy infrastructure in the light of threats and risks. It is therefore planned to include regulations on this in the Wind Farm Site Decisions.
Design of draft regulations for Sites Alpha and Beta
The draft Ministerial Orders for Sites Alpha and Beta contain the legal criteria for the tender procedures:
- Amount of the financial offer
- Certainty of realisation of the wind farm
- The contribution of the wind farm to energy supply
The aim is to introduce more objective criteria and increase clarity for both applicants and the assessors of the tender applications. The financial offer is expressly set to a maximum number of points that can be achieved for ranking purposes. In view of the investment and costs required for the qualitative ranking criteria, it is not expected that the maximum number of points will be scored for the financial offer. Since the intention is to objectify the qualitative ranking criteria in such a way that the differences between bids may be limited, the amount of the financial bid offers room for variations between bids.
Letter to parliament tender procedures IJmuiden Sites I-IV
On 4 November 2022, the Minister for Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten, informed the House of Representatives about the permit procedure for the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Sites I-IV. The four sites will be licensed using the procedure of the comparative test with a financial offer.
IJV Sites I-IV are connected to the offshore grid via two TenneT substation platforms, each of which has a direct current connection of 2 GW to an onshore station. These are the first offshore wind farms in the Netherlands to be connected with a direct current connection.
Read more about the design of the comparative test with a financial offer in the Letter to Parliament of 4 November 2022.
Site Characterisation
Together with our partners, we are carrying out site investigations in the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone. A strategy has been developed for offshore wind and water site assessments. This strategy includes the plan for determining the site conditions for the wind farms planned in the Additional Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap. The data and reports of the site investigations are published on offshorewind.rvo.nl and regularly updated.
More information
Do you have questions about offshore wind energy? Or would you like to receive newsletters and invitations to workshops and webinars? Please send your contact details to woz@rvo.nl.
Are you interested in site investigations and information about other Dutch Wind Farm Zones in the North Sea? Please visit the website Offshorewind.rvo.nl.