Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to invest in FLOW offshore wind energy project
On Friday, 28 May, outgoing Minister Van der Hoeven of Economic Affairs pledged funding to the tune of €19.5 million for the innovation project Far and Large Offshore Wind (FLOW). The subsidy matches the same level of funding previously announced by the companies in the FLOW consortium. The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) is one of the consortium members.
The budget will be spent on the first phase of the FLOW project. This will involve research into and the development of efficient wind turbines in the North Sea and innovative foundation concepts, as well as research into maintenance strategies and installation techniques for wind farms at greater depths and greater distances from the coast. The connection of these wind farms to the electricity grid is also part of the programme.
“The Minister is now acting on earlier promises and supporting the innovative powers of the Dutch business community in this area,” says Peter Terium, CEO of Essent and Chairman of the FLOW consortium. “In doing so, she is offering us the opportunity to build further on the role played by Dutch industry in the expanding international market for the generation of wind energy at sea.”
“The unique public-private partnership in FLOW offers the Netherlands the chance to take the lead in the market for offshore wind energy,” says Dirk Jan van den Berg, Chairman of the Executive Board at Delft University of Technology. “This government move will have a significant impact, both in terms of sustainable energy supplies and the Dutch economy.”
By awarding the subsidy, the Minister is putting into action the recommendations made earlier this month by the Wind Energy at Sea Taskforce. The analyses conducted by the Innovation Platform and the Social and Economic Council (SER) also highlight the Dutch industry’s leading position in this field.
About FLOW
The FLOW project was launched in September last year by Dutch businesses and knowledge institutes RWE, Eneco, TenneT, Ballast Nedam, Van Oord, IHC Merwede, 2-B Energy, XEMC Darwind, ECN and Delft University of Technology. The partners took the opportunity to formulate a business plan designed to enable the parties involved to adopt a leading position in the European market for offshore wind farms. In addition to the potential for employment, it also brings the Dutch government a step closer to achieving its target for wind energy capacity of 6000 megawatts at sea by 2020. The target set for the FLOW Plan is to achieve a cost reduction of 20% for Far Shore wind energy by 2015 (compared to 2010 levels).
Worldwide knowledge and experience of wind farms far offshore and at great depths is still in its early stages. FLOW aims to increase the reliability of these types of wind farms, accelerate their development and reduce risks and costs. The total budget of more than €19.5 million is intended for the first phase of FLOW, which will begin to take shape in the next four years.
A central part of the subsequent phase involves the development of a demonstration wind farm with 20 to 60 wind turbines (100 to 300 megawatts). The new concepts developed within FLOW can then be tested in practice in the demonstration wind farm.
About the consortium partners
RWE
The international energy company RWE, which recently acquired Dutch firm Essent, is one of Europe’s largest producers and suppliers of electricity. RWE has a strong presence in the market for offshore wind energy in the United Kingdom. In addition to the 60 MW North Hoyle wind farm off the coast of Wales, this year saw the commissioning of a second wind farm, Rhyl Flats, with 90 MW installed capacity. The offshore wind farm Gwynt y Môr, planned for construction off the coast of North Wales, is scheduled to become one of the world’s largest wind farms of its kind, with a planned capacity of several hundred megawatts. RWE Innogy also has a 50% shareholding in the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm off the east coast of England. After its completion in 2011, this wind farm will have a total capacity of 500 MW. RWE Innogy also plans to extend the offshore production of wind energy to areas off the coast of the European mainland. In Germany, it is planning the construction of the Innogy Nordsee 1 wind farm, with an approximate capacity of 960 MW, close to the German island of Juist in the North Sea. In the Netherlands, permission has been granted for the construction of the Tromp wind farm with a capacity of 300 MW, off the west coast of the Netherlands
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology is a multilateral and multidisciplinary technical university. Its 15,000 students and 5000 employees develop technical solutions and innovations to tackle social problems and extend knowledge. Renewable energy, including wind energy, is one of the most important subjects of scientific research at Delft. The research into wind energy at Delft is being conducted in the Delft University Institute for Wind Energy, DUWIND.
Eneco
Eneco is one of the leading energy companies in the Netherlands. Wind energy features prominently in Eneco’s sustainability strategy. By 2020, Eneco anticipates that as much as 70% of the electricity it supplies to its customers will have been generated from renewable sources. In the Netherlands, Eneco has 100 land-based wind turbines with a capacity of 120 MW and its Princess Amalia wind farm in the North Sea supplies a further 120 MW. As a result, Eneco can supply more than 170,000 households with electricity from wind, generated from its own wind turbines. In addition, Eneco has Power Purchase Agreements for wind energy capable of producing 500 MW, sufficient to supply almost 500,000 households with electricity. On land, 2009 saw the commissioning of the St. Antoinedijk wind farm in Halderberge (10 MW) and Burgervlotbrug (7.6 MW). In Belgium, Eneco has 80 MW of wind energy capacity at its disposal. In 2010, the Tullo Wind Farm (17 MW) will also become operational in the United Kingdom. In round 2, Eneco has been granted permission for four offshore wind farms off the Dutch North Sea coast, a concession for a 400 MW farm off the Belgian coast and a 900 MW concession in Round 3 off the coast near the Isle of Wight.
