(The Hague / Netherlands) – The Netherlands has closed the tender round for the “Hollandse Kust West” (HKW) offshore wind farm. The two areas HKW VI and HKW VII, including the safety zones, are around 176 square kilometers in size and are around 53 kilometers ahead of the Dutch area 
coast and enable the installation of turbines with a total output of around 1,5 gigawatts (GW). The country wants to build offshore wind capacity of more than 2030 gigawatts by 21 to generate green electricity in conjunction with large-scale production of green hydrogen; By 2050 it should be 70 gigawatts. HKW is part of this project. The transmission system operator Tennet is building two offshore platforms for the grid connection.
Zeeland plans electrolysis capacity of 600 megawatts
The province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, consisting of islands, peninsulas and mainland on the border with Belgium, is the largest hydrogen cluster in the country. An electrolysis capacity of 2027 megawatts is to be built there by 600, which will be supplied exclusively with the income from the new wind farm.
The Danish energy company Ørsted A/S is planning a large-scale plant to produce green hydrogen in the catchment area of the Dutch-Flemish North Sea ports. Under the name “SeaH2LandElectrolysis with an output of one gigawatt is to be built by 2030.
The bidders
A number of corporations and consortia are taking part in the tender.
- The two energy companies Ørsted A/S (Denmark) and Total Energies SE (France) jointly participated. Total Energies wants to “leverage its position in the Netherlands through an investment program for green energy and hydrogen production” to decarbonize its industrial activities in the province of Zeeland, it said in a statement.
- Also the Essenes RWE-AG applies for the contract. The group has developed a concept for the integration of offshore wind farms into the Dutch energy system and is concentrating on combining HKW VII with onshore electrolysers with an output of 600 megawatts to produce green hydrogen in order to serve existing and new customers in the Netherlands to supply Dutch industry with hydrogen and electricity.
- The Swedish state-owned company has chosen another bidding consortium Vattenfall AB and the Ludwigshafen-based BASF SE. Vattenfall had already won a tender for the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) wind farm. In June 2021, BASF invested 300.000 million euros in HKZ and thereby acquired 49,5 percent of the project; The total BASF contribution to the construction was estimated at 1,6 billion euros at the time.
- shell and Eneco participate in the tenders through their joint ventures Ecowende and Schakel Wind. In addition to the HKW wind farm, Schakel Wind will “make a variety of investments across the country together with companies.” For example, there will be projects that are fully synchronized with the wind farm's electricity production. This ensures that “green energy is used as effectively and widely as possible”.
- The British BP plc According to its own information, it has also submitted bids. These would be underpinned by comprehensive plans for a range of further clean energy investments by BP in the Netherlands. This includes integrating 500 megawatt electrolysis to produce 50.000 tons of green hydrogen per year to meet the needs of the BP refinery in Rotterdam and enable the production of 10.000 barrels of sustainable aviation fuel per day.
The bidders emphasize that - as required in the tender - they work closely with a large number of companies, institutes, universities and organizations in the development of HKW. The ecological impacts would be monitored and the impact on nature minimized as part of extensive programs. In addition, as also requested, investments and innovations would be brought in for the Dutch energy system.
The winners of the HKW tenders are expected to be announced by the Dutch government in autumn 2022. The wind farms are scheduled to be commissioned in 2025/2026.
Photos
Ørsted's 752-megawatt “Borssele” wind farm. © Ørsted A/S
Class schedule
The areas designated for offshore wind power by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. After Hollandes Kust West, “Ijmuiden Ver” (4 GW) will follow in the next two years. © Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, RVO)
