Hollandse Kust Noord

Hollandse Kust Noord Offshore Wind Farm Profile

Location

The Hollandse Kust Noord Offshore Wind Farm is located approximately 18.5 kilometers off the coast of the Dutch province of North Holland, near the town of Egmond aan Zee, in the North Sea.

Project Details

• Developer: The project is being developed by CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell (79.9%) and Eneco (20.1%).
• Capacity: The wind farm has a total installed capacity of 759 MW, consisting of 69 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 11 MW.
• Area: The wind farm spans an area of approximately 125 km², including maintenance and safety zones.

Infrastructure

• Turbines: The wind farm features 69 SG 11.0-200 DD turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. Each turbine has a rotor diameter of 200 meters and 97-meter-long turbine blades.
• Foundations: The turbines are installed on monopile foundations weighing between 788 and 960 tonnes each, at water depths ranging from 15 to 28 meters.
• Offshore Transformer Station: The project includes an offshore transformer station with a 45-meter-high jacket placed in 24 meters of water depth. The topside structure is 47 meters long, 35 meters wide, and 25 meters high, excluding the antenna tower and top deck crane, and weighs around 4,100 tonnes.

Construction and Timeline

• Permission: The necessary permission to build the wind farm was received in July 2020.
• Construction Start: Offshore construction began in mid-October 2022 with the installation of the first monopile. The final monopile was installed in February 2023, and the first turbine was installed in April 2023.
• First Electricity Production: The wind farm produced its first electricity in June 2023 and is expected to achieve full production. The final turbine was installed in October 2023, and the farm was fully operational by June 2024.

Grid Connection and Energy Distribution

• Grid Operator: The grid connection for the wind farm is managed by TenneT, the transmission system operator. The renewable electricity is transferred through the offshore grid to the high-voltage substation in Beverwijk and then distributed via the national high-voltage grid.
• Power Purchase Agreement: Amazon has signed an agreement to purchase 380 MW of power from the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm.

Contractors and Partners

• Siemens Gamesa: Supplied the 69 wind turbines and will provide 15 years of maintenance services.
• Van Oord: Contracted for the Balance of Plant scope, including the installation of foundations and cables.
• Jan De Nul Group: Responsible for the transport, installation, and protection of the electricity cables.
• LS Cable & System: Engaged for cable design, production, and connection/testing of circuits.
• Fugro: Provided comprehensive geotechnical services.
• ABL Group: Appointed to provide Marine Warranty Survey (MWS) services for the offshore transportation and installation of the wind turbines.

Financing

• European Investment Bank (EIB): Provided approximately €500 million in financing for the project in 2019.
• Total Cost: The project is estimated to cost around €1.4 billion.

Innovations and Sustainability

• Smart Innovations: CrossWind and its partners are developing and researching five different innovations to ensure the offshore wind park can provide more constant electricity to the grid, regardless of wind conditions.
• Energy Output: Once fully commissioned, the wind farm will generate at least 3.3 TWh of green electricity per year, enough to meet the electricity consumption requirements for more than 1 million Dutch households.

Regulatory and Permitting

• Permit: The permit for the development of the Hollandse Kust (noord) Wind Farm Zone Site V was issued to CrossWind in July 2020. The permits became irrevocable after the withdrawal of an objection in December 2020.
• Council of State Ruling: The Council of State ruled in favor of the project, allowing the construction of offshore platforms, underground cable systems, and the transformer substation.