, wind power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of 11,611 MW, 40.9% of which is based offshore.[1] In 2022, the wind turbines provided the country with 18.37% of its electricity demand during the year. Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills.[2]
In March 2022, the Dutch government announced that by 2030 offshore wind was to become the Netherlands' biggest power source, aiming at 21 GW of installed capacity.[3]
Since 2015 there has been a trend towards the deployment and planning for large wind farms, both onshore and offshore, with a view to the approximate tripling wind power capacity from 2015 levels by 2023. The first of these, the 429 MW Noordoostpolder wind farm was already partially deployed by year end 2015 whilst the 600 MW Gemini offshore wind farm was commissioned in 2017. These newer and larger wind farms are making use of some of the largest wind turbines available, in particular in the case of Noordoostpolder the Enercon E-126 7500 kW wind turbine, the largest onshore turbine available at that time. The Netherlands is also well prepared for a significant rise in the production of intermittent power from wind energy by good linkages to its neighbours via high voltage cables enabling power to be imported or exported as required. These include the 580 km NorNed submarine cable (700 MW) link to Norway, the 1,000 MW BritNed cable link to the United Kingdom and the COBRA cable link to Denmark (700 MW).
Many of the numerous smaller and older wind farms in the Netherlands consist of much smaller turbines compared to those typically deployed today. These were often manufactured by lesser known wind turbine manufacturers, sometimes producing innovative products such as the Nedwind 2 blade turbine. Many of these smaller companies were eventually acquired by the larger wind turbine manufactures such as Vestas, Siemens and Lagerwey.
| Installed capacity (MW) | 50 | 83 | 101 | 131 | 152 | 250 | 296 | 324 | 363 | 410 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity generated (GWh) | 56 | 88 | 137 | 173 | 221 | 314 | 435 | 489 | 571 | 642 | |
| % of electricity consumption | 0.07 | 0.11 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.34 | 0.45 | 0.49 | 0.55 | 0.61 | |
| Capacity factor in percent | 12.79 | 12.10 | 15.48 | 15.08 | 16.60 | 14.34 | 16.78 | 17.23 | 17.96 | 17.88 | |
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| Sea-based capacity (MW) | 108 | 108 | 228 | 228 | |||||||
| Land-based capacity (MW) | 447 | 485 | 672 | 905 | 1,075 | 1,224 | 1,453 | 1,641 | 1,921 | 1,994 | |
| Installed capacity (MW) | 447 | 485 | 672 | 905 | 1,075 | 1,224 | 1,561 | 1,749 | 2,149 | 2,222 | |
| Electricity generated (GWh) | 744 | 822 | 1,020 | 1,359 | 1,763 | 2,034 | 2,540 | 3,166 | 3,925 | 4,481 | |
| % of electricity consumption | 0.69 | 0.74 | 0.91 | 1.19 | 1.50 | 1.72 | 2.11 | 2.58 | 3.18 | 3.78 | |
| Capacity factor in percent | 19.00 | 19.35 | 17.33 | 17.14 | 18.72 | 18.97 | 18.57 | 20.66 | 20.85 | 23.02 | |
| Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Sea-based capacity (MW) | 228 | 228 | 228 | 228 | 228 | 357 | 957 | 957 | 957 | 957 | |
| Land-based capacity (MW) | 2,009 | 2,088 | 2,205 | 2,485 | 2,637 | 3,034 | 3,300 | 3,245 | 3,436 | 3,527 | |
| Installed capacity (MW) | 2,237 | 2,316 | 2,433 | 2,713 | 2,865 | 3,391 | 4,257 | 4,202 | 4,393 | 4,484 | |
| Electricity generated (GWh) | 4,503 | 4,725 | 4,939 | 5,368 | 5,810 | 6,917 | 8,364 | 9,642 | 10,030 | 10,774 | |
| % of electricity consumption | 3.69 | 3.84 | 4.10 | 4.47 | 4.92 | 5.81 | 6.97 | 7.98 | 8.22 | 8.82 | |
| Capacity factor in percent | 22.98 | 23.29 | 23.17 | 22.59 | 23.15 | 23.29 | 22.43 | 26.19 | 26.06 | 27.43 | |
| Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | |
| Sea-based capacity (MW) | 2,460 | 2,460 | 2,570 | 3,978 | |||||||
| Land-based capacity (MW) | 4,188 | 5,214 | 6,185 | 6,771 | |||||||
| Installed capacity (MW) | 6,648 | 7,674 | 8,755 | 10,749 | |||||||
