Eneco Luchterduinen

Eneco Luchterduinen Wind Farm Profile

Location

The Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm is located 23 kilometres off the coast of the Netherlands, between the cities of Zandvoort and Noordwijk.

Developers and Owners

The wind farm was developed by a 50/50 joint venture between the Dutch energy company Eneco Holding N.V. and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation. However, as of the current information, the project is co-owned by Eneco Holding and Inpex, each holding a 50% stake.

Capacity and Turbines

The wind farm consists of 43 Vestas V112 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3 megawatts (MW), resulting in a total installed capacity of 129 MW. Each turbine is mounted on a monopile foundation, with a hub height of 81 meters, a blade length of 55 meters, and a rotor diameter of 112 meters.

Construction and Operation

• The project construction commenced in 2014, with onshore cable construction work beginning in October 2013. The first wind turbine was installed in April 2015, and the wind farm was fully operational by September 2015.
• The wind farm was built in a single phase and is currently active.

Investment and Economic Impact

• The total investment for the project was €450 million (approximately $480 million).
• During its construction phase, the project generated approximately 560 jobs.

Environmental Impact and Monitoring

• The wind farm supplies enough clean energy to power nearly 150,000 households and offsets approximately 275,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.
• A Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (MEP) was conducted to assess the potential effects of the wind farm on marine life in the area. This programme started one year before the construction activities began in 2013.

Power Transmission

• The electricity generated is transmitted from an offshore substation to the shore via a 25km-long undersea cable and then through an 8km-long underground cable to the grid operator TenneT’s transformer substation in the municipality of Sassenheim, before being fed into the national grid.

Contractors Involved

• Van Oord was responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, including the construction of foundations, electrical infrastructure, and the offshore transformer station. They also provided the transport and installation vessel Aeolus for installing the turbines.
• Vestas Offshore Wind supplied, installed, and commissioned the 43 V112-3.0 MW turbines and is also responsible for a 15-year service and maintenance agreement.
• VSMC installed and buried the 25km-long export cable. LS Cable & System provided the cables for the offshore wind farm. Eneco subsidiary Joulz handled the design, supply, and installation of the onshore cable and manages the offshore high-voltage station.

Power Purchase Agreements

• The power generated from the project is sold under various agreements, including a power purchase agreement with Delft University of Technology for 18 MW starting from 2017. Other purchasers of the wind energy include NS, KPN, and Qurios.

Area and Visibility

• The wind farm covers an area of approximately 25 square kilometers and is located outside the nautical 12-mile zone as per government requirements. The location was chosen because the wind farm is not visible from the coast on most days but benefits from higher and more constant offshore wind speeds.