Even though there were no offshore wind farms that became operational in 2012, the Netherlands recorded a 0.7% of offshore wind power in its domestic electricity consumption, according to the statistics from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
The Netherlands has four completed offshore wind farms and eleven with authorized consent. With no new ones connected to the grid last year, the production of offshore wind rose from 743 GWh, recorded in 2011, to 784 GWh in 2012.
Recently, Eneco and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) have concluded an agreement giving MC a 50% stake in the Eneco Luchterduinen offshore wind farm, which is scheduled to be fully constructed in 2015.
The Westermeerwind Wind Farm, which is the offshore part of the Noordoostpolder Wind Farm, is expected to be linked to the grid at the same time as the largest wind farm in the Netherlands.
The Dutch government has set goals to attain 16% of energy from renewables by 2020, and 100% by 2050. In October, the Government increased the fund for renewables to EUR 400 million, while an additional EUR 2.4 billion were budgeted for renewable energy by the Dutch Rutte II cabinet, which should be sufficient to realize the target of 16% of renewable energy in 2020.
[mappress] Offshore WIND Staff, February 26, 2013; Image: eneco