The Netherlands has stated that it will shortly issue a request for proposals for the construction of two new offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 1,400 MW. The North Sea will be the site of the new projects. The Dutch government released laws detailing the procedure in the Government Gazette on March 9, 2022. According to the notification, wind farm lots 6 and 7 will each have a capacity of 700 MW. The two will be positioned 53 kilometres from the Dutch beaches in the west Hollandse Kust wind energy zone.
As per the government statement, the bids will be submitted through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The applications will be available to the agency for 13 weeks. The RVO can extend the period by another 13 weeks. The bid submission deadlines are April 14 and May 12, 2022. The winning bids could be announced as early as October, 2022. The winning developers would be responsible for commissioning the two wind farms between 2025 and 2026.
In February 2022, BP signed a collaborative development agreement with Hydrogen Chemistry Company (HyCC) to continue developing H2-Fifty, a 250 MW green hydrogen plant in Rotterdam’s port area. The companies signed the agreement following a feasibility analysis, which suggested the project could make a ‘critical’ contribution to the decarbonising industry in the region.
REGlobal’s Views: Offshore wind is increasingly becoming one of the most sought after energy resources in Europe as countries focus on expanding their offshore wind capacities and improving their energy security especially with the current energy crisis due to gas shortage across the continent.