| Electricity generated (GWh) | 13,949 | 18,960 | 21,360 | 26,594 | |||||||
| % of electricity consumption | 11.54 | 15.51 | 18.17 | 22.79 | |||||||
| Capacity factor in percent | 23.95 | 28.01 | 27.87 | 28.24 | |||||||
The Dutch government has set a target of 6,000 MW nameplate capacity of onshore wind power by 2020 and 4,450 MW of offshore wind power by 2023, neither of which were met.[7] This will contribute towards the Dutch target of 14% renewable energy use out of total energy use by 2020[8] and 16% by 2023. In 2020 wind power provided 11.54% of Dutch electricity generation (see table above) while solar power provided an additional 7.25%, for a combined 18.79%
For offshore wind a new system of tendering is under development. New wind farm deployment is based on the SER agreement that describes a plan for five years of tendering 700 MW per year. Under this system the government chooses locations and organizes tenders for projects of 350 MW, and project developers can offer bids for each farm. These sites are also surveyed centrally by the government, allowing developers to avoid costly and multiple surveys.[9]
| 2016 (early) | 700 | 2019–2020 | Borssele I–II | 752 | 2021 | |
| 2016 (late) | 700 | 2020 | Borssele III–V | 750.5 | 2021 | |
| 2017 | 700 | 2021 | Hollandse Kust (Zuid) I–II | 759 | 2024 (planned) | |
| 2018 | 700 | 2022 | Hollandse Kust (Zuid) III–IV | 770 | 2024 (planned) | |
| 2019 | 700 | 2023 | Hollandse Kust (Noord) V | 759 | 2023 (planned) | |
| Total | 3,500 | by 2023 | Total | 3,790.5 | by 2024 |
Many small scale wind farms exist throughout the Netherlands which bear testament to earlier models of wind turbines and lesser known manufacturers which provided a range of niche products, ranging in size and power output. There are several Dutch turbine manufacturers that continue to manufacture both large and small installations for domestic and international clients. Smaller turbines are often used for off grid, bespoke and community power internationally.
| Lagerwey | Started operations in 1979. Produced at least 19 models at 250, 750, 1500, 2000, 2300, 2500, 2600, 3000, 3600, 3800, 4000 and 4500 kW. Active 2020. | |
| WES | Established 1983. Produced at least 3 models of outputs 100, 200, 250 kW. Two of the models are still under production. | |
| NedWind | Began operating in 1990. Produced at least 8 models with power outputs of 100, 250, 500, 1000 kW. Acquired by Neg Micon 1998 | |
| Windmaster | Produced at least 14 models of 100. 150, 200, 225, 300, 500, 750, 850 and 1300 kW. Acquired by Lagerway in 1998. | |
| 2-B Energy | Started operation in 2001 and is developing a 6,000 kW two blade downwind turbine. Active 2016. | |
| EWT | Founded in 2004, Produced at least 12 models at 250, 500, 750, 900 and 2000 kW. Active 2020. | |
| XEMC-Darwind | Started operations 2009. Produced at least 12 models of 2000, 4000, 4500, and 5000 kW. Active 2016. |
2022
In February 2022 the Netherlands announced it increased its offshore wind target to 21 GW by 2030. That would meet approximately 75% of the countries electricity needs. With this, offshore wind energy makes an important contribution to achieving the increased climate target of 55% less -emissions.[14]
2018
In March 2018 the Dutch government announced that it will build between 2023 and 2030 several new windfarms with a total installed capacity of 7 gigawatt.[15] Where the parks will come and how they will be built is still being discussed. However, the government wants 40% of the total electricity used in 2030 in the Netherlands to be supplied by wind.[16]
2016
In the first week of December 2016, all 150 turbines of the new 600 MW Gemini offshore windfarm began producing power, and the project is expected to be fully commissioned by mid 2017.[17]
20152015 was a record year for new installations in the Netherlands with 586 MW added of which 180 MW were offshore. This record was immediately beaten the following year with another 766 MW being added.
