DHI Wins Work on Dutch Offshore Wind Farm Zones

January 10, 2023, by Adnan Memija

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has awarded DHI a metocean assessment contract for Dutch offshore wind farm zones.

Illustration; Photo source: RVO.nl (archive)

DHI will be responsible for a detailed metocean assessment at two Dutch wind farm zones, with the first being IJmuiden Ver and the second wind farm zone which is yet to be determined.

The assessment includes the construction of a metocean database and a metocean assessment (consisting of a metocean desk study and a wind resource assessment) on a design level.

The contract was concluded back in August 2022 and its total value is EUR 1,500,000 excluding VAT.

The first non-public delivery was expected in the fourth quarter of 2022 based on existing data sources.

In the second quarter of 2023, a second delivery should contain around six months of measurement data from the planned floating LiDAR campaign in the Ijmuiden Ver wind farm zone.

A third and fourth delivery will contain one year and two years of measurement data, respectively, according to the award notice.

The fifth and sixth delivery should contain a comparable series for a second-to-be-determined wind farm zone.

According to a recent article, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) plans to combine the first four IJmuiden Ver offshore wind sites for the purpose of putting them out to tender together.

This means that sites III and IV will be auctioned this year, same as the sites I and II, instead of the initially planned 2025, with 4 GW of offshore wind capacity awarded in 2023.

If the Ministry’s plans move forward, this will be the biggest offshore wind tender in the Netherlands, offering 4 GW across the four sites, and will contain additional requirements, from ecological to responsible business stipulations.

The IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone also comprises two further sites that were designated to accommodate additional offshore wind capacity in 2022, bringing the total capacity at the zone to 6 GW, as the Netherlands works to achieve 21 GW of offshore wind by 2030 with additional development areas.

An application period for the development of IJmuiden Ver sites V and VI is planned to open in 2025.