Our Maritime Business Magazines

  

Dutch Consortium to Construct Second Borssele Offshore Windfarm


Borssele Offshore Windfarm 1 (sites I and II) and 2 (sites III and IV)The second Borssele offshore windfarm will be build by a consortium consisting of Shell, Van Oord, Eneco and Mitsubishi/DGE. The preferred supplier for the wind turbines is MHI Vestas Offshore Wind. The Borssele 2 windfarm is expected to be constructed and operated with a subsidy of just EUR 0.3 billion. The originally anticipated subsidy was EUR 5 billion. With this second windfarm in the Borssele Wind Farm Zone, located in the Dutch North Sea, the subsidy savings are even higher than for the first 700MW windfarm, which at the time was set to be the world’s cheapest offshore windfarm. Moreover, with the current energy price outlook, the second windfarm in Borssele can be operated without subsidy after 7.5 years.

In total, 26 bids from seven parties/consortia were received in the tender to secure permits and an associated SDE+ subsidy for the two projects at Borssele Wind Farm Site III and IV. The maximum subsidy available for this tender was capped at EUR 0.11975 per kWh. This amount excludes costs for connecting the wind farm to the electricity grid, which is the responsibility of TenneT. The winning consortium bid is EUR 0.0545 per kWh. By comparison, DONG Energy Borssele 1 BV won the previous tender with a price of EURO 0.0727 per kWh.

Announcing the tender result, Minister Henk Kamp of Economic Affairs says: “If the electricity price develops as we expect, in 7.5 years’ time subsidies will no longer be required for the production of electricity from offshore windfarms. That brings the Government’s aim for renewables to compete with fossil fuels without subsidy within reach. The Netherlands is a frontrunner in the development of offshore wind energy, creating many opportunities for the Dutch industry. With these winners this becomes even more clearly visible.”

This latest tender involves the second of five planned wind farms, all expected to be operational by 2023. Each wind farm has a capacity of 700MW and will produce electricity for a million households. The Borssele wind farms will be built at a distance of 22km off the coast of the province of Zeeland.