The Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth has decided to split the sites for the IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I wind farms into four smaller 1 GW sites to reduce the financial risks for offshore wind farm developers, according to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
The Dutch Government decided to divide the 2 GW IJmuiden Ver Gamma into two sections: IJmuiden Ver Gamma-A, located on the eastern side, and IJmuiden Ver Gamma-B, on the western side. Similarly, the 2 GW Nederwiek I will be split into Nederwiek IA, the southern section, and Nederwiek IB, the northern section.
Each site can support an offshore wind farm with a 1 GW capacity.
The IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone contains three 2 GW sites: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. The total area of the four lots in the zone is approximately 650 square kilometres.
Site Gamma-A starts around 53 kilometres from the west coast of the Netherlands, while site Gamma-B is located about 61 kilometres from the coast.
The Nederwiek Wind Farm Zone is one of the three new offshore wind areas the Dutch Government designated in 2022.
Sites IA and IB start approximately 95 kilometres from the west coast of the Netherlands, and the total surface area of the zone is approximately 600 square kilometres.
In the last permit round for 2 GW offshore wind projects, RVO received several bids from developers, though the number was lower than anticipated, the government agency said.
The changes in the market conditions, including increased costs and uncertain revenues, influenced the decision, according to the press release.
To make the investments more manageable and reduce financial risks for the developers, the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth is splitting the 2 GW areas into smaller 1 GW sites, said RVO.
The permit application window for these plots is anticipated to open and close by the end of the third quarter of 2025. RVO expects to announce the details of this permit round in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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