No applications for construction of new wind farm in the North Sea

No surprise

In recent years, the market for offshore wind energy has grown rapidly. Thanks to innovation and upscaling, offshore wind farms were built without subsidy since 2018. Meanwhile, the market for offshore wind energy has changed rapidly and significantly. The costs for wind farm developers have risen. The sustainability of Dutch industry, among others, is lagging behind. This has made it more difficult for wind farm developers to conclude long-term electricity contracts before the construction of a wind farm starts. This has reduced their willingness to invest.  

This is also reflected in other European countries, such as Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Belgium. There, too, no applications were received for permits or permit rounds were postponed due to limited interest from the market. For the Nederwiek I-A site, the tender criteria had already been adjusted to the current market conditions to make this permit round more attractive.

Offshore wind energy action plan

The Ministry already took into account that there might not be any applications for the Nederwiek I-A Site. That is why the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth presented the Offshore Wind Energy Action Plan on 16 September 2025. This contains measures to financially support the construction of new wind farms. The plan also provides solutions to further stimulate the demand for offshore wind energy.

The government is taking action to prevent the development of offshore wind farms from coming to a standstill next year:  

• In 2026, the Government wants to issue permits for 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind farms by means of a subsidy tender. € 948 million has already been reserved for this from the Climate Fund. The Minister will announce which wind sites this applies to, what the schedule of the tender is and the final maximum subsidy amount by January 2026 at the latest.
   
• The ministry is also working on a new form of financial support for wind energy. In this case, the government enters into contracts with companies that guarantee a minimum price for their generated electricity. The government then pays the difference with this agreed price to the company in the event of low market prices. In the event of high electricity prices, the extra profit goes to the government.

These steps will help us to become more energy independent from other countries and to improve the competitiveness of our industry. Offshore wind energy provides clean energy that further reduces CO₂ emissions.

Want to know more?

• Permit for wind farm Nederwiek I-A
• Letter to Parliament on the outcome of this permit round (English translation will follow)
• Action plan supports construction of offshore wind farms
• Letter to Parliament on developments in tenders for offshore wind energy in IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I-A (16 May 2025)