Permits awarded for IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Beta offshore wind sites

Noordzeker, a consortium comprising SSE Renewables, Dutch pension fund ABP and AGP, and Zeevonk II, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Vattenfall have won development permits for the IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Beta offshore wind sites in the Netherlands.

Noordzeker received the permit for IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Site Alpha and the permit for the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Site Beta went to Zeevonk II.

These Dutch wind farms, located in the North Sea, will provide 4GW of wind energy capacity, approximately 14% of current electricity consumption in the Netherlands.

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The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) assessed the permit applications together with experts. Points were awarded based on general criteria, as well as for circularity, protecting nature and better integrating the generated electricity into the Dutch energy system.

Noordzeker’s plan includes:

• Turbine and wind farm designs that contribute to the protection of birds.
• Measures that reduce disturbance to marine mammals
• Building artificial reefs around 75% of turbines to protect habitat for sand tube worms and various types of fish
• Noordzeker will also collaborate with Naturalis, the Dutch research institute for biodiversity

Zeevonk II plan includes:

• Focusing on the integration of the wind farm into the Dutch energy system
• Building a 1GW electrolyser in the port of Rotterdam to convert electricity generated from the wind farm into green hydrogen
• Co-locating a 50MWp offshore solar park with the wind farm

The developers can use the data from the site studies and environmental impact assessments to improve the design of the wind farm.

For the first time, applications in this tender round were also assessed for safety, considering risks to public safety (such as cybersecurity) and security of electricity supply.

Rob Jetten, Dutch minister for climate and energy, commented on the awards: "Noordzeker and Zeevonk II have great plans for these new offshore wind farms. It shows that wind farms and nature can go well together and that offshore wind with smart solutions can help reduce pressure on the onshore power grid. Market conditions have become more complicated, so I am extra happy that these parties want to build offshore wind farms!"