Vattenfall to invest €200m in Netherlands onshore wind energy

Vattenfall has decided to invest over €200m to replace old wind mills and also expand the Wieringermeer onshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

The company will replace old wind mills with latest technology to generate 180MW by 2019.

The adjacent Wieringermeer, which Vattenfall has acquired, will add an additional capacity of 115MW.

By 2020, the total capacity of Wieringermeer is expected to reach 295MW and a power generation of 1 TWh (terawatt hours), equivalent to power consumption of 250,000 households.

Vattenfall’s Dutch subsidiary Nuon will build and operate Wieringermeer.

Apart from the 295MW capacity of Wieringermeer, Vattenfall also owns the 122MW onshore wind farm, Princess Alexia, and the 108 MW offshore wind farm, Egmond aan Zee.

Vattenfall has a wind power installed capacity of 349MW in the Netherlands, of which 241MW is onshore and 108MW offshore.

The €200m investment is the largest made so far by Vattenfall in wind power in the Netherlands.

Vattenfall president and CEO Magnus Hall said: “The Wieringermeer onshore wind farm is another step in our ambition to expand our wind power portfolio, underlining our strategic ambition to become fossil fuel-free within one generation.”

“With this wind farm, we will be able to supply companies and consumers in the Netherlands with even more clean renewable energy.”

Vattenfall’s head of Business Area Wind, Gunnar Groebler, said: “Thanks to the hard and dedicated work of our team and the trustful cooperation with the political and local stakeholders, the Wieringermeer project underlines our competence in repowering and can now be transformed into our most modern onshore wind farm in the Netherlands.”