Wind power in the Netherlands
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, wind power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of 8,304 MW, 29.6% of which is based offshore. In 2019, the wind turbines provided the country with 12% of its electricity demand during the year, a figure that is growing but somewhat below the average of 15% that wind power provides across the whole of the EU's electricity consumption. The Dutch are trying to meet the EU-set target of producing 14% of total energy use from renewable sources by 2020, and 16% by 2023.
Windmills A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...
have historically played a major part in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
by providing an alternative to water driven mills. In March 2022, the Dutch government announced that by 2030 offshore wind was to become the Netherlands' biggest power source, aiming at 21 GW of installed capacity. Since 2015 there has been a trend towards the deployment and planning for large wind farms, both onshore and offshore, with a view to the approximate tripling wind power capacity from 2015 levels by 2023. The first of these, the 429 MW
Noordoostpolder Noordoostpolder (; en, "North-East Polder") is a polder and municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called '' Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the heart of the Noord ...
wind farm was already partially deployed by year end 2015 whilst the 600 MW
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offshore wind farm was commissioned in 2017. These newer and larger wind farms are making use of some of the largest wind turbines available, in particular in the case of Noordoostpolder the
Enercon E-126 The Enercon E-126 is an onshore wind turbine model manufactured by the German company Enercon. With a hub height of , rotor diameter of and a total height of , the turbine can generate up to of power, making it the largest wind turbine in the w ...
7500 kW wind turbine, the largest onshore turbine available at that time. The Netherlands is also well prepared for a significant rise in the production of intermittent power from wind energy by good linkages to its neighbours via high voltage cables enabling power to be imported or exported as required. These include the 580 km
NorNed NorNed is a long high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Feda in Norway and the seaport of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, which interconnects both countries' electrical grids. It was once the longest submarine power cable in the ...
submarine cable (700 MW) link to Norway, the 1,000 MW
BritNed BritNed is a 1,000MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) submarine power cable between the Isle of Grain in Kent, the United Kingdom; and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The BritNed interconnector would serve as a link for the foreseeabl ...
cable link to the United Kingdom and the COBRA cable link to Denmark (700 MW). Many of the numerous smaller and older wind farms in the Netherlands consist of much smaller turbines compared to those typically deployed today. These were often manufactured by lesser known wind turbine manufacturers, sometimes producing innovative products such as the Nedwind 2 blade turbine. Many of these smaller companies were eventually acquired by the larger wind turbine manufactures such as
Vestas Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Uni ...
,
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
and Lagerwey.


Installed capacity


Future targets

The Dutch government has set a target of 6,000 MW nameplate capacity of onshore wind power by 2020 (not met, as per the data above) and 4,450 MW of offshore wind power by 2023. This will contribute towards the Dutch target of 14% renewable energy use out of total energy use by 2020 and 16% by 2023. In 2020 wind power provided 11.54% of the Dutch electricity generation (see table above) while
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
provided an additional 7.25% for a combined 18.79% - easily meeting the target without taking other renewable sources into account, even though the target for onshore wind capacity was not met. For offshore wind a new system of tendering is under development. New wind farm deployment is based on the SER agreement that describes a plan for five years of tendering 700 MW per year. Under this system the government chooses locations and organizes tenders for projects of 350 MW, and project developers can offer bids for each farm. These sites are also surveyed centrally by the government allowing developers to avoid costly and multiple surveys.


Turbine manufacturers and repowering

Many small scale wind farms exist throughout the Netherlands which bear testament to earlier models of wind turbines and lesser known manufacturers which provided a range of niche products, ranging in size and power output. There are several Dutch turbine manufacturers that continue to manufacture both large and small installations for domestic and international clients. Smaller turbines are often used for off grid, bespoke and community power internationally. Some of the newer larger wind farms currently under construction are replacing smaller turbines previously installed at given locations. One such example is the largest wind farm in Holland,
Noordoostpolder Noordoostpolder (; en, "North-East Polder") is a polder and municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called '' Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the heart of the Noord ...
, which is installing industrial scale wind turbines such as the new
Enercon Enercon GmbH is a wind turbine manufacturer based in Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany. It has been the market leader in Germany since the mid-1990s. Enercon has production facilities in Germany (Aurich, Emden and Magdeburg), Brazil, India, Canada, ...
onshore wind turbines, at the time the largest onshore turbines in the world rated at 7500 kW
nameplate capacity Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, or maximum effect, is the intended full-load sustained output of a facility such as a power station,
. The turbines have a hub height of and each new turbine can generate as much electricity as all 50 turbines of the old wind farm combined. The wind farm demonstrates the growth in scale in wind power as between 1987 and 1991 it was the largest of its kind in Europe with 50 turbines and a total nameplate capacity of 15 MW. The new Zuidwester site at the wind farm will have just 12 turbines and a total nameplate capacity of 90 MW. A second hand market for turbines also exists, which could grow as older turbines are replaced by larger newer ones.


Timeline of developments

2022 In February 2022 the Netherlands announced it increased its offshore wind target to 21 GW by 2030. That would meet approximately 75% of the countries electricity needs. With this, offshore wind energy makes an important contribution to achieving the increased climate target of 55% less -emissions. 2018 In March 2018 the Dutch government announced that it will build between 2023 and 2030 several new windfarms with a total installed capacity of 7 gigawatt. Where the parks will come and how they will be built is still being discussed. However, the government wants 40% of the total electricity used in 2030 in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to be supplied by wind. 2016 In the first week of December 2016, all 150 turbines of the new 600 MW
Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...
offshore windfarm began producing power, and the project is expected to be fully commissioned by mid 2017. In July 2016, the first two stages of
offshore wind farm Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...
development for a combined 700
MegaWatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...
capacity in a water area near
Borssele Borssele is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Borsele, and lies about 12 km east of Vlissingen. Note that the municipality name is spelled with a single ''s'' while the name of the town is spelled ...
was awarded to
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at a price of 7.27
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
cent per
kilowatt hour A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
for 15 years. Transmission costs of 1.4 eurocent/kWh is to be added as
TenneT TenneT is a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and in a large part of Germany. ''TenneT B.V.'' is the national electricity transmission system operator of the Netherlands, headquartered in Arnhem. Controlled and owned by the Dutch g ...
is required to take power from sea to shore. 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 2015 2015 was a record year for new installations in the Netherlands with 586 MW added of which 180 MW were offshore. This record was immediately beaten the following year with another 766 MW being added. The Dutch government has expressed the aspiration to build 4.450 MW of offshore wind power by 2023 which will have a considerable impact on the Dutch
electricity grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
, operated by
TenneT TenneT is a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and in a large part of Germany. ''TenneT B.V.'' is the national electricity transmission system operator of the Netherlands, headquartered in Arnhem. Controlled and owned by the Dutch g ...
. /sup> As a first step, the government has determined 65 sites for
offshore wind farms Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the Wind power, generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per ...
in the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and
IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...
. /sup> 2013 By December 2013, 1,975 wind turbines were operational on land in the Netherlands, with an aggregate capacity of 2,479 MW. An additional 228 MW of capacity was installed at sea. 2011 In November 2011, the Dutch government decided to no longer fund €6 billion per year to maintain subsidized wind kWh at €0.18. It sharply cut subsidies down to €1.5 billion, leaving private sector to carry over wind turbine investments should these be beneficial. /sup>


Onshore wind power

Whilst there are a growing number of large onshore wind farms in Holland, most of the onshore farms in 2015 consisted of a large number of small wind farms, including many single installation turbines as well as farms of between 1–10 turbines. In total there were 3,004 MW of onshore wind power at the end of 2015. Most wind power is produced in the province of
Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
. A few of the larger wind farms are listed here.


Noordoostpolder

The largest wind farm in the Netherlands is
Noordoostpolder Noordoostpolder (; en, "North-East Polder") is a polder and municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called '' Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the heart of the Noord ...
with a capacity of 429 MW. The farm consists of three smaller wind farms owned by separate organisations with local community links. The wind farm's 86 wind turbines will produce 1.4 billion kWh of electricity, enough. power for over 400,000 households every day, a figure roughly equivalent to the number of households in the Northern Netherlands.


Westereems

The next largest onshore wind farm is the Westereems wind farm located in
Eemshaven Eemshaven (; en, Ems Harbor) is a seaport in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. In 1968, the Dutch government declared the Ems estuary (Eemsmond) to be an economic key region. One of the key developments for the region ...
in
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
, in the north of the Netherlands.


Princess Alexia

Up until the Westereems Wind Park was commissioned the largest onshore wind farm was the Princess Alexia Windpark in
Zeewolde Zeewolde () is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. It has a population of approximately 22,000 (2017). It is situated in the polder of Flevoland with the small lake called the Wolderwijd to the east. To ...
(122MW), consisting of 36 REpower turbines and a 3.2MW/33MWh
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of
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batteries. Other large wind farms are located in Delfzijl-zuid (43 MW),
Lelystad Lelystad () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdi ...
(46 MW),
Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...
, (Koegorspolder, 44 MW), and
Biddinghuizen Biddinghuizen () is a village in the municipality of Dronten in the Netherlands. It is situated in the center of the province of Flevoland, about north of the city of Harderwijk. On 1 January 2018, the village had 6,295 inhabitants.


Rachel Carson

The Rachel Carson wind farm (also known as the Eemmeerdijk Wind Park.) remarkably consists of wind turbines with just 2 blades, manufactured by Nedwind, the 18 turbines have a combined nominal power of 18 MW.


Offshore wind power

In contrast to onshore wind farms, almost all turbines by January 2017 were situated in just a few large wind farms.


Future offshore wind farms


Luchterduinen

The Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm was officially opened in September 2015 and is a 50/50 joint venture between Dutch energy company Eneco and Japan's Mitsubishi corporation. The 129 MW Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm is located 23 km off the coast between Zandvoort and Noordwijk cities in the Netherlands. The farm consists of 43 Vestas V112 turbines of 3 MW capacity each. A further 228 MW of installed capacity will be added when completed.


Princess Amalia

In 2008, a second, somewhat larger offshore wind farm was built: the
Princess Amalia Wind Farm The Princess Amalia Wind Farm (Prinses Amaliawindpark in Dutch) is an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. Prior to its official opening, it was known as the Q7 Wind Farm. Specifications The wind farm lies approximately 23 km off the coast ...
, consisting of 60 Vestas V80 2MW turbines totaling 120 MW, sufficient to power 125,000 homes and help the Netherlands cut 225,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
emissions. /sup> /sup> The wind park was developed off the coast of
IJmuiden IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
by
Econcern Econcern was an international holding company, consisting of five operating companies: Ecofys, Evelop, Ecostream, Ecoventures and OneCarbon. These companies delivered solutions for renewable energy (solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy) and carbon ...
and
Eneco Energie Eneco, the trading name of Eneco Groep N.V., is a producer and suppliers of natural gas, electricity and heat in the Netherlands, serving more than 2 million business and residential customers. Eneco headquarters are located in Rotterdam. It ...
, at a total cost of $522.3 million. /sup>


Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ)

In 2006, the Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm was built, consisting of 36 Vestas V90 3MW turbines, totaling 108 MW, sufficient to light 100,000 houses. /sup> /sup> /sup> The project cost $272 million and is cooperatively owned by
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
and the Dutch utility company Nuon.


Lely

Built 1992 this nearshore wind farm had just 4 Nedwind 500 KW turbines based 1 km to shore. The farm was dismantled after 22 years service in 2016.


See also

*
Community wind energy Community wind projects are locally owned by farmers, investors, businesses, schools, utilities, or other public or private entities who utilize wind energy to support and reduce energy costs to the local community. The key feature is that local c ...
*
Solar power in the Netherlands Solar power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of around 14,249 megawatt (MW) of photovoltaics as of the end of 2021. Around 3,299 MW of new capacity was installed during 2021. Timeline 2008 Subsidies of 33 euro cents per kWh ...
* Hydroelectric power in the Netherlands *
Renewable energy in the Netherlands Despite the historic usage of wind power to drain water and grind grain, the Netherlands today lags behind all other member states of the European Union in the production of energy from renewable sources. In 2019, the Netherlands produced just 8. ...
*
Renewable energy by country This is a list of renewable energy topics by country and territory. These links can be used to compare developments in renewable energy in different countries and territories and to help and encourage new writers to participate in writing about ...


Notes


References

{{Wind power by country