Dutch offshore wind farm awaits top-down policy decision

Plans to build a 300MW offshore wind farm in the Netherlands have been put on hold awaiting news from the Dutch government regarding its overarching offshore wind policy, a spokeswoman from German-owned utility RWE said on Wednesday.

The Tromp Binnen offshore wind project was granted permission to be built in 2009, but has not yet been awarded the necessary subsidies from the government to ensure its economic viability.

Because of this, its permit has been extended until 2020 “along with all other existing and unused offshore wind permits” according to the spokeswoman.

In September 2013, the Dutch government signed an agreement stating a goal of 4.5GW of offshore wind generation capacity by 2023. But the capacity currently available and under construction amounts to a total of just 1GW by 2016.

This could in theory support longer-dated wholesale power contracts over coming months unless further material progress towards the stated goal emerges.

There are currently two offshore wind farms operating in the Netherlands: Enenco’s 120MW Prinses Amalia Windpark and the 108MW Offshore Windpark owned by Nuon and Shell.

Subsidies were also granted for a further two wind parks that are now under construction. The first of these, the 600MW Gemini wind farm began construction in July ( see EDEM 10 July 2014 ). The second was the 129MW Luchterduinen wind park, expected online in 2016.

Tromp Binnen

But the development of the Tromp Binnen project, which so far has received no subsidy, is dependent on a change of policy expected to be published by the Dutch government this Autumn.

“The government is currently preparing a new offshore wind policy on which the sector, shortly after the parliamentary summer break, is expecting to be informed of all its details in an official letter,” said the RWE spokeswoman.

“We are closely monitoring policy development to see which options the proposed system in the Netherlands has chosen for our interests in offshore wind, including the Tromp Binnen permit,” she said.

A spokeswoman from the Dutch ministry for economic affairs said “the outline of the new policy for offshore wind energy is expected this Autumn”.

Meanwhile, the 430MW Noordoost Polder onshore wind park, owned by RWE subsidiary Essent, is also under construction.

The first of its wind turbines began operating on 12 August and it is now in the testing phase with the second turbine expected in early September. Abigail Beall