TenneT
As the operator of both the transmission system and the national transport network, TenneT is responsible for the Dutch electricity grid that connects all the regional networks and the European network together. The organisation strives to provide optimum services to ensure that the electricity market in the Netherlands and north-west Europe operates effectively. TenneT also works constantly to strengthen the Dutch energy market from a European perspective. TenneT recently acquired Transpower, making it the first cross-border transmission system operator with a network of more than 20,000 kilometres.
In February 2010, the Dutch Cabinet approved the proposal made by Minister Van Der Hoeven of Economic Affairs to grant TenneT responsibility for the construction and management of the offshore transmission network. This will enable TenneT to make an active contribution to improving the sustainability of the energy supply, whilst ensuring its security now and in the future. In anticipation of a planned change in legislation and in order to enable the government’s targets to be achieved (6000 MW by 2020), TenneT has already started preparing an offshore network. Various studies have been conducted and plans for the land connection begun at Borssele and IJmuiden.
Ballast Nedam
Ballast Nedam installed the first Dutch offshore wind farm Lely in 1994, followed by Dronten in 1996 and OWEZ (Egmond) in 2006. In 2008 and 2009, the company installed the foundations for the two offshore wind farms Rhyl Flats and Gunfleet Sands in the United Kingdom. At the end of last year and the start of this year, Ballast Nedam installed the foundations for the Belgian offshore wind farm Belwind. The company is currently active in the United Kingdom, setting up the foundations for Sheringham Shoal as well as for Baltic I in the Baltic Sea off Germany.
In constructing wind farms, the company frequently uses its own heavy-lifting ship Svanen, originally built for bridge construction work and capable of lifting over 9000 tonnes. As well as working on the construction of offshore wind farms, Ballast Nedam also developed the designs for the foundations (Lely, Dronten, Egmond, Baltic I) and currently provides maintenance services for two wind farms (Egmond and Amalia).
Ballast Nedam is also involved in the Dutch R&D project We@remove-this-part-Sea and last year developed a new concept for an environmentally-friendly concrete monopile foundation as part of the Swedish Kriegers Flak R&D project. This has since been developed further in alliance with the British Carbon Trust. Ballast Nedam is one of the initiators of the concept for a Harbour Island for Renewable Energy (HEDEN), primarily intended to ensure faster and more efficient construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
Van Oord
Van Oord is a Dutch hydraulic engineering contractor that operates worldwide. The company is a global leader in dredging, hydraulic engineering projects and specialist offshore activities and an important player in the design and construction of offshore wind farms. As an EPC contractor, Van Oord is involved in engineering, procuring and constructing the foundations and electrical systems for wind farms. In the Netherlands, the company was responsible for the engineering, procuring and construction of the 130 MW Princess Amalia wind farm off the coast of IJmuiden. As an EPC contractor, Van Oord also started the construction in August 2009 of the 165 MW Belwind Project Phase 1 off the coast of Zeebrugge in Belgium.
IHC Merwede
IHC Merwede focuses on the continuing development of its design and construction activities for specialised shipbuilding, especially dredging and offshore. IHC is the global market leader in the construction of specialist dredging equipment. IHC Merwede is also acknowledged as an outstanding manufacturer of complex, customised ships and equipment for the offshore market. Offshore wind energy is one of IHC Merwede’s key areas of focus. It has combined its knowledge and expertise of offshore wind energy in its specialised Centre of Competence ‘IHC Offshore Wind’.
IHC Merwede’s clients include the major dredging companies, oil and gas companies, offshore contractors and government authorities. The company has more than 3000 employees at various locations in the Netherlands, China, France, India, Croatia, the Middle East, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
2-B Energy
2-B Energy is launching a new offshore wind turbine onto the market offering significantly lower investment and operational costs. By adopting an integrated approach, based on the use of reduced components, savings on materials and an extended life cycle, the company has delivered an innovative offshore wind power plant concept. The result comprises a 6 MW dual-blade turbine, a truss structure for installing on the seabed and direct-current technology for electricity transport to the coast. The prototype will be used from 2011.
XEMC Darwind BV
XEMC Darwind BV, formerly Darwind, is a design and development centre specialising in “Direct Drive” technology for on- and offshore wind turbines, intended to reduce consumption and maintenance costs. The offshore prototype, the DD115, is a third-generation 5 MW turbine and will be put into operation at the ECN test site in the Wieringermeer polder in 2010. The Dutch wind turbine has several unique features: (1) it has been specifically developed for offshore applications, (2) has low installation and maintenance costs and (3) high availability and high returns for extremely competitive purchase costs. The company aims to become an important global supplier of offshore wind turbines, an objective that is backed up by its recent partnership with Chinese XEMC WindPower. The new Sino-Dutch private limited company plans to begin manufacturing commercially from 2011. Along with its partners and suppliers, XEMC Darwind BV will create many hundreds of jobs in the Netherlands, especially in development, assembly, logistics, installation and operational maintenance.
ECN
ECN is the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands and the largest Dutch R&D institute working in renewable energy. ECN develops and markets state-of-the-art knowledge and technology for a sustainable energy system. The specialist Wind Energy unit plays a strategic role between the universities and industry, includes all relevant wind energy disciplines and is one of Europe’s leading institutes in the field of offshore wind energy.
Note for the editors
Not for publication. For more information please contact:
Essent Media Relations: Rik Hammer, Essent spokesperson. Tel.: 0800-02 44 022 (+31 73 853 4939 if you are calling from abroad), e-mail: mediarelaties@remove-this-part-essent.nl, www.flow-windfarm.nl
