Abstract
In relation to emerging concerns on climate change and sustainable energy provision, the Dutch government identified offshore wind power as the largest feasible renewable energy resource in the country. In order to explore the viability of this technology, a feasibility study was carried out in 1997 on the development and construction of a 100 MW offshore wind farm. The report was issued in September 1997 by Novem (now SenterNovem) and concluded that the wind farm would be technically and economically viable, provided that appropriate subsidies were granted. Subsequently, the government (through the department of economic affairs) initiated a demonstration project for a 100 MW offshore wind farm and acted in a lead role for site identification. This was the start of what is now the Offshore Wind farm Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ).
NoordzeeWind (NZW), a joint venture between investors Shell WindEnergy and Nuon Duurzame Energie, installed the Offshore Wind farm Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ) off the Dutch coast near Egmond aan Zee in 2006. The investors each own 50% of the project.
The OWEZ comprises 36 Vestas V90 wind turbines and associated support systems and is located in Dutch territorial waters of the North Sea, between 10 and 18 km from the coast. Each wind turbine is connected by a transition piece to a steel monopile foundation, piled to a penetration depth of about 30 m.
The power generated is transmitted through three 34kV cables to shore, which land north of IJmuiden harbour. A substation, located near Wijk aan Zee, transforms the voltage from 34kV to 150kV and transmits the power into the national grid.
Part of the project is a Monitoring and Evaluation Program (NSW-MEP, further to be referred to as MEP) aiming to generate knowledge that will be beneficial to the development of offshore wind energy in The Netherlands. The MEP outline is defined by the Dutch government and covers two areas:
- Environment including public opinion;
- Technology & economics;
The OWEZ went through three different phases. The first phase started with the site selection for the demonstration project and ended when NoordzeeWind won the competitive tender for the concession in June 2002. The second phase was the project development phase which ran from June 2002 until the end of May 2005 when financial close was reached and all contracts were signed including the construction contract with Bouw Combinatie Egmond (BCE). The third phase was the construction phase of the OWEZ which began in June 2005 and lasted until the end of December 2006 when the wind farm was handed over by BCE and became operational.
Except submission of a tender document, NoordzeeWind was not involved in the first phase. The second phase of the project was reported separately by NZW. Within the MEP framework this General Report is published with reference to the third (construction) phase only. It covers the period from June 2005 until commissioning at the end of 2006.