The Dutch government has expressed the aspiration to build 4.450 MW of offshore wind power by 2023 which will have a considerable impact on the Dutch electricity grid, operated by TenneT. [20] As a first step, the government has determined 65 sites for offshore wind farms in the North Sea and IJsselmeer. [21]
2013
By December 2013, 1,975 wind turbines were operational on land in the Netherlands, with an aggregate capacity of 2,479 MW.[22] An additional 228 MW of capacity was installed at sea.[23]
2011
In November 2011, the Dutch government decided to no longer fund €6 billion per year to maintain subsidized wind kWh at €0.18. It sharply cut subsidies down to €1.5 billion, leaving private sector to carry over wind turbine investments should these be beneficial.[24]
Whilst there are a growing number of large onshore wind farms in the Netherlands, most of the onshore farms in 2015 consisted of a large number of small wind farms, including many single installation turbines as well as farms of between 1–10 turbines. In total there were 3,004 MW of onshore wind power at the end of 2015. Most wind power is produced in the province of Flevoland. A few of the larger wind farms are listed here.
| Windplan Groen | Flevoland | 500 | 26 × GE Cypress 6MW15 × Nordex N163 6MW37 × Vestas V162 6.2MW8 × Vestas V126 3.45MW | 2024 | [25] [26] [27] [28] | |
| Noordoostpolder | Flevoland | 429 | 38 × Enercon E-126 7.5MW48 × Siemens 3.0DD-108 3MW | 2017 | [29] | |
| Princess Ariane Windpark | North Holland | 360 | 82 × Nordex N117 3.6MW8 × Vestas V126 3.6MW9 × Other | 2020 | [30] | |
| Windplan Blauw | Flevoland | 339.2 | 37 × EnVentus V162-5.6MW24 × GE Cypress 5.5MW | Planned 2024 | [31] | |
| Zeewolde | Flevoland | 321.5 | 9 × Vestas 2.2MW33 × Vestas 3.8MW41 × Vestas 4.3MW | 2022 | [32] | |
| De Drentse Monden en Oostermoer | Drenthe | 175.5 | 45 × Nordex N131 3.9MW | 2021 | [33] | |
| Westereems | Groningen | 171 | 50 × Enercon E82 3MW2 × Senvion M6 6.15MW2 × Lagerwey L136 4.5MW | 2009/2012/2020 | [34] | |
| Windpark N33 | Groningen | 147 | 35 × Siemens Gamesa DD-230 R19 4.2MW | 2021 | [35] | |
| Princess Alexia Windpark | Flevoland | 122.4 | 36 × Senvion 3.4M104 | 2013 | [36] | |
| Windpark Maasvlakte 2 | South Holland | 116.7 | 13 × Vestas V162 6.0MW9 × Vestas V117 4.3MW | 2023 | [37] | |
| Windpark Krammer | Zeeland | 102 | 34 × Enercon E-115 3MW | 2018/2019 | [38] | |
| Windpark Oostpolder | Groningen | 97.6 | 21 × Enercon E-136 4.65MW | 2021 | ||
| Windpark Kreekraksluis | Zeeland | 82.5 | 33 × Nordex 2.5MW | 2013 | ||
| Windpark Kroningswind | South Holland | 79.8 | 19 × Vestas 4.2MW | 2022 | [39] | |
| Windpark Oosterhorn | Groningen | 77.4 | 18 × Vestas V136 4.3MW | 2021 | ||
| Windpark Delfzijl Zuid | Groningen | 75 | 34 × Enercon E70 | 2006 | ||
| Windpark Delfzijl Zuid Uitbreiding | Groningen | 65 | 16 | Planned 2024 | ||
| GroWind | Groningen | 63 | 21 × Vestas | 2008 | ||
| Windpark Delfzijl Noord | Groningen | 62.7 | 19 × Nordex 3.3MW | 2015 | ||
| Windpark Geefsweer | Groningen | 60.2 | 14 × Vestas V136 4.3MW | 2021 | ||
| Windpark Slufterdam | South Holland | 50.4 | 14 × Vestas V112 3.6MW | 2018 | [40] | |
| Energiepark Pottendijk | Drenthe | 50.4 | 14 × 3.6MW | 2023 | ||
