Offshore wind energy delivers again in competitive Dutch tender

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency announced that Vattenfall have won the tender to build and operate the Hollandse Kust 3 & 4 offshore wind farms in the Dutch North Sea.

Hollandse Kust 3 & 4 are 350 MW each and will start operating in 2023. They are the latest in a series of 700 MW annual offshore wind power auctions in the Netherlands.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “This auction shows yet again that offshore wind is now very competitive – and is consistent with Bloomberg data that shows offshore wind is now the cheapest form of new power in North Western Europe apart from onshore wind. The ‘zero subsidy’ system seems to work in the Netherlands, because the Dutch share a lot of the project risk, and it’s not hard for wind farms to find corporate buyers for the power they produce. But in most European countries offshore wind auctions need to offer stable revenues – and this reduces the financing and therefore the total societal costs.

“The Dutch are doing well on offshore wind. They’ve a good steady auction plan of 700MW every year. They provide clear visibility of what they’re auctioning and when which helps reduce costs. They’re taking a strategic approach to grid investments – and a healthy long-term view of marine spatial planning aiming at happy co-existence between offshore wind and e.g. fishing and biodiversity. Their recent Climate Agreement sets a target of 11.5 GW total offshore wind by 2030: they could actually do more than this and should do once they factor in increased electrification in industry.”