Vattenfall Wins Hollandse Kust Zuid
Vattenfall is awarded the permit for the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore windfarm. In December, Vattenfall submitted a bid for this first non-subsidised windfarm in the Netherlands. Vattenfall plans to continue developing the wind farm of 700MW which could produce renewable electricity for 1 to 1.5 million homes.
“This is excellent news for Vattenfall and the Netherlands. It is a significant step for us in view of our ambitions to grow in renewable energy production. We have previously announced that we intend to invest EUR 1.5 billion in growth investments in wind power for the period 2017-2018. The Netherlands is an important market for us and this will be our second offshore project there. It’s a great honour for us to get the opportunity to contribute with this project to the transformation of the Dutch energy system,” says Magnus Hall, Vattenfall’s President and CEO. Gunnar Groebler, Senior Vice President Business Area Wind, adds, “Winning the bid for Hollandse Kust Zuid is a result of our continuous cost reduction efforts along our entire value chain and the solid track record and portfolio approach of our company. We are very happy to enlarge our contribution in making the Dutch energy system more sustainable and support our customers, large and small, on their way to become climate smarter.”
“This news shows zero-subsidy bids are possible for some developers in some markets not least where Governments take on and manage a share of the project risk. In this instance the Dutch Government taking care of the grid connection is a significant factor. Plus the Dutch Government has successfully minimised the risk linked to offshore wind by giving clear visibility about future market volumes. And the new Dutch Government has committed to bring in a carbon floor price at national level which will help the business case for offshore wind. Wind energy is showing again and again that it can deliver ever more capacity for less cash. That is the key message other governments should take from this: they should revise their ambition upwards in their national energy plans and offshore wind is a great way to help them do this,” Giles Dickson, CEO at WindEurope comments on the news.
According the tender rules, the windfarm needs to be fully operational within 5 years after an irrevocable permit. Vattenfall will now make the final preparations for this project including the design of the wind farm, continuation of the internal planning and finalising the tender process for major components. The news follows the zero-subsidy offshore wind tender in Germany last year that was a landmark for the industry. The German offshore tender was the first to attract zero subsidy winning bids. But the projects will only be built in 2024-25, so after Hollandse Kust Zuid is commissioned.