| Windpark Deil | Gelderland | 46 | 11 × Vestas V136 4.2MW | 2020 | [41] | |
| Windpark Koegorspolder | Zeeland | 42 | 21 × Vestas V80/2000 | 2007 | ||
| Windpark Nij Hiddum-Houw | Friesland | 41.8 | 9 × Enercon E-136 4.65MW | 2022 | [42] |
The largest wind farm in the Netherlands is Noordoostpolder with a capacity of 429 MW. The farm consists of three smaller wind farms owned by separate organisations with local community links. The wind farm's 86 wind turbines will produce 1.4 billion kWh of electricity, enough. power for over 400,000 households every day, a figure roughly equivalent to the number of households in the Northern Netherlands.
The next largest onshore wind farm is the Westereems wind farm located in Eemshaven in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.
Up until the Westereems Wind Park was commissioned the largest onshore wind farm was the Princess Alexia Windpark in Zeewolde (122MW),[43] consisting of 36 REpower turbines and a 3.2MW/33MWh battery storage power station of BMW i3 batteries.[44]
The Eemmeerdijk wind farm consists of wind turbines with just 2 blades, manufactured by Nedwind. The 19 turbines have a combined nominal power of 18 MW. The wind farm was built in 1998.
In 2006 the tower of one of the turbines had buckled. The damaged wind turbine could be safely dismantled.[45] A second wind turbine was also dismantled. In January 2023 another wind turbine collapsed due to strong winds, leaving the farm with only 16 turbines.[46]
See also: List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea.
| Wind farm | Nameplate capacity (MW) | Turbines | Commissioned | Depth range (m) | km to shore | Owner | Refs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind farms in the North Sea | ||||||||
| Egmond aan Zee | 108 | 36 × Vestas V90-3MW | 2007 | 15–18 | 13 | Shell | [47] [48] [49] | |
| Princess Amalia | 120 | 60 × Vestas V80-2MW | 2008 | 19–24 | 26 | Eneco | [50] [51] | |
| Luchterduinen | 129 | 43 × Vestas V112/3000 | 2015 | 18–24 | 24 | Eneco, Mitsubishi | [52] | |
| Gemini | 600 | 150 × Siemens SWT-4.0-130 | 2017 | 28–36 | 55 | Northland Power, Siemens, Van Oord, HVC Groep | [53] [54] | |
| Borssele I–II | 752 | 94 × Siemens SWT-8.0-154 | 2020 | 14–40 | 22 | Ørsted | [55] | |
| Borssele III–IV | 731.5 | 77 × MHI Vestas V164 9.5MW | 2021 | 14–38 | 22 | Shell, Van Oord, Eneco, Partners Group, DGE | [56] | |
| Borssele V | 19 | 2 × MHI Vestas V164 9.5MW | 2021 | Green giraffe holding, Investri Offshore, Van Oord | [57] | |||
| Hollandse Kust (Zuid) I–IV | 1529 | 139 × Siemens Gamesa 11.0-200 DD | 2024 | 18–28 | 18–36 | Vattenfall, BASF, Allianz | [58] [59] | |
| Hollandse Kust (Noord) V | 759 | 69 × Siemens Gamesa 11.0-200 DD | 2023 | 15–28 | 18.5 | Shell, Eneco | [60] | |
| Hollandse Kust (West) VI | 760 | 52 × Vestas V236 15MW | Planned 2026 | 53 | Shell, Eneco | [61] | ||
| Hollandse Kust (West) VII | 760 | 53 × Vestas V236 15MW | Planned 2028 | 53 | RWE, TotalEnergies | [62] [63] | ||
| IJmuiden Ver Alpha | 2000 | Planned 2029 | 62 | ABP, APG, SSE Renewables | [64] constructed by Smulders[65] [66] | |||
| IJmuiden Ver Beta | 2000 | Planned 2029 | 62 | Vattenfall, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners | ||||
| Wind farms in the IJsselmeer | ||||||||
| Lely (decommissioned 2016) | 2 | 4 × Nedwind 500 kW/41 | 1994 | 3–4 | 0.8 | Nuon | [67] | |
| Irene Vorrink (decommissioned 2022) | 16.8 | 28 × Nordtank NTK600/43 | 1996 | 2–3 | 0.1 | Vattenfall | [68] [69] | |
| Westermeerwind (Noordoostpolder) | 144 | 48 × Siemens SWT-3.0-DD | 2016 | 4–7 | 0.7–1.2 | Westermeerwind BV | [70] | |
| Friesland | 380 | 89 × Siemens SWT-4.3–130 | 2021 | 3–6 | 2 | Windpark Fryslân B.V. | [71] [72] [73] [74] | |
| IJsselmeer Buitendijks (Windplan Blauw) | 132 | 24 × GE Cypress 5.5 MW | 2024 | 0.5–1.5 | SwifterwinT, Vattenfall | [75] | ||
| IJmuiden Ver Gamma | 2000 | 2025 | 2031 | |
| Nederwiek (Zuid) I | 2000 | 2025 | 2030 | |
| Nederwiek (Noord) II | 2000 | 2026 | 2032 | |
| Nederwiek (Noord) III | 2000 | 2026 | 2031 | |
| Doordewind I | 2000 | 2027 | 2032 | |
| Ten noorden van de Waddeneilanden I | 700 | 2027 | 2033 | |
| Hollandse Kust (West) VIII | 700 | - | - |
Early offshore wind farms were responsible for installing their own offshore grid infrastructure to connect their wind farm to the main electricity grid. From 2016 onwards, the national grid operator TenneT has been designated as the offshore grid operator and is responsible for the construction of transmission infrastructure at sea.
Wind farms are connected via standardised connections of 700 megawatts (MW) AC or 2 gigawatts (GW) HVDC for larger wind farms located further offshore. Through the standardisation of these offshore platforms, the government hopes to significantly reduce the overall development, construction and maintenance costs.[77] [78]
The Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm was officially opened in September 2015 and is a 50/50 joint venture between Dutch energy company Eneco and Japan's Mitsubishi corporation. The 129 MW Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm is located 23 km off the coast between Zandvoort and Noordwijk cities in the Netherlands. The farm consists of 43 Vestas V112 turbines of 3 MW capacity each.[79]
In 2008, a second, somewhat larger offshore wind farm was built: the Princess Amalia Wind Farm, consisting of 60 Vestas V80 2MW turbines totaling 120 MW, sufficient to power 125,000 homes and help the Netherlands cut 225,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.[80] [81] The wind park was developed off the coast of IJmuiden by Econcern and Eneco Energie, at a total cost of $522.3 million.[82]
In 2006, the Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm was built, consisting of 36 Vestas V90 3MW turbines, totaling 108 MW, sufficient to light 100,000 houses.[83] [84] [85] The project cost $272 million and is cooperatively owned by Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch utility company Nuon.
Lely was the first offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. Construction began in 1992 and the farm was completed in 1994. The nearshore wind farm had 4 Nedwind 500 KW turbines located 1 km to shore.
In 2014 one of the turbines lost its rotor with both blades due to metal fatigue.[86] The 4 wind turbines were eventually dismantled in 2016, after 22 years of service.[87]
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