Permits for wind farms at IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I
Would you like to compete for a permit for the construction and operation of a wind farm in IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Site Gamma and/or Nederwiek Wind Farm Site I in the North Sea? The application period for permits for these wind farms will open at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2025. Submit your request to us.
Location of the IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I Wind Farm Sites
Which area is it?
Site Gamma in the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone starts at 53 km off the west coast of the Netherlands. The total area of the 3 wind farm sites (Alpha, Beta and Gamma) in this wind farm zone (including the maintenance and safety zones) is approximately 650 km2. The 3 sites combined will have a total installed capacity of 6 GW to supply power to the Dutch electricity grid.
Site I in the Nederwiek Wind Farm Zone starts at 95 km off the west coast of the Netherlands. The total area of the 3 wind farm sites (I, II and III) in this wind farm zone (including the maintenance and safety zones) is approximately 600 km2. These 3 sites combined will also have a total installed capacity of 6 GW to supply power to the Dutch electricity grid.
This permit tender procedure concerns the IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I Wind Farm Sites. These will be 2 sites of 2 GW or possibly split into sites of 1 GW. The investigation into this is still ongoing. We expect this to be known around the summer.
Grid operator TenneT will install a substation platform with a grid connection in both wind farm sites. TenneT's platforms have a direct current connection of 2 GW to an onshore substation. With direct current, the voltage on the electricity grid remains constant. With alternating current, the voltage changes between positive voltage and negative voltage 50 times per second. A direct current connection is used due to the relatively large distances to the onshore connection locations and the large amount of power to be connected.
When can you apply?
The application period for permits for these wind farm sites opens and closes at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2025. We expect to publish the exact opening and closing dates at the beginning of 2025. More information about this may be known in the final quarter of 2024 in the Draft Ministerial Orders.
The Letter to Parliament dated 26 April 2024 outlines the new planning schedule for offshore wind farms. The final schedule and associated milestones for the offshore grid can be found in the Offshore Wind Energy Development Framework.
Research into market conditions for offshore wind energy
Consultancy firm Afry conducted research into the market conditions for offshore wind energy. To this end, the agency asked wind farm developers for their opinions on current market conditions. You can find this report below:
What conditions must you meet?
The applications are assessed using a comparative test with a financial offer. This means you can earn points based on a number of ranking criteria. The application with the highest score will receive the permit. In any case, we will take the following aspects into account when determining your score:
- the amount of your financial offer;
- the certainty that you will realise the wind farm;
- the contribution of the wind farm to the energy supply.
We are currently investigating which other criteria or rules will be taken into account when assessing permit applications. These relate to:
- ecology (reducing impacts on nature and/or restoring and strengthening nature in the North Sea);
- stimulating electrification (the switch from the use of fossil fuel energy to electricity);
- a link with onshore electrolysis (to turn sustainable electricity into hydrogen);
- ways to alleviate grid overload;
- shared use of the North Sea.
You can read about the interpretation and weight of the various criteria and the financial offer in the draft Ministerial Orders.
Prepare your application
We regularly post new versions of important documents for your application on this page. This ensures that you can start preparing your application in good time, well before the application period opens. This includes, for example, draft versions of:
- Ministerial Orders
- application forms
- regulations
Wind Farm Site Decisions
Another document that you use when preparing your application is the Wind Farm Site Decision. We expect to publish the draft Wind Farm Site Decisions in the course of 2024.
The intention is to include regulations in the areas of safety, circularity and the International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) Agreement for the Renewable Energy Sector (Internationaal Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Ondernemen, IMVO) in the Wind Farm Site Decisions. View more about the (draft) IJmuiden Ver Gamma Wind Farm Site Decision and the (draft) Nederwiek I Wind Farm Site Decision.
Site characterisation studies
Together with our partners, we conduct site characterisation studies in the IJmuiden Ver and Nederwiek Wind Farm Zones. The data and reports from the site studies are regularly updated on offshorewind.rvo.nl. With the data from these site studies you can make plans and designs for offshore wind farms.
After your application
- We will assess all applications together with experts.
- A statutory period of 13 weeks applies to the assessment.
- One applicant per wind farm site will receive a permit.
- The highest scoring party for a wind farm site receives the permit to build and operate a wind farm at that site.
- You can also score the highest for both wind farm sites. In that case, you will receive a permit for both IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Site Gamma and Nederwiek Wind Farm Site I.
Want to know more?
Questions about offshore wind energy?
Email woz@rvo.nl
- Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
