Hollandse Kust West wind farm reaches first power milestone

Dutch renewable energy company Ecowende has announced that the Hollandse Kust West wind farm is connected to The Netherlands' grid and has produced its first power.

The project consists of 52 15MW Vestas wind turbines with a total capacity of 760MW.

Ecowende, a joint venture of Shell, Chubu and Eneco, began construction in December 2025 and expects full commercial power delivery at the end of this year.

Ekansh Aggarwal, commissioning manager at Ecowende, said: “To see the turbines spinning and to have reached first power safely and successfully is a great achievement for everyone involved in the project.”

Hollandse Kust West is connected to the Dutch onshore grid via TenneT’s offshore high-voltage infrastructure called the ‘offshore power socket’.

According to Ecowende, the wind farm will contribute to stabilising the Dutch energy system by providing balancing energy, particularly automatic negative frequency reserve (aFRR).

Electricity trading is handled by Germany's Next Kraftwerke, together with SEEL and EET. Next Kraftwerke began marketing Ecowende’s electricity on 4 July and acts as Balancing Service Provider and Congestion Service Provider for the wind farm, managing system integration and congestion across day-ahead, intraday and balancing energy markets on behalf of Ecowende.

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Marc Rühs, chief executive of Next Kraftwerke, explained: “We actively trade the farm across various markets, thereby making a measurable contribution to grid stability and economic performance."

Rühs added that Ecowende practically shows how to successfully integrate renewables into the energy system and optimally integrate offshore wind into the market.

Ecological considerations

Ecowende highlights the project’s approach to ecological integration.

Vestas is fitting seven turbines with a single, red-painted blade to test whether the colour contrast reduces bird collision risk during rotation.

The idea behind the single blade in a different colour is to create a smear, which is thought to be better visible for birds. However, a lot is unknown about which colours work best.

Line Kyndi Behrens, Vestas’ Technical Project Manager Hollandse Kust West VI stated: “Initially, colors like black and fluorescent were considered, but red was ultimately chosen based on performance criteria, particularly its ability to avoid overheating and ensure blade durability.”

Also, the project will accommodate a dedicated bird corridor, wider turbine spacing, elevated nacelles, adaptive curtailment and AI-assisted radar monitoring for birds and bats.

Below the waterline, Ecowende has incorporated specially designed rock crevices and bays that shelter fish and other marine species, while fish holes in the monopile foundations are being trialled as additional fish habitat.

The day-to-day operations and maintenance of the wind farm will be carried out by Eneco Wind Offshore Operations and Vestas Services.