Dutch Ministers Choose Three Offshore Wind Sites

On September 26, the Dutch government has announced that it had chosen three areas at sea where wind farms can be developed in the coming years. The government identified offshore wind areas off Borssele and off the coasts of South Holland and North Holland. 

In an effort to find a cheaper solution that will also have a minimized visual impact, the government has opted for a limited number of larger wind farms, instead of building several smaller offshore wind farms.

The plan, on which the Ministerial Council agreed on Friday, was proposed by the Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp and Minister of Infrastructure and Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegen. “We want more renewable energy in the Netherlands, but we want it to be as inexpensive as possible. With this plan, wind turbines can be built at sea at the lowest possible costs for citizens,” said Minister Kamp.

The Dutch Energy Agreement (Energieakkoord) set out a target of 3,450 MW of offshore wind energy by 2020. The construction at the proposed site in Borssele should start in 2015, and the other two sites should reach that phase in 2017.

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