Netherlands splits 2 offshore wind zones into smaller 1-GW sites

The Borssele III & IV offshore complex. Image by: Van Oord (www.vanoord.com).

Two 2-GW offshore wind farm zones in the Netherlands have been split into sites of 1 GW to reduce the financial risks for wind farm developers, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) announced on Tuesday.

The decision concerns the IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek I zones in the North Sea, a tender for which will be launched in the autumn of 2025.

The Netherland’s Ministry of Climate and Green Growth is splitting these sites into four smaller sites after the previous tender round for the construction of 2 GW offshore wind farms received fewer bids than expected.

The combined capacity of the areas remains 4 GW. They are now called IJmuiden Ver Gamma-A (eastern site), Jmuiden Ver Gamma-B (western site), Nederwiek I-A (southern site) and Nederwiek I-B (northern site), all of 1 GW.

RVO said it will likely announce details of the upcoming permit tender round in the final quarter of 2024.

The results of the previous tender were announced in June.