World’s First Subsidy-Free Offshore Wind Farm In Netherlands Produces First Power

The 1.5GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm, the first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in the world, has started producing power and supplying it to the Dutch electrical grid.

Swedish power company Vattenfall won the right to build all four allotments in the Hollandse Kust Zuid. No financial aid from the government was required or requested.

In April, Cadeler’s windfarm Installation Vessel (WIV) Wind Osprey left the Port of Rotterdam carrying the first turbines for the wind farm.

Four months later, Vattenfall revealed that 36 of the 140 turbines at Hollandse Kust Zuid had already been placed, with the final turbine scheduled to be put in during the second quarter of 2023. Additionally, it was revealed that the project, which was still in the testing stage, had already started supplying its first power to the Dutch grid.

“We are immensely proud to reach this milestone,” said Ian Bremner, Hollandse Kust Zuid project director.
“The delivery of power to the Dutch grid is an important moment, not just for us but also for all our partners, suppliers, contractors, and all other parties who helped to get to this point. With Hollandse Kust Zuid we are working on the largest and first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in the world. It is wonderful to see our energization and first power plan come to fruition and we look forward to completing the wind farm in 2023.”

The 1.5GW wind farm, which is made up of 140 11MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines, is owned by Vattenfall, BASF, and Allianz. When it is fully operational in 2023, it will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 1.5 million Dutch homes.

The wind farm boasts of 140 11 MW turbines, which is the the largest to be installed at